Texas Shops/Dealers

[joesmom-migration]

Hi all,

I live in the DFW area & am wondering who y'all recommend for shops/dealers in the area? I have a pretty good eye for what I'm looking for (grade, etc) but don't want to buy from someone only to later find out that my purchase has been cleaned, etc. I'm inexperienced in that perspective & was wondering what shop(s) I can trust.

 

We're fosusing primarily on Morgans, Peace and Walker Halves. I'm leary about where to begin buying these...would prefer somone local but I guess we wouldn't be adverse to someone by mail but again, not knowing who is trustworthy is making me a bit nervous.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Robin

[DaveG]

Probably the best way to deal with your concern about being sold a problem coin is to become better educated.

 

First of all, if you're buying PCGS or NGC slabbed coins, the worst you're likely to see is dipped coins - these are coins that have been dipped in a non-abrasive solution to remove toning. Overall, silver coins that have been dipped look too "white". I have heard that most uncirculated Morgans have been dipped at one time - in any event, there are tons of white ones out there, but not all of them have been dipped. (I don't know about Peace dollars.) I've seen slabbed dipped Walkers and if you compare a dipped one to a non-dipped one, you can easily see the difference.

 

As far as raw coins (and dealers), what you need is someone who is willing to teach you. If there's no local coin club, then go to your local shops and try to talk to the dealer. You're looking for someone who's willing to answer your questions, someone who also sells books. (I've always considered books for sale in a coin shop a good sign of someone who's willing to educate collectors and not just rip them off.)

 

If you don't have a recent Red Book or a copy of Photograde, or something else, buy it from a dealer who seems friendly. Then, if he's willing to talk, ask him to show you a coin that has been dipped, ask to see a coin that has been abrasively cleaned or whizzed. Make sure you learn enough to spot these coins 100% of the time - and then buy a coin or two. Make it worth the dealer's time. By the way, coin dealers tend to be idiosyncratic - a dealer who responds well to someone else might not respond well to you and vice versa. Don't be pushy or accusatory - just ask to be educated.

 

 

In my opinion, any dealer who's not willing to teach you isn't worth your business.

[Here]

Hi there, I live south of you between Houston and Austin. Are you a member of the ANA? Their site has listings for states. I'll send you a msg to your private box here on the board a little later with some more info. Also, there are a couple coin clubs in Dallas and they would be more than happy (at least they should be) to direct you to a reputable dealer. You might want to keep this in mind. In Texas, purchases of coins under $1000 is taxable, over no sales tax. What date Morgans are you looking at? Jerry

[joesmom-migration]

Dave, Thanks for the suggestions. I do have current copies of the Red Book, Photograde and the Morgan Red Book. I just don't trust myself to tell a cleaned coin from one that's not. I do want to look into some of the local clubs to further my education, time has just been in short supply lately I am mostly looking for raw coins as I don't want to pay the premium for slabbed.

 

bugleboy, I'm not a member of any of the local clubs but any info you have on them would be greatly appreciated. Currently, I'm not pursuing any specific dates, just whatever strikes me at the time. I've been looking around & trying to educate myself little by little. I did pick up a few Morgans at the TNA show last weekend from Ed Hipps...what a great guy. What I'd really like to find is someone with a shop that has his kind of reputation. It really said a lot about him when I was talking to other dealers at the show & they all referred me to him.

Robin

[DaveG]

Robin,

 

I'm not suggesting that you can learn to spot a cleaned coin from those books, but I mentioned them just as an example of something relatively small that you can buy from a dealer to establish good relations.

 

It will probably take personal examination of several cleaned coins for you to know what to look for (it did for me); for that sort of education, you need either an experienced collector (perhaps from one of the local coin clubs) or a good dealer to show you what to look for, especially if you're looking for raw coins.

 

People do all kinds of things to raw Morgans - whizzing, rubbing them with a pencil eraser, rubbing them with toothpaste - stuff you wouldn't believe.

 

By the way, if you met a dealer at a show who you liked, why don't you continue to buy from him by mail (if he's not in your local area)?

[Bruceswar]

I live in the DFW area as well... East Side of town.. There are a few places in Garland that I go to .... one is at Vikon Village.... He is a one man operation.... but usally has some good stuff.... and another is of Northwest HWY and 635... When you exit coming from the south ... take a right and it is right there.... can't miss it... little shopping center... I find him really easy to deal with Good luck