Realcent.org

I went to my first coin show today. I saw an ad on Craigslist for a new coin show that they're starting to do every month at the local eagle's lodge so I figured I'd stop by and see what's up. Well, I'm glad I did.

There weren't a lot of people in there, just 7 or 8 dealers and not even as many customers. But I got to talking to some of the guys and just asking them about what got them into the business, etc. I was just having a good time but then this guy hands me a full whitman folder of pennies 1940-1972 and says "here, this is for coming to the show today." So then I figured I should at least give him some business to return the favor so I bought a couple generic rounds for $33 each, which wasn't a bad deal either. But then to top it all off, he points over to a dozen trays he had set up of wheat pennies by decade and says "why don't you just grab yourself 100 or so pennies." What a nice guy!

Then before I left I saw another booth with loose wheat pennies for 10 cents each, the guy didn't mind if I searched through them so I took a seat and started looking. This is where it gets exciting, I ended up buying 47 pennies for $5 and they included

(6)- 1909
(1)- 1915D
(1)-1911D
(1)- 1909 VDB!!!!
plus multiple others- 31, 32, 23, 21, and early P teens

Granted, a lot of these were quite worn or otherwise corroded but am I correct to assume that a VDB in any condition is worth at least a couple bucks? Also, would the 1909 pennies be worth at least 20-30 cents each, even heavily worn?

Excellent! It pays to even go to the small shows, and it always pays more to be friendly and have good conversation with the guys there.

Great score!!! I love these kinds of stories. Nice job!!! Did you tell the dealer about RC?

No I didn't mention it, I'm pretty sure there aren't a lot of RC'ers in Spokane, WA. So he probably wouldn't know of it.

Hmmm, I wonder how many RC'ers have been to or through Spokane? Maybe a future Poll....up to you creshka46..and for the record I have been there many times even have relatives that live there.

creshka46 wrote:Granted, a lot of these were quite worn or otherwise corroded but am I correct to assume that a VDB in any condition is worth at least a couple bucks? Also, would the 1909 pennies be worth at least 20-30 cents each, even heavily worn?

Nice little finds in the wheat cents. I keep a Dansco album that I add wheat cents to as I bump into them. (Old habbits die hard when it comes to filling in albums.)

A Good (G-4) 1909 VDB has a 'fair market value' of about $8. Personally, I think may be the top of the market. If you cut that in half to $4 you'd probably move it much faster. For 1909, FMV is $2 for G-4 so again, cut it half if you want to move it. Some collectors and dealers don't really want to bother with such small amounts so you can find them for a nickel or ten cents.

Again, neat little finds that won't set you back in the pocket book. You can do a lot worse things with $5 then pick up some wheat cents you enjoy.