Coin Dealers

Pocket change may be the easiest way to start a coin collection, but where do you go when you are ready to move on to more specific collections or when you are in search of a rare particular coin? After searching through your change boxes and hitting up friends and neighbors for spare coins, at some point you’ll want to add to your collection by buying coins. But as the saying goes, let the buyer beware. There are literally thousands of places to purchase collectible coins, and knowing how to find a reputable dealer is of the utmost importance. Here are some good places to start.

The good news is there are plenty of options for the more advanced coin collector. Some examples on how to find certain coins are:

* Search for online coin dealers.
* Search Ebay for special or rare coins.
* Visit coin shops/ your local mom and pop coin dealers.
* Visit national dealers that have shops and online services.
* Seek out individual dealers through personal Web sites, newspaper ads and posts on coin massage boards
* Join a club for coin collectors.
* Use good old-fashioned word of mouth – tell friends and family which coins you are looking for and ask other coin collectors where they shop for coins.

Dealers acquire coins from many sources, such as collectors, other dealers, estates, auctions and coin shows. Developing a relationship with a dealer is one way to stay on top of their latest additions and they may be able to keep an eye out for the coins you need.

The key is to shop around to find the best price for the coin you are in search of. If a dealer is too pushy, it’s probably a good idea to keep looking. Be cautious of over-grading, overpricing and under-grading as well.

Knowing how to negotiate wisely is important when you are making a deal. Prices are subjective and are not set in stone. It helps if you are knowledgeable about the coin, its history and its current value. Knowing the market will help you get a fair deal, whether you are buying or selling a coin.

Negotiating with a dealer depends on a lot of things, not juts the market value of the coin. For the best price, learn how to use a poker face to hide your feelings, start low when making an offer to buy, start high when selling, talk about pricing instead of the grade of the coins and practice making counteroffers well below the dealer’s first offer. Learning how to effectively bargain with help you build your coin collection without breaking your bank.

The Professional Numismatic Guild is a non-profit organization whose goal is to protect coin collectors from fraud and misrepresentation. Their member dealers must have a verified amount of over $100,000 in numismatic assets before they can join, and all members are full-time coin dealers with an average of more than 25 years of experience in the field. A great advantage to finding a dealer through the PNG is their arbitration process; an unbiased third-party arbitrator will handle any disputes arising from a purchase from one of their members. View their complete member list settle any at the Guild website at www.pngdealers.com.

The American Numismatic Association and the American Numismatic Society also have lists of recommended dealers available on their websites. Membership in these societies assures the buyer that the dealer will be held to certain standards of integrity and conduct, and the buyer will generally be safer than when working with a private dealer.

When considering a purchase, understanding the grading of coins is critical to the collector. The National Numismatic Grading System offers books, videos and accepts submissions of coins to be professionally graded. The Numismatic Guarantee Corporation also offers coin-grading services, based on the standard scale of 70 points. If you are thinking of buying a particular coin, this can be a good place to look to determine a fair market price before you put down your money.