Here is a question that I did ask Matt earlier on, which could be quite tricky. I think it might need some serious figures to account for this question though.

Recently, due to the oil price striking high and inflation rising as well, chances are that people are "suffering" due to the inflation. The main question is, do people start to hoard or dump coins, other than gold?

I assume quite a fair bit of people will buy gold coins or bullions because of the inflation scare... but I have no idea what happens to the other areas... like silver, copper and platinum, etc. Maybe someone else can spectuate what happens?

Often when inflation hits, you know it's just bad for business and everyone else. But how about coin businesses? Or will there be no effect?

What do you think?

I have deleted a bunch of posts from this thread that seem to be of a rude and personal nature. Come on now, we don't do that here guys.


Jeesh, go to one family thing...

Do you actually interact with your customers? More like, do you go to them or wait for them to go to you for help?

Are you a "purist" with what you sell, or do you also have misc coin kitch? coin paper weights, coin tie clips, etc etc?

It's great for business. People don't hoard coins because they aren't made of anything that matters. In times past they might have done so with silver and gold coins but today there isn't really any sense to it. I have been buying coins like crazy lately and I can always sell something If I choose to. If people need money they might just turn that old box of dusty coins into some cash.

The oil market lately has been kinda messed up and investors have been in oil...but after it topped out at $3+ they brought their money back and put it back into an old trusted friend gold and silver.

If they want to learn I try to teach them. Sometimes if I am not showing at a show I will meet up with them and we will shop together. It's a lot of fun.

I sell whatever people bring in the door...if they happen to bring in a paper weight I will sell it.

That will teach you to leave us on our own for that long!

When you become a dealer, do you automatically get the secret decoder ring that enables you to translate the codes on the back of coin holders?

haha! Yeah sort of...each dealer has a specefic code...it's pretty easy. The one the former owner here used was this the letters represented what he paid for the coins his was this the letter "C" was zero and it went up from there...they are pretty simple

How much time per day you spent on your shop?

Some days I work from 9-5 (or later) at the shop and work till midnight or so at home....I am married to my shop

Speaking about marrying to your shop, what happens if you ever get married to a woman? Of course, you will take some time off for the marriage etc, but that's miminum. Are you expecting some future "disruptions" with the business if you ever get married?

What do you do if a killer coin comes in the door? Do you keep it for your own collection, or do you offer it to your customers?

Autitually my girlfriend really likes the shop and she would prob work with me.....

It really depends on how bad I need money and how much it is. Most times i really can't afford to keep the monsters.....but sometimes I do

Thanks for your reply.

At one time, I thought I might want to become a dealer. But I think I would have to deal in things I don't collect because otherwise I couldn't part with the nice stuff. That would probably put me out of business before long.

So I'd have to collect what interests me but not deal in it. For example, maybe collect ancients, but deal only in modern coins.

Most of the time it is not easy....I love coins. To me they are the most intresting things out there especally the super rare ones..I do have a small collection of some major pieces...but if need be I will sell those too...it's the old kid in a candy shop idea.

I am glad that I get to do what I like every day but there is a lot of things that go into it. I have to make enough money to keep the shop open, bills paid, and maybe get some for me let alone having the capital available when "the big one" walks through the door...there are a lot of things that go into making the wheels of our hobby turn.

That is one thing that came up in a recent thread about whether anyone wanted to be a dealer...how difficult it would be to mesh it with your collecting habbits. I don't think I could do it.

I have a Peter McAusland token a private token from Newfoundland Canada. Wondering if you know of any collectors of rare private tokens.

I don't know any personally but I will ask around...I see my wholesaler tommorow I will ask if he knows anyone

Very interesting tread,As someone mentioned about the ole mom& pop type stores, i was sick and tired of going into some coin shops and getting DOWN graded 2 grades, and them saying CLEANED coins and GREYSHEET the crap out of ya!!!but the funny thing is that I had bought the coin from them a year and a half prior!!! at 2 grades higher with original finnish in the original 2x2!!,when I mentioned that to him he just said, Sorry, I could give you $5.00 more.I didnt sell it,I was curious and made a point to myself, Alot of dealers are crooks!!plain & simple, Ive been lookin for a out-right straight up dealer that will say all the facts,even if he says hes going to make some money on the coin, thats fine! Just be straight and dont clean peoples clock to bad and things will be fine (REPUTATION!)

What is your best estimate of the number of coins you have for sale at any given time?

Bills?

Mike I agree with and have experienced a lot of that.

Several thousand

What % of coins in your store are gold?
What would you say is your consistent selling coin?
What % of coins in your own collection are gold?
BTW...Cool thread, Thanks for your input.

#1 It changes but I try to keep it around %10 but sometimes i have none and sometimes i have a bunch....

#2 Any silver coins.....I keep all my common %90 coins and silver dollars in bags and my regulars go through them and find dates they they need...and they get to pay whay my wholesalers do...6 one way half-a-dozen the other

#3 In my personal collection I have NO gold....I like it but I only really like the expensive stuff...and most of the time i am poor...

Do you sell coin and banknote supplies???

For example 2x2's, saf-flips, banknote storage pages

Matt, I just aquired 3 old brothal tokens that prostitutes use to hand out, these are really cool!! they are about the size of a silver dollar,copper,on the thin side thickness, heres what a few say, (I cant take photos yet)
Obverse:"All night $3.00 check" (2 hearts)
reverse: Adobe concert hall, one first class lady Goldfeild Nevada satisfaction guarateed
2) obverse:"Good for all night" (2 hearts)
reverse:"The Hog Ranch" Good for a $2.00 piece Fort laramie Wyoming
3)obverse:"Good for all night (2 hearts)
reverse:"The China Doll" 10cents>Lookie 25cents> Feelie 50cents Dooie (Chineese letters next to each) Dodge City


Would you or anyone know the value to these?? I know these are very rare!!.

Very cool 2coins! I don't know much about these tokens, but my family has land in Goldfield, it's quite a historic goldrush town that peaked around the turn of the 20th century. They are continually trying to resurrect and reopen the old Goldfield Hotel, which was a marvel for its time and location. Goldfield was a real wild west town, and even Virgil and Wyatt Earp stayed there a while, with Virgil becoming a deputy sheriff. He died in the town in 1906. The town is still around and one of the most visited ghost towns in Nevada. You can learn some of the history here:Link. Given all the gold that's been lost there over the years it would likely be a great place for metal detecting!

Thanks for that info. Iam going to get another metal detector (some day), and that would be a NO.1 spot to go!!

Here's a good one I thought of today.

When doing shows, how are you able to keep people from stealing coins? A decent thief could of made off with a nice load of coins today at a show. The dealers really weren't watching too closely. Having 4 tables and one person watching them, something is bound to be stolen.

Do people bring Sacky dollars into the shop to exchange because they think thay are Gold?

This is the most facsinating topic, I appreciate your time to post responses to people's questions. Unfortunately, I don't have any, but really appreciate you answering the other ones.

Customer service is #1 in any business, in my opinion, and I shop where I'm treated properly. There's a coin shop in my town that I rarely venture into because when I started collection (as a poor youth), I didn't have much money to buy and was largely ignored. Another shop which always took the time to chat with me is one that I visit regularly still to this day.

I'd love to consider opening my own shop one day, but as a collector, I have to agree with other people that I'd have a hard time parting with certain things. I guess I'm not ready yet to do it. Maybe when I'm older. Right now I need my job to pay for my coin hobby!!

LostDutchman - Thanks!

Doc: All the time

Jon: your welcome....there is a lot that goes into opening a shop....and you have to be able to let things go...I have owned some things here that I would have never owned as a collector....that's the perk of the job...the awesome coins you get to see....I can't wait for the fun show!!

Burks:

I keep all my coins in cases where some dealers set out bins and books. I don't know if that is a very smart move. I also try to make sure I know the other dealers around me. If I have to leave the table and I can't find a trusted friend to watch it for me...I lock the cases and get back as quickly as I can

bump. I've got some questions to ask when I have time later.

okie dokie

Here's a question that's been burning a hole in my mind. How do coin dealers always grab the best deals from coin shows, online, other dealer, clients, e.t.c.? You must have a way, otherwise you'd starve to death on the already low profit margins.

Do you still collect? Has there ever been a time you just had to have a coin/note for your collection instead of selling it?

How fast do really rare (like unique) coins sell?

How do we get the best coins first?? Its easy... we get there first... at major shows the setup day is an entire day where dealers and only dealers have access to the bourse floor...id guess that %80 of the major deals happen in this time

Id love to... I honestly would... but a personal collection... no reason... id simply want to keep all of the really nice stuff I come across ... I like to think of my inventory as my personal collection... If I really like something or am attached to it... it just gets priced higher..

maybe one day.. but right now, no

It all depends on who is looking for it... %90 of the truly rare stuff is in tight hands... These are advanced collections with deep pockets... for example until recently almost all of the mint state 1893 S Morgan silver dollars were owned by 1 person.

The rare stuff sells fast usually because it is rare... and people are looking for it... when it comes up for sale it sells fast... the hard part is getting it up for sale...

What % of your inventory is World, Ancient, currency, those lovely little painted coins with the world trade center, or else?

lately my world inventory has been increasing. I would say at the moment its around %20.... ancients I dont do much with and usually lump them in the world group...

Most of my inventory is US coins and currency... and i don't do any coins after 1964 unless they are in mint packaging...