Assuming I could actually sell my duplicates, what would I do when these were gone? Would that be the end of my operation, or could I find a source or sources of wholesale coins?
With this latter thought in mind, I went to a small, local coin show in a nearby town. Entering the bourse, I saw that there were about 20 dealers with tables. I stopped at the first table, introduced myself, then told the dealer that I was starting a mail-order coin business and wondered if he might be able to sell me any coins at or near wholesale prices.
“No,” he said, “I can’t sell you any coins at wholesale and that goes for all the other dealers in here.” As you can imagine, this was quite a discouraging response. However, a nearby dealer had heard the interaction and signaled for me to come to his table. “I can sell you coins at wholesale prices,” he said, “and the same is true for most of the dealers here.”
After saying this, he handed me a box of coins in 2x2s. “Look through these, and if you see anything you want, just pull it out, and I’ll make you a good price.” I did find several coins I wanted for my business, the dealer made me good prices on them, and it won’t surprise you to learn that I sought out this dealer at future shows I attended in the area.
Over the decade that I had my business, I found that most show dealers had coins
