Go-to dealer?

[Danye West]

I find myself gravitating towards the same two or three tables at shows (well, the one I go to) and the same five odd shops on eBay. I do sometimes find coins from other people, and by all means I search. It may be because toned Franklins aren't incredibly popular.

But do any of you have the same few sources for most of your coins?

 

Proving my point, coins 3-6 in my signature were from Dennis King.

[jpcienkus]

I spend a lot of time viewing coins at Heritage, NE Numismatics, DLRC and eBay. I also browse Legend and Stacks when they have auctions.

 

There are quite a few other places I visit, but the above are my starting points. I believe where you visit depends on what you collect.

[Raisethis2]

Dennis King is one of the best known toned coin collectors/dealers attending shows. His inventory towers over everyone else's. Stands to reason a toner collector would visit him at a show.

 

I think that if you've has successful transactions with a dealer there's a bond that can develop. Add in the fact that people by nature are creatures of habit and that's the foundation for a business relationship.

 

I too go to the exact same sources to get coins, my sources are however not normally dealers but auctions.

 

 

[Walkerfan]

IMHO it is more about vigilance and persistence rather than having one specific dealer. At least that is how it has worked out for me.

 

I have 42 of 65 coins needed for the Walker full set and they have come from 25 different sources. There have been only 3 dealers that I have worked with more than once (Heritage is one of them).

 

I haven't purchased from Heritage in almost 2 years, though.

'

Of the 23 remaining coins that I need---15 are 'easy' dates, 5 are 'keys' or 'semi-keys' and 3 are 'better dates'.

[Conder101]

Many dealers are known specialists in certain fields. Coins in those fields have a tendency to migrate to those dealers. If a non-specialist dealer gets a rare coin in one of those fields he typically doesn't have ready customer to sell it to. In that case he has two choices to hold it for a long time hoping a specialist collector that needs it just happens to come by. Or he can take it to the specialist dealer that has a ready market for the coin.

 

So if you are a serious collector in a particular field you soon learn which dealers also specialize in it. You migrate to them because the coins you are interested in migrate to them as well.

[jerseycat10]

Speaking of Dennis King, I had a conversation about him the other day, on another medium, and was told he is the go-to for toners. Is there any way to see his inventory other than going to a show?

[AHFreak]

Speaking of Dennis King, I had a conversation about him the other day, on another medium, and was told he is the go-to for toners. Is there any way to see his inventory other than going to a show?

 

Nope... I look forward to seeing him at every Long Beach show, his inventory is like a beautiful Christmas morning! He does not do Ebay, or have a website. Just shows. Although, I suppose you could maybe call him and tell him what you might be looking for, if he has it maybe he could email you pix or something. I'm not sure if he even does that, but you could try. His stuff us beyond amazing and he is a very genuine guy from what I've seen.

[Nutmeg Coin]

After a while you get to know all the significant dealers within a certain distance if you go to area shows. Online is unlimited ultimately, but many dealers avoid it because they were burned years ago and don't want to take the chance.

[World Colonial]

Your question is in the context of US coins but the answer for me is generally no. There are a low number of auction firms and dealers who offer what I am looing to buy a lot more often than everyone else, but that is all.

[Zebo]

Many dealers are known specialists in certain fields. Coins in those fields have a tendency to migrate to those dealers. If a non-specialist dealer gets a rare coin in one of those fields he typically doesn't have ready customer to sell it to. In that case he has two choices to hold it for a long time hoping a specialist collector that needs it just happens to come by. Or he can take it to the specialist dealer that has a ready market for the coin.

 

So if you are a serious collector in a particular field you soon learn which dealers also specialize in it. You migrate to them because the coins you are interested in migrate to them as well.

 

It would be nice to publish a list of the specialists along with where they are located. Ive seen this done in different ways, but to have a list compiled by collectors for collectors would be interesting and may be eye opening to some.

[bourse28]

NO - my ebay searches are for specific items - it could be graded material by a certain date coins or currency. I do review the sellers location / feedback.

 

In terms of shop or show dealers, since I am in competition with them I do not buy anything from them unless offered to me at my table at a show and its a tempting enough deal with profit potential for me.

 

I have always been a believer in shopping around.