It may strike you as unusual when I suggest that a buyer of coins such as you should make an effort to establish a relationship with a dealer, for many buyers take this attitude: I have the money, and the dealer can come to me and persuade me to buy something. Why should I go out of my way to be nice to a dealer? I have what he wants (money).

This may be true, and whether a dealer likes you or not, or whether you like the dealer or not, you can still make purchases. However, if a warm relationship of mutual trust and friendship is established, you will enjoy your transactions more, and chances are excellent that you will be given first pick of the dealer's new purchases or the better coins from his inventory. In my opinion, a close relationship with one or more trusted dealers is an absolute must.

Want Lists

As your interest in coins grows, you will find that certain coins needed to complete your collection or set will be difficult to locate. Try as you might, you may not be able to find an 1873-CC Liberty Seated dollar, 1895-O Morgan dollar, 1856 Flying Eagle cent, 1877 twenty-cent piece, or other coins in the condition and price range you want. An effective way to facilitate purchases of scarce and rare pieces is to make up a want list of the items you are seeking and send it to one or more dealers.

I suggest that you accompany your want list with a personal letter, or introduce it by making a telephone call to the dealer. A Xerox or fax copy of a want list that looks as if it has been sent indiscriminately to a hundred dealers is less apt to produce results than a want list which looks personal and which is accompanied by a message directed specifically to the dealer recipient. A good compromise is to reproduce your want list on a copying machine and accompany it with a personal cover letter.

Many leading dealers make a specialty of servicing want lists. Gail Watson, who manages the Want List Department here at Bowers and Merena Galleries, maintains a large and ever-changing file of clients' needs. Recently she has placed with our clients such rarities as Liberty Seated dollars of 1858 and 1873-CC, an 1808 quarter eagle, and a beautiful 1796 quarter, among many other scarce and rare issues.