Why I Am A Coin Dealer

By Patrick A. Heller August 30, 2011

Someone recently asked me why I was a coin dealer. After giving a quick answer, I later thought about it in more depth. It turns out that there is a more to my choosing to be a coin dealer than simply trying to earn a decent living at something I find interesting.

I have always been an idealist, thinking that I could help improve the world one person at a time. This attitude largely came to me by observing both of my parents doing exactly this. They went above and beyond their job descriptions to improve people’s lives one small step at a time, with the result that many people benefitted far outside their circle of co-workers, friends, and families.

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Most people dream of improving their financial well-being and security. As a coin dealer, I provide value to people to help make their dream a reality. But it’s not only offering competitive buy and sell prices, the real value of a dealer comes from these activities:

• Doing constant research to understand what is really happening in financial circles, then trying to explain it in understandable terms. This research involves identifying those who know what they are talking about, those who doesn’t have a clue but pretend that they do, and those who just don’t understand. Part of this process is developing reliable contacts who will give you the straight scoop (for which you return the favors over time).
• Writing consumer protection articles, giving speeches, and becoming a customer advocate, even in circumstances where it does not generate any business for you, such as providing volunteer professional expert service for the state attorney general’s fraud investigators.
• Giving customers, readers, and listeners the straight scoop, and doing so in such a way that they understand and can better decide what is in their best interest.
• Becoming a trusted adviser for the customers’ best interest, where you are comfortable not getting a particular deal when they found an opportunity elsewhere.
• Publicly decrying some “less than honest” business practices committed by some in the industry.
• Working (and paying the bulk of the financial cost out of pocket) to achieve a statewide sales and use tax exemption on the retail sales of rare coins and precious metals.
• Aggressively cooperating with police departments and county sheriffs to prosecute the occasional crook that dares to sell stolen merchandise to you.
• Employing a deeply knowledgeable and experienced professional staff that can handle almost any question a customer may have.
• Realizing that customers don’t have any “stupid” questions. Instead, perceive that they are doing an intelligent thing by seeking information on something where they have inadequate knowledge
• Providing a friendly and safe environment to visit.
• Avoiding cold calls to customers to badger them to buy “the next great thing.”
• Offering free education to the visitors at your “museum.” There is so much fascinating history involving coins, paper money, and exonumia.
• Sharing the fascination of numismatics with schools, fraternal organizations, senior citizens groups, and the like, making sure to pass around actual treasures that listeners can touch.
• Assisting fellow dealers and collectors for the mutual benefit on the hobby and industry. Supporting organizations and trade associations both financially and with a commitment of time.
• Helping student employees develop an entrepreneurial spirit. This has been one of the greatest satisfactions in my 30 years as a coin dealer.

Maybe you thought that all you had to do to be a coin dealer was figure out how to acquire merchandise at prices below what you could sell it. While that is certainly necessary, I think you will find that the coin dealers who engage in providing some of these extra values will derive greater enjoyment in their career. And, guess what, if you treat your customers like they are the most important people in the world, you will also likely get a greater financial return.

Patrick A. Heller owns Liberty Coin Service and Premier Coins & Collectibles in Lansing, Michigan and writes Liberty’s Outlook, a monthly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at http://www.libertycoinservice.com. Other commentaries are available at CoinUpdate (http://www.coinupdate.com). He also writes a bi-monthly column on collectibles for The Greater Lansing Business Monthly (http://www.lansingbusinessmonthly.com/articles/department-columns). His radio show “Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So, And Important News You Need To Know” can be heard at 8:45 AM Wednesday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio and text archives posted at http://www.1320wils.com).