Why You Should Seek & Accept the Recommendations of Your Coin Dealer
We spend quite a bit of time everyday fielding phone calls and responding to emails and contact requests from a variety of individuals with a broad range of coins and currency. It’s always satisfying to be able to answer questions and help folks out. While most prospective customers are grateful for the information provided, on occasion, we run into individuals that question our advice or take issue with our comments and choose to be argumentative.
We recently met with one of our dear friends who reminded us that our job should be fun. After all, we exited the rat race of Corporate America years ago and are blessed to be in the position that we’re in, but it’s clearly not fun when someone is combative and questions your knowledge and expertise when you provide an answer that they don’t want to hear.
What many people don’t understand is that most coin dealers are not just proficient at their jobs, but that they’re experts. It’s been said that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. Considering that the average coin dealer spends 2,000 – 2,500 hours in their profession annually, and most have been in the industry for more than a few years, it’s safe to say that most coin dealers are experts. Granted, not all coin dealers are experts in every facet of coins and currency, but they typically are in areas that they specialize in.
While a coin dealer may not have a PhD in numismatics, they are highly trained in a specialized field and have most likely have experience with the coin that you’re inquiring about. For example, over the past 14 years, we’ve probably received over a thousand phone calls about 1943 pennies. Newsflash – they’re not worth $100,000 – more like 10 cents. In this case, and in many other instances, we’re able and qualified to provide a prompt and accurate response to most verbal or written inquiries.
We thought that it might be helpful to provide a bit of perspective to our readers by touching on some other professions that you may rely on for that individual’s expertise. In most of these cases, these experts charge hundreds of dollars an hour for their time, while most coin dealers freely give of their time and expertise without expecting anything in return.
When you go to see a doctor, it’s likely that their diagnosis is more accurate than your self-diagnosis. When you see an attorney for a legal matter, they are probably more qualified to provide counsel on a matter than what you learned from watching Judge Judy.
Additionally, a wealth manager or financial advisor is probably more qualified to help you with a stock portfolio than watching Jim Cramer on CNBC. Although, admittedly, they probably don’t have Jim Cramer’s lungs!
Generally speaking, you’re not going to argue with the advice of any of these experts, so we suggest that you view a coin dealer in the same light. This is especially important when you call with a coin that a coin dealer determines to have little to no value. Keep in mind that your selected coin dealer likely has mastery level knowledge of the subject. Your 30 minutes “googling” the coin may not provide you with the same insight, value or knowledge as him or her.
Every day, coin dealers receive phone calls from individuals claiming that their coins are worth thousands of dollars. In some cases, that’s accurate. In other cases, not so much. It’s important to remember that a coin dealer is in business to make a profit, so if you truly have a coin of significant value, then they’re going to be interested. If you don’t, then they won’t be. While it’s perfectly acceptable to ask follow up questions, it’s frustrating to coin dealers when individuals attempt to argue with their findings or assessment. Most coin dealers are willing to admit when they don’t have the expertise to assist you, but when they provide a firm response, there’s a 99% chance that they know what they’re talking about.
In summary, most coin dealers are truly interested in helping you, so please keep this in mind when you reach out to them. Those individuals that are appreciative of the coin dealer’s time and respectful are much more likely to receive recommendations and/or insight that someone who takes the opposite approach isn’t likely to receive.
We hope that this short article will help the next time you reach out to your local coin dealer for his or her opinion on the value and marketability of your coin or coins and welcome you to contact us if we can be of service to you.
