Front Range Coin Show

The Front Range Coin Show was being held at the Boulder County Fairgrounds and my friend Dan Roussin as usual has a table.  We have talked about me getting behind the table for quite some time and I finally made the time to pop in.

DAY 1

I was actually quite surprised at how much inventory Dan carries.  He has a large variety of silver from private issues, world issues, United States bullion and commemoratives (some from the mint, some slabbed, some loose).  He has a fair selection of type coins.  Mostly graded, but raw coins as well.  Finally he has proof sets, uncirculated sets and other boxed sets.  While I was there, he was certainly doing a brisk business.

He invited me to put out some of my own coins.  As usual, I was woefully unprepared, but I still put out (18) coins.  They were a mix of United States coins including dollars, half dollars and a couple of other items.

I actually sold two items:

1803 1/2 Cent (Widely Spaced 3) ANACS VG8 - $100

1891-CC $1 ANACS VF25 - $125

It was a dealer buying for his inventory, so there was certainly some money left to be made on the coins.  Everybody seemed to be carrying around the Greysheet for wholesale prices.  I will have to borrow Dan's copy and organize my coins better.

The best displays seem to be nice slabbed coins in cases with raw coins back if people are interested.  Lots of people set up with 3-ring binders and cardboard boxes also.  It seems like my best bet is to do world coins at $1-$2 each and keep silver coins separate.  I still have a lot of inventory to catalogue and price.

DAY 2

I returned to help out again.  When I arrived all of his cases looked different.  It turns out that he sold three full cases worth of stuff to another dealer and then grabbed additional items out of his bins.

I got a better handle on how a dealers set-up:

• Cases - $400 each
• Table covers/body bags - $200 each
• Totes/Slab Boxes/2x2 Boxes
• Lights - $30 each
• Milwaukee Packout System - $300-$500
• Rolling Cart - $50
• Misc calculators/trays/supplies - 

All of this is obviously dependent on how much inventory one is bringing to a show.  One case of silver rounds, one case of type coins, one case of slabbed gold/silver.  

Dan has made quite a business covering the broad spectrum of bullion, US type coins (slabbed and raw), foreign silver, paper money and focusing on his specialty of Buffalo nickels.  He has invested a lot of time at summer seminar to improve his grading skills and takes cues from successful dealers.

Dan made me an unsolicited offer an a coin which I took.  He was also willing to look at a box of goodies and worked me up a price.  

I also decided to go ahead and purchase the 1809 10c that I had my eye on yesterday.  I am not surprised that it was still available.  That is a high price point for $3 worth of 200 year old silver.

Sold

1904 50c PCGS VF30 CAC $200

Box of Stuff

All in all it felt good to get rid of some stuff.  Dan also gave me a back issue of the Greysheet and the advice to get a subscription if I want to get more serious.