Where do you get your coins?

[papag]

Hi guys

I would like to see where members get there coins and maybe why:

 

1 Teletrade

2. Heritage

3. Ebay

4. Yahoo

5. Hometown Dealer and where

6. coin Shows

7. Other (if not on the list above)

 

I will start it off by saying I get my coins from 1, 2, 3 and a few from 4. I live in the mountains of the Poconos so most of my coin buying is mostly restricted to the Internet and I work a lot of overtime so I can't get out much. (I work for the goverment and we've been busy since the war began). I like Teletrade and I have bought alot on Ebay as well. I use to buy at Heritage but since they raised there buyers price from $5.00 to $9.00 I've shyed away. I have bought from Fallmouth Stamp and Coin as well a couple of times. They show some nice Pictures of the older coins that they sell.

The reason for starting this thread is maybe to get more places to buy coins from other members on the boards and maybe some new memebers here can also gain insight to where to get coins or stay away from. For me maybe I'll learn of places local to me here in Pa. or other internet sites that I may have missed. Thanks everyone for your help.

papag

Ken

[whoopig01]

I get mine from ebay and the local bootlegger. He buys his alcohol from my aunt's liquor store and he always brings me any silver dollars or old coins people bring him. My last acquisition netted 8 morgans 1 peace 3 franklins and 5 walkers for $35. I flipped them on ebay and made a quick buck off of them and kept the ones I liked. Some were AU others were well lets just say they were well circulated.

[kryptonitecomics]

1.Ebay

2.Heritage

3. Local Shows

4. Online dealers

5. Fellow (PCGS, NGC, TCCS) board members

 

[Oldtrader3]

A few from Heritage, a few from Ebay, many from various auctions and from other dealers.

[nwcs]

These days 100% from dealers. Tomorrow, who knows?

[CTcollector]

Mostly from established internet dealers. In no particular order, the three that I have had the most success with in relation to quality and pricing have been Pinnacle, Whitlow, and Rare Coins of New Hampshire...

[michael]

 

 

 

 

 

from what i have seen with friends and other collectors

 

they have Mostly bought traded sold to In no particular order,

 

www.pinnacle-rarities.com todd imhof

 

www.markfeldcoins.com mark feld

[Jeff S]

So Far:

Only Ebay and from Board members.

[papag]

Thanks everyone so far for your choices and Michael thanks for posting the websites of your choices. They do have some beautiful coins but a little above my budget. Thanks Everyone.

papag

Ken

[melmcbee]

Excellent thread Ken. Before I joined this wonderful forum, I bought from anyone on ebay. Now I buy only from the members of Collectors Society and Collectors Universe. But I spend alot of time reading from other forum members where they purchase a specific coin. I save any link that is highly praised on the forums and I also pay attention to who the members buy from on ebay. For example if they post a link to an ebay auction they won then I will watch the seller that they have purchased from. I also watch for every seller that a forum member has had trouble with. Now instead of purchasing all of the low grade coins that I can find, I am more selective in what I buy. Unfortunately, I am so selective and study the coins and their values and history that I have all but stopped buying. My purchases are few and far between but I believe they are more responsible now.

[Bruceswar]

This forum is a great place to share and get knowledge.... I too joined this forum and my level of coin expertise has risen up alot... I just turned 22 and I think I am doing great numastically.... I am gathering many nice coins that appeal to me.... I usally shop at my local coin shops.. I have yet to buy off ebay ... also whenever I travel I try to hit a coin shop or 2... some of those shops have been by best finds... a few years back... I found a raw Oregon traill and it came back MS 66.. now I am going to sell it even thought I came back a moster grade for the price I paid... this is one of the nicest Oregons I have seen... the 1926 and 1926 S is harder to find the later issues and thus making it a better coin for the long run... deals are to be found you just got to do some searching.... The way I collect is this.... If I like the coin... and the price is in my range.. I will buy the coin... I know dealers have to make money... and so what if I could have got one in the same grade for 10 bucks less on ebay.. I just supported my local dealer... and to me thats a big deal.. since we own a small business... and I know how it is... plus I like to all my coins in hand before I buy them.... Teddy where did you get that coin in your icon ... that is a real stunner...

[SilverDollarMan]

fleabay, lcoal dealer..........NEVER LEGEND

[papag]

Hi Everyone

Great replies and some new suggestions for me to where to get my coins. I forgot about one other place I get my coins and that is through the US Mint online. I have a Subscription Plan with them on the Silver Eagles and Proof Sets both Clad and Silver. Thanks again to everyone about your ways of getting coins. Bruce I never looked at dealers as you do as I had a bad experience with one once but you have helped to ease some of my concerns with local dealers.

Thanks

papag

Ken

[Bruceswar]

Think about it for a second.... you want your local dealer to be there when you need a quick few flips or supplies of some sort... you might even buy a small coin or 2... but when it comes time to buy a bigger coin.. you shop the local dealer out all the time.... I know how it works since we are in small business... I am not saying just cuz they are local you need to support them... but all I am saying is give them a fair shake.... Just think if everybody had that mentality... buy my 10 buck purchase...and when the time comes for a $500.00 coin you quickly shop him out... I know for one a business cannot make it on 10 dollar sells... just another view... one of the great things about living in a city is there is a great many dealers....and I try to spread my business around...

[EZ_E]

Excellent thread Ken. Before I joined this wonderful forum, I bought from anyone on ebay. Now I buy only from the members of Collectors Society and Collectors Universe. But I spend alot of time reading from other forum members where they purchase a specific coin. I save any link that is highly praised on the forums and I also pay attention to who the members buy from on ebay. For example if they post a link to an ebay auction they won then I will watch the seller that they have purchased from. I also watch for every seller that a forum member has had trouble with. Now instead of purchasing all of the low grade coins that I can find, I am more selective in what I buy. Unfortunately, I am so selective and study the coins and their values and history that I have all but stopped buying. My purchases are few and far between but I believe they are more responsible now.

 

Melanie, you are awesome!!! It is so cool to see the way you have grown since you first started posting. Your enthusiasm is contageous and admirable. Very smart strategy based upon your comments above.

[EZ_E]

fleabay, lcoal dealer..........NEVER LEGEND

 

[melmcbee]

Thanks Viktor. I have the greatest teachers here including you I now have so many books that I will never finish reading But this is a good thing because it will keep me out of trouble hopefully. I sincerely appreciate everyone here and continue to enjoy the education that I receive. In all, I am having a blast.

[EZ_E]

I now have so many books that I will never finish reading But this is a good thing because it will keep me out of trouble hopefully.

 

Well....I, er, kind of doubt that but best of luck in the attempt!!

[melmcbee]

[rexcat]

Personally I like buying my coins in hand, so most of my purchases have come from coin shows that I attend in South East Wisconsin or Chicago and local dealers, my favorite dealer in town, Greater Milwaukee Coin, is only a mile from home (not always a good thing). It’s a fine run business by a gentleman who’s been in the business for over forty years, so he knows coins. I’ve been buying from GMC for over the last ten years. This dealer also runs a bid board which closes every other Saturday, which can be a lot of fun; buying and selling with other collectors who frequent the store.

 

There are a few dealers on the internet that I have bought from and have been very happy with the results. David Lawrence is on the top of my list, most likely half or more of the coins that I have purchased from online inventories have come from DLRC and some of them are my favorites. I have had nothing but good experiences dealing with DLRC over the past 5 or so years.

 

Many of the modern proofs, 1964 to present, that are in my type set have come from Teletrade, the $20 to $100 stuff, but I never really have considered buying coins that sell for hundreds of dollars from there.

 

Last and surely least in my book is Ebay, I feel that nice coins from good, reliable sellers can be found there, but you must wade though lots of garbage being pushed be low life scum, it can become a real adventure in coin buying. I have bought a few of coins on Ebay and have had mixed results. If ever there was a “buyer beware” venue to shop in, Ebay would be it.

[SilverGigolo]

Another good place to buy is through Numismatic News and Coin World, particularly the classified ads. I stereotype the largest advertisers as overgrading the coins and hoping you don't return them. I am sure that is not always true. Buying slabbed helps that but I like circulated raw coins the best. I have done a few mail bid auctions and find the grading is accurate. I sell a few and trade a few myself. There are honest Yahoo and Ebay sellers but it is hard to find good deals on those websites.

[cpm9ball]

I'm not a dealer. I'm a packrat. I buy what I like if I can afford it. I, too, like to use the U.S. Mint's Subscription Service for current issues. It makes it easy and eliminates the possibility of forgetfulness. I have also used local dealers, other collectors, coin mags, national dealers, eBay auctions and BIN's, garage sales, flea markets.....you name it, I've tried it.

 

The key to my philosophy is that I enter into each transaction without any expectation of "hitting the mother lode". I only expect a reasonable product for a reasonable price. Anything more than that is just "icing on the cake" which only heightens my satisfaction. In the last ten years, I have only returned one coin. That doesn't mean that I have been completely happy with all of my purchases. There have been some that haven't quite lived up to my expectations. Does that mean that I should have returned others? Maybe, maybe not. After all, I was attracted to the coin in the first place. Should I try to unload them onto someone else? No!

 

In the past, I have sometimes placed a "red flag" on a particular seller for various reasons. That doesn't mean that I won't, under any circumstances, do business with that seller again. If the occasion should ever arise that one of these sellers has a coin that I want, I'll use the previous transaction as a negotiating point to get a better deal. It's a "horse of another color" if the seller turns out to be a scumbag, lying cheat. In that case, I don't just red flag them, I nuke them!

 

I'm sure if most dealers ascribed to this philosophy they would be broke in less than a year. But, it works for me! I only have a few requests for those who read this. Don't start drooling over your keyboard! Don't send me any spam or bulk mail solicitations! Don't come pounding at my door trying to sell me something! If you have something I want, I will find you in due time.

 

The point I am trying to make is that it doesn't matter where or from whom you make your purchases as long as it suits your needs.

 

Chris

 

PS. Now I have to reread this entire thread and make note of any sources mentioned, herein, that I haven't tried yet. Thanks!

[cpm9ball]

I now have so many books that I will never finish reading But this is a good thing because it will keep me out of trouble hopefully.

 

Well....I, er, kind of doubt that but best of luck in the attempt!!

 

EZ, Victor, EZ!

 

Mel, staying out of trouble is boring. Getting into trouble is fun and you don't have to break the law to have fun! Right?

 

Chris

[niel-migration]

i'm wondering if you guys still find stuff in change as i do. it may not be something i'm looking for or very great, but i'm just curious if you do find some semi-decent stuff. i've gotten franklin halves and silver quarters and dimes and i know somebody that got a few silver eagles.

on another note, do your families know the real value of the stuff you have as i suspect one of 2 things circulate these coins. 1 ignorance to their value and 2 theft. many times when one collects without informing one's spouse of the value, they spend them. even knowing of the value i have seen my own mother spend quarters that my father(dead now chris for some 11 years) had in his collection. they were mint marked d and s of the 1932 washington quarters. sickening as she did it out of spite. most of his collection was also stolen right after his death. informing others is a double edge sword it seems. it can cut either way.

note to james early us. my father had an excellent mercury dime collection. all were very nice and in better conditions than yours. he had all but the 16d. stolen. i would've inherited a very very nice collection. i suspect the thief was family, but can't prove it.

niel

[cpm9ball]

i'm wondering if you guys still find stuff in change as i do. it may not be something i'm looking for or very great, but i'm just curious if you do find some semi-decent stuff. i've gotten franklin halves and silver quarters and dimes and i know somebody that got a few silver eagles.

on another note, do your families know the real value of the stuff you have as i suspect one of 2 things circulate these coins. 1 ignorance to their value and 2 theft. many times when one collects without informing one's spouse of the value, they spend them. even knowing of the value i have seen my own mother spend quarters that my father(dead now chris for some 11 years) had in his collection. they were mint marked d and s of the 1932 washington quarters. sickening as she did it out of spite. most of his collection was also stolen right after his death. informing others is a double edge sword it seems. it can cut either way.

note to james early us. my father had an excellent mercury dime collection. all were very nice and in better conditions than yours. he had all but the 16d. stolen. i would've inherited a very very nice collection. i suspect the thief was family, but can't prove it.

niel

 

My condolences, Niel. My father passed in 1997. Even though he was 82, I still miss him. I know that you referenced this as a clue to your age, so maybe I will buy you that beer and we can toast our fathers.

 

I would imagine that coin collections are depleted more by family members stealing coins than outright burglary by an unknown person. I had an uncle in the Air Force, and he was stationed in Alaska from the end of WWII well into the 60's. Prior to statehood in 1959, gold coins were commonly used as specie for everyday commerce. Every payday, my uncle would convert some of his pay into gold coins at face value. He amassed quite a collection. After he died, his children blew most of it on drugs. What a shame!

 

I would imagine that if your father had the opportunity to give you his collections before he died, you would probably still have them, today. My father wasn't a coin collector, but he did acquire a few items that I still have in my collection: a Series 1901 Buffalo $10 note, a Series 1929 FRNB San Francisco $10 note, a Series 1934A Hawaii $20 note, three Series 1953 $5 Silver Certificates with consecutive serial numbers, seventy-five $1 Silver Certificates and seven '71-'74 $1 Proof "Brown Ikes". They aren't worth a lot of money, but I'll never part with them.

 

So, the next time I'm in one of our local poolrooms, I'm going to buy a round for some of my friends and we'll toast my Dad and your Dad, Aniello! Cheers!

 

Chris

 

PS. By the way, just recently a friend of mine walked into a convenience store to buy some cigarettes. At the counter, he noticed that the penny dish was full of IHC's. He exchanged 32c for 32 IHC's. The clerk had thrown them in the dish after a young boy used them to buy snacks. I wonder what other coins he used? Anyway, the clerk didn't even know what they were.

[niel-migration]

it is disheartening isn't it chris? to your father and mine.

niel