I was hoping to get some advice on where to obtain coins at a fair price.
I've outgrown bulk lots: they were fun in the beginning, but once you have these common coins, and the coins aren't usually in the best of shape, it seems a waste to go after the chance at a couple coins you don't yet have through bulk lots.
NO coin shops within 1.5 hours with mid-level foreign coins. Either NO foreign, bottom-of-the-barrel-bulk-lot-foreign, or the way-too-pricey-rotating-case. Before we moved, there was an AWESOME coin shop - I didn't realize how good I had it until I searched the shops around our new home.
Swap list no longer interests members that have coins that would interest me Seems laborious to purchase coins that MAY interest others for the chance to trade for coins that actually interest me.
Unsure about coin shows. I went to my first coin show, and there was 1 dealer that specialized in foreign coins (which I hear is not uncommon), but his and the other tables with their bargain bin (1/2 price) foreign, were pretty overpriced (even after the 1/2 price). I'm willing to give coin shows another go, but HATE negotiating/haggling over prices.
I'd love to keep up the hobby and expand the collection - but I'm not sure how best to do that. Any advice??? Is there hope in finding a coin show with a good selection of foreign coins that are already at a fair price (no haggling needed)? Are we stuck perusing ebay, hoping pics and actual coins match up? I'd love to hear how you get your coins.
I find that just when I'm ready to give up on ebay, I find a really good deal which keeps me coming back for more. I also find the same to be true of my local coin show, where there are many dealers who carry world coins. However, I must admit, I've given up on the big coin shows. The cost of travel, plus entrance fees, plus high prices due to high table fees makes them undesirable.
I usually get my coins from grocery shops here in UAE.
they accumulate foreign coins given to them by mistake by customers and then someone like me comes and buys them. Sometimes they collect old uae coins too and commemorative ones.
My biggest buy was a 12kg bag of coins. was worth every penny
You may try local Antique markets. Somewhat time consuming, but hey, it's an afternoon out doing something you like and you get to see some strange items and wonderful people. Many of these dealers don't have a clue what a coin is worth and quite frankly they don't care. I've gotten one or two excellent deals on my "goal list" and many good coins for swapping.
It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure, that just ain't so. Mark Twain
I got some good deals off Craigslist up until about 2014, but you could also try facebook yard sale groups and advertise that you buy coins. If you offer to pay 70% of value you will be fair to both party's. Its tough though and takes a lot of work plus like I said, I haven't found anything good in a long time.
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
Fleamarkets are a great source for cheap coins. Don't waste your time and money buying $5 pot metal "Fat Man Dorrahs", find the guys who turn up every week with trays of old coins or even better the guy who has a bag of old coins for sale.
Pawn shops are an overlooked alternative to coin shops. They tend to know and care only about a coins "melt value" so a collector with a good eye can find some great bargains. You might have to work on your "poker face", nothing jacks the price up quicker than a sharp gasp and a big smile.
Other than the above, your local coin club might be a good place to look. I'm a happy anti social recluse so it's not really my thing but they often run auctions. As most of the members will be collecting US coins you might be able to snap up the foreign stuff for a very nice price.
Facebook used to be OK but it seems that most of the coin groups are now run by over sensitive drama queens who spend most of their energy badmouthing other admins and it's now got to the point where if you're a member of group A, you get booted from group B.... too much drama for me. Craigslist is a good way to end up beaten to death in a roadside ditch. Turn up strapped and meet in the parking lot of your local police station.
Making a good relationship with local dealers is the real secret to success. Even if you don't like their coin stock, if you buy your flips and album pages from them and get to know them, they might just send someone selling a collection your way if it's "foreign stuff" they are not interested in. Some will buy collections, pick out the silver coins and pass the rest on for a fraction of it's value.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
Quote: "Peter M. Graham"You may try local Antique markets. Somewhat time consuming, but hey, it's an afternoon out doing something you like and you get to see some strange items and wonderful people. Many of these dealers don't have a clue what a coin is worth and quite frankly they don't care. I've gotten one or two excellent deals on my "goal list" and many good coins for swapping.
True ... only if you know your stuff. I've noticed like you that antique dealers usually have no clue what coins are worth, but this can go either way. I remember one who was selling an Edward VII large cent which had been holed with a nail in the center ... for $15 dollars! It was worth no more than its copper weight. The rest of her "selection" was likewise worthless, but at 5 to 20 times the fair market price. So, if you know little about coin rarity (which is not synonymous with age) and grading, you should be very careful. If you do know, yes, you can find great deals but that doesn't happen often. In my experience, it's usually trash.
Oh, one more for you. Listia is a mini ebay alternative. It uses a pretty complicated credits system instead of cash and people either love it or hate it. I've picked up some quite remarkable bargains, coins and otherwise. There's a link on my profile page which will give you enough initial credits after completing the tutorial to get your first coin.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
The best place I have been getting coins is from the shops that buy silver and gold. They usually have a can of foreign coins under the counter that they will sell between $5-$7 a pound. I also buy the silver foreign coins for silver spot price. The shop will usually sell them for that price as it is more than he can get at a smelter. Most of the silver coins will be valued at more that the silver price. These shops do not care what the silver coins are, or their value. They just care about the silver value.
The majority of my coins have come from the "bulk bins" at a local coin shop. The shop focuses mainly on gold and silver bullion, as well as US coins, so when people come in trying to liquidate an old coin collection from a deceased relative, most of the base metal coins get dumped into the bins (along with a few smaller silver coins that slipped through). When I see that the bins have a lot of new stuff, I like to take a couple of hours and fish out just about every pre-1950 coin in there. I end up paying about 20 cents a coin, and quite a few times I've found things with significantly higher catalog value. I made a very big purchase from them last month (about 8 pounds of pre-1950 coins) and came out with about six times what I paid for the entire lot just in the "keepers".
I keep meaning to check out one of the "we buy gold and silver" antique shops a couple of blocks from my house to see if they have any coins that they will sell at spot price. Sometimes my usual coin shop has a bucket of scrap silver coins that they let me pick through and sell at around or even under spot. Mostly modern commemorative proofs, etc., that I don't collect, but occasionally I find some nice circulated silver coins. Last summer I got a nice VF 1903 3 mark from Bavaria for $4, which is below spot! Glad to find a bargain, even more glad to save such a beautiful coin from the crucible!
I just found a coin shop that sold foreign silver at $17 per ounce, gross weight not ASW, regardless of condition and silver content. They had them in zip lock baggies sorted roughly by country. I bought up all the .925 sterling, the Swiss coins and several bags which had some high grade vintage coins in them. I passed on the Swedish .400 coins and that type of thing though.
Among the bags of mixed stuff were two of the KM 94 3rd Reich 5 Reichsmarks with the large swastika on the back, which is why I opted for that particular lot. When I got them home one was a relatively common 1937A but in much better grade than my humble VF specimen but the other turned out to be the key date 1939G, mintage 567,000, in a really nicely toned AU. It has a FMV of around $85 which is almost equal to what I paid for the entire lot ($100 for just over 6 ounces)
It's always a risk buying bagged coins but very often it gives some real treasures.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
I don't mean to hinder anyone else from replying, but wanted to send out a quick "Thank You!" to all those that have replied thus far. I really appreciate the advice, hearing the success stories, and ideas. Thanks for taking time to respond!
Seems laborious to purchase coins that MAY interest others for the chance to trade for coins that actually interest me. 
It was worth no more than its copper weight. The rest of her "selection" was likewise worthless, but at 5 to 20 times the fair market price. So, if you know little about coin rarity (which is not synonymous with age) and grading, you should be very careful. If you do know, yes, you can find great deals but that doesn't happen often. In my experience, it's usually trash. 
