Great day at the coin show!

[creshka46]

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?

[agmoose]

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.

[njoElec]

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

[creshka46]

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.

[fasteddy]

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.

[exbingoaddict]

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.