I have the collecting bug and am an avid collector in this wonderful world of numismatics. I am fortunate to have built some wonderful relationships with several dealers in Central Florida and other avid numismatists, but one dealer this past January completely caught me off guard.Dealers, I get you have your clientele that you have known for ages and may or may not be helping to build collections for, or looking for that one piece you know would be great for your client. And I am not talking about a Dealer at their shop, that is your home turf. Nope I mean Dealers at conventions. It can’t be easy with your time, money, store back home, family, your lodging, your health, etc. The FUN Show this past 2019 in January was legendary for me. I was able to meet and talk with Mr. Q. David Bowers not once, but twice... upcoming blog, please stand by. I was able to see the Proof Morgans and hold an 1893CC (my favorite year) and I was able to meet Mr. Fred Weinberg who is a wealth of knowledge and was very kind and gracious. But this dealer I am about to reveal is a True Rarity. I had 2 Fractional Gold Coins from my Grandfather and every shop in town warned me about counterfeits in this series. But my Grandfather is considered one of the pioneers of Geochemistry, Dr. Brown of Nebraska U, and he prided himself on gold. So I made it a point to see Kagin’s but I didn’t know if Mr. David McCarthy would be there. (I went to Tampa the year before and arrived on Friday about 1 hour to close and the borse floor was 2/3 empty. Going back on Saturday was identical at 11am and I was highly taken back that dealers would leave so fast. )So I made it a plan to be there on Thursday and see if I could meet Mr. McCarthy and then talk to him about my pieces. I left my coins at home because of Tampa and did not want to get my hopes up. Not only was he there but I got a chance to meet him and thank him for his videos and work with Coinweek because I have learned a ton from them. First, I like Gold Slugs and he was gracious enough to show me the top Graded slug of all time for any of the series and noticed one key point... It was CAC stickered (Legend Numismatics Hot Topics have been ingrained into my being).  Second, when I asked if he would be back on Friday he thought about it. He didn’t ask me to rush home in Orlando get my coins and come back - I would have, he didn’t belittle me or mock me for not bringing them, he thought and thought and said, “If you will be here tomorrow I will look at your coins for you”. The leader in Gold will now determine what I have and honestly the score is not if they were real... he treated me as if I was his family/friend. I came back the next day and was able to speak with him and I presented him my coins. They were each in air tights without the foam piece because a flip is not supportive enough for protection against bending or damage and the foam insert I did not want to damage my coins. Instantly he looked at both and said they were real, an arms length down to the glass counter and looking through the air tight. What? No magnification? He did use it, yes, only to ensure the date and denomination. I don’t have the breen book yet but he was able to find his and he was able to tell me the Breen Number for each coin. He advised the shiny one to get graded and the other he advised not because it looked detailed in some way. I went ahead and submitted both only because even if the second one is detailed at least it is safely encapsulated and I look at it without it moving all around the air tight. They both came back graded: 1) 1859 50C PCGS MS65 BG-902, 2)1863 25C PCGS MS61 BG-734.  Mr. McCarthy has a customer for life. I have experiences where dealers leave you be and don’t chit chat or inquire and I have experiences where dealers blow me off. That is fine because I believe not all dealers are like that.  I didn’t know what to expect from Mr. McCarthy but just getting a chance to say hi and his generosity of time and resources both days completely won me over.  I promised him afterwards one day I plan on buying a Gold Slug from him when I can and I intend to keep my promise. Thank You again Mr. McCarthy for being a True Rarity yourself. P.s. The coin gods of PCGS have looked favorably upon my BG-734 because it is displayed in Coinfacts as an example. 

This would probably work better as a blog

But cool story

Better as a blog and a cool story.

Fascinating, please let us know what results you get when they come back from grading.

Congratulations on your first blog. We usually ask questions here or a stament. Sounds like you had a good time. That's all that counts. Every dealer or seller I know for years. I ask questions first and weigh there coins second . The ones on eBay we talk. None of my sellers have one complaint. I have been collecting 27 years. I have a friend in England he's a dealer and seller and dolls tor. He bids for me. That's knowing your dealers or sellers. I look forward to your second blog. Stick to the active people. Look at the dates of there last blog and stay away from those who only follow people. You will be fine. Welcome mike