Having a Great Attitude Pays Off in the Coin Market

Some of the best things about coins are the stories behind them, and the stories about the individuals who owned or sold the coins.

Recently I was told a true-life story I thought was wonderful. It's about a long-time coin dealer who goes out of his way to make his customer happy.

Years ago, there was a collector at a local Long Beach coin show who was going around and purchasing coins from several dealers at that show. In reality, he was a wealthy collector who was actually testing the dealers to see who he would like to do business with.

The day after the collector purchased all of his coins, he returned to the Long Beach show. While he was at the show, he went back to most of the dealers he bought coins from the previous day. As he approached each dealer, he would tell the dealer that he changed his mind and he wanted to return the coins for a refund.

Most of the dealers at the show objected and did not want to give the collector a refund, as they considered the deal final. Finally, the collector took some of the coins back to a dealer by the name of Bill Spears. The collector told Bill he wanted to return the coins to him and get a refund for them. Well, even though Bill wanted to make the sale, he also wanted the customer to be completely satisfied and happy with his purchase. So, Bill agreed to take the coins back for a refund.

Surprisingly, the collector changed his mind once again and this time, told Bill that he did not want to return the coins after all. Instead, the collector told Bill that he would like him to be his coin dealer from that point on. "Because you have treated me fairly, I want you to be my coin dealer," the collector told Bill. In addition to buying coins from him at that show, he purchased many more coins from Bill that were worth much more. In the end, Bill ended up selling over a million dollars worth of coins to this collector over a long period of time.

The moral of the story is, when buying or selling coins, it is always best to keep a good attitude in every transaction you make, regardless if you are a dealer or collector. Even though collectors may not buy millions of dollars worth of coins, and dealers may not find million-dollar collectors, the odds are they have a better chance of enjoying the wonderful hobby of numismatics much more.

Therefore, we can all learn from Bill Spears. Not just because he landed a million-dollar collector, but because he kept a good attitude the entire time. In the end, because of Bill's attitude, both he and the collector got to enjoy the hobby much more.