How to Find a Coin Dealer

If you want to own a Morgan dollar such as this, you'll probably have to buy it from a dealer.

Unless they're a dab hand at finding treasure at yard sales, the chances are that most numismatists will build their collections by buying from professional coin dealers. Fortunately, the modern collector can now make contact with these dealers in a variety of ways, giving him plenty of opportunity to shop around. Here are some simple steps to finding a dealer at a local coin store, at a coin show or online.

Instructions

1. Check the Yellow Pages under the heading "Coin Dealers and Supplies" for a list of your local coin stores. Alternatively, go to the American Numismatic Association's (A.N.A.) website for a directory of affiliated dealers. While stressing that the dealers it lists are unaffiliated with the government, the U.S. Mint also offers a limited database.

2. Go to a coin show. Held all over the country and often lasting several days, these meets are an opportunity to meet coin dealers face to face and, after browsing the cream of their collections, to buy at a discount. The website 2-Clicks Coins has a regularly updated list of coin shows.

3. Browse online auction sites, where many of the lots are in fact offered by dealers. Usually there will be a link to the dealer's online shop, or you can send him a message if you'd like to quiz him on something.

4. Type "coin dealer" into your search engine for a list of nationwide dealers. Narrow it down by specifying a region or a type of coin (mint, bullion, commemorative, proof and so on.)

Tips & Warnings

• Look at how a dealer presents his stock. If his coins are sealed in capsules and housed in airtight display boxes, then he's probably a serious numismatist. If they're knocking around in cheap flip-folders, he's an amateur.

• Go to long-established, A.N.A.-affiliated dealers if you want to buy with confidence and don't mind paying the going rate. If you're after a bargain or a hidden treasure, then by all means nose around in low-end coin stores and on the Internet, but be prepared to rely on your own judgment.

References

• American Numismatic Association: ANA Dealer Directory
• The United States Mint: Coins and Medals
• 2-Clicks Coins: US Coin Shows