Options
***Tacoma, WA Coin Show Report***
SeattleSlammer
Posts: 10,129 ✭✭✭✭✭
I attended a small show with a friend this last weekend in Tacoma. About 20 dealers in a small, poorly ventilated side-of-the-highway hotel "conference room." Basically the "usual suspects" (dealers) that attend most of the few-and-far-between coin shows in the Seattle area. It definitely wasn't the ANA! But there were still coins to look at and that's the idea. 
And mostly honest and friendly dealers, too.
A few notes:
**Very little attractively toned material of any kind. The best I found were some nice common date 64/65 PCGS and NGC proof BN and RB Indian cents from Ed Leiter. All had cool purple and rose highlights under the lights, but the BNs were very BN and a bit too dull without the light; and the RBs had nice color, too, but tended to be more BN than RD, so they were also a bit too dull for me. Still, pretty and nearly-spot-free coins so I was tempted.
**Found a PCGS G6 1893-S Morgan and the guy wanted $3K for it....which according to the current PCGS guide price for G4 ($2,650) was reasonable. I'm not much for key dates, but being such a lover of toned Morgans and cameo Morgans, I do see appeal in the King, too, regardless of grade.
**One guy had a case full of Morgan widgets (PCGS and NGC slab upon slab of common date 63/64/65 boring white coins). This always depresses me for some reason. I know it's hard making money in coins, but it must be really hard doing it The Widget Way.
**I couldn't find even one true cameo Morgan (slabbed or raw). Bummer!
**Overheard a bullion related conversation.....we all know that given the current prices, people are coming out of the woodwork with their bullion.
Anyways, it went like this:
JOE BLOW- "How much will you give me for these? (spends a few seconds digging in his flannel shirt pocket and pulls out two 1-ounce silver bars each in a little plastic bag)
DEALER- "How much do you want?"
JOE BLOW- "$20 each"
DEALER- "You should keep 'em."
JOE BLOW- "Why not $20?"
DEALER- "I'll give you $18 each 'cause I have to make something on 'em, even if it ain't much."
JOE BLOW- "But silver's going up."
DEALER- "Then you should keep 'em and make some money."
JOE BLOW- "Right." (pockets his bars and walks away looking slightly perturbed)
And mostly honest and friendly dealers, too.A few notes:
**Very little attractively toned material of any kind. The best I found were some nice common date 64/65 PCGS and NGC proof BN and RB Indian cents from Ed Leiter. All had cool purple and rose highlights under the lights, but the BNs were very BN and a bit too dull without the light; and the RBs had nice color, too, but tended to be more BN than RD, so they were also a bit too dull for me. Still, pretty and nearly-spot-free coins so I was tempted.
**Found a PCGS G6 1893-S Morgan and the guy wanted $3K for it....which according to the current PCGS guide price for G4 ($2,650) was reasonable. I'm not much for key dates, but being such a lover of toned Morgans and cameo Morgans, I do see appeal in the King, too, regardless of grade.
**One guy had a case full of Morgan widgets (PCGS and NGC slab upon slab of common date 63/64/65 boring white coins). This always depresses me for some reason. I know it's hard making money in coins, but it must be really hard doing it The Widget Way.
**I couldn't find even one true cameo Morgan (slabbed or raw). Bummer!
**Overheard a bullion related conversation.....we all know that given the current prices, people are coming out of the woodwork with their bullion.
Anyways, it went like this:
JOE BLOW- "How much will you give me for these? (spends a few seconds digging in his flannel shirt pocket and pulls out two 1-ounce silver bars each in a little plastic bag)
DEALER- "How much do you want?"
JOE BLOW- "$20 each"
DEALER- "You should keep 'em."
JOE BLOW- "Why not $20?"
DEALER- "I'll give you $18 each 'cause I have to make something on 'em, even if it ain't much."
JOE BLOW- "But silver's going up."
DEALER- "Then you should keep 'em and make some money."
JOE BLOW- "Right." (pockets his bars and walks away looking slightly perturbed)
0
Comments
I've bought a fair amount from Ed over the last couple of years and found him extremely easy to work with...even on a small layaway (1/2 upfront and 1/2 a month later) for a 1795 half cent w/ edge lettering.
With these local guys, I hardly ever find anything cool, and toned, in their cases at the shows. Sometimes, Steve (Renton Coin Shop) has some nice toners at his store though.
A few of the guys have told me that they dip a lot of the toned stuff they buy because "people want, and will pay more, for the blast white look".
The bullion story almost sounds like Dale.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
Russ, NCNE
DEALER- "How much do you want?"
JOE BLOW- "$20 each"
DEALER- "You should keep 'em."
The dealer missed an oppurtunity to give a polite reply.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Drunner
<< <i>Russ . . . it's Mike Richardson of Canyon Country Coins, and the guy is fun. >>
Yep, that's him! He brought a bunch of proof sets to the show one time just because I had asked him to at the previous show. I was able to pick up some nice stuff, and he didn't bend me over on the prices.
Russ, NCNE