Put your thinking caps on!

[charlotte49er]

I need some ideas for cheap advertising of my new venture. Buying us Silver coins and copper pennies. I work out of my apartment. I tried to post an ad on craigs List, but they took it down. Siad I violated the Terms of Agreement. I listed prices, I guess.

So far I have:

Business cards that I pass out to anyone and everyone!

Buperstickers on my Van

Dedicated website

Flyers to annoy customers at Harris Teeter in the windshield. LOL

I have coming:

Vinyl sign.

Yard/window sign.

Better bumperstickers

Thinking about:

Custom graphics for the van.

No more Carolina Nickel, so that's out the question.

Suggestions?

[Purity-Control]

Take out some classified adds in local newspapers .

Mailers or Flyers to peoples houses.

Bulleting boards at local colleges/highschools/churches.

[charlotte49er]

Take out some classified adds in local newspapers .

Mailers or Flyers to peoples houses.

Bulleting boards at local colleges/highschools/churches.

I just placed an add in the Charlotte Observer & Gaston Gazette! We will see what kind of response I get.

I tried the Rock Hill Herald, but they wanted $257 for a 14 day ad! I did 7 days on the Observer & Gazette for $84.

[DirtyMagic97]

You could probably create a Facebook page. It's free and not a bad way to reach people. Though it is mostly going to be a younger crowd on there.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

I would definitely get involved with Facebook, and perhaps even Twitter. Social media can make a world of difference.

Also, what if -- instead of business cards -- you had some cheap coins made up with your business info on it? They'd be much pricier than business coins, I'm sure, but they'd be much more memorable as well. You can reserve those for the more serious sellers, I guess.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

I'd also say that I think you might be going just a bit overboard with the advertising (or at least the paid advertising).

You've got to go where the people are. Are these serious "collectors" you're dealing with, or are they people who may have some of these coins and not even know it? If it's the former, you should reach out to any clubs in the area or do a little research and find some online forums.

The key with any sort of social media is to become an authority on your subject and actively engage people. You can't just throw up a Facebook page and expect it to generate business -- you've got to really interact with your fans and other likeminded people.

But it is very worthwhile if you do it correctly.

[Khyber53]

Buy an ad in those Job Hunt free papers... the rates are generally inexpensive, the readers are scanning every bit of it and the readers would have both a desire to sell and the time to look for the coins.

Also, see if there is a free weekly geared towards senior citizens -- they could be one of your best target markets. Heck, put flyers up on bulletin boards at senior centers.

[dimbee]

Pie

[charlotte49er]

I would definitely get involved with Facebook, and perhaps even Twitter. Social media can make a world of difference.

Also, what if -- instead of business cards -- you had some cheap coins made up with your business info on it? They'd be much pricier than business coins, I'm sure, but they'd be much more memorable as well. You can reserve those for the more serious sellers, I guess.

To expound on your idea, What it (I used to be an engineer and we would "What if" a project into the ground.) my business card was round and looked like a silver dollar? Be kind of unique?

Vista print couldn't do it, but a print shop probably could.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

To expound on your idea, What it (I used to be an engineer and we would "What if" a project into the ground.) my business card was round and looked like a silver dollar? Be kind of unique?

Vista print couldn't do it, but a print shop probably could.

Exactly.

I was thinking the legitimate looking coins would be cool, so that you could leave them around to catch people's interest -- sort of like those fake dollars with bible verses on them.

But I'm sure a regular business card (or bumper stickers) would be cool done in that way as well.

[charlotte49er]

I'd also say that I think you might be going just a bit overboard with the advertising (or at least the paid advertising).

You've got to go where the people are. Are these serious "collectors" you're dealing with, or are they people who may have some of these coins and not even know it? If it's the former, you should reach out to any clubs in the area or do a little research and find some on-line forums.

The key with any sort of social media is to become an authority on your subject and actively engage people. You can't just throw up a Facebook page and expect it to generate business -- you've got to really interact with your fans and other like minded people.

But it is very worthwhile if you do it correctly.

The market I'm targeting is what they call the "Junk" coin market. Collector coins are a whole nother realm. (Personally, I don't see the real value in paying a $100 for a coin that is really worth $20! Of course, it's like anything, what are people willing to pay.)

The 'junk' coin market pretty much covers what people have in their sock drawer, piggy bank, seat cushions, etc. Every time I go to my bank, I ask if they have any silver 1/2 dollars. Every time I go to Teeter I always ask the Customer Service person and my cashier the same thing. They 'supposed' to sell them to you for 1/2 dollar. There are still silver 1/2 dollars floating around out there. Dimes & quarters are very hard to come by in every day change. (I can't tell you the last time I saw a silver dime or quarter in my change.

Jewelery makers love smelted old coins. They are 90%+ silver and can be re-melted and worked into all shapes and sizes. You tell the average person, you are willing to give them $.75 -$1.00 for an old worn quarter, they will jump at it. Or better yet, you offer to give a person $3.00-$4.00 for a worn Silver Dollar? They are going to look at you like you have 2 heads! LOL

Copper Pennies, are starting to get that way. Next time you get pennies, take a look and see how many pre-1983 's you get. I bet it's not 1 in 10. It's illegal to melt US copper pennies, but people love them! It's often called the "Poor Man's collector coin." Some of the highest (based on the fact that they are a penny) collector coins are pennies. I will buy and sell pre-1983 pennies all day long!

I like the idea about a Facebook page. I originally shied away from doing this. I figured that since Facebook tends to be a younger crowd, that why would they have old coins. But my partner reasoned with me that there are young people out there inheriting coin collections from their Grandparents and just don't get around to taking them into a coin shop. Speaking of coin shops. Have you noticed that they are getting few and far between? They used to be like Sports card shops, but now since people show on ebay, they have started to go away. You could take coins to a pawn shop, but I bet, I'm willing to pay more than they offer at a pawn shop.

[mmmbeans]

you know it's illegal to melt coins down right?

Also, you aren't going to pull much silver out of circulation these days it was mostly melted down after nixon f*cked the whole thing.

/nm

[charlotte49er]

you know it's illegal to melt coins down right?

Also, you aren't going to pull much silver out of circulation these days it was mostly melted down after Nixon f*cked the whole thing.

/nm

Section 331 of Title 18 of the United States code provides criminal penalties for anyone who fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the Mints of the United States. This statute means that you may be violating the law if you change the appearance of the coin and fraudulently represent it to be other than the altered coin that it is. As a matter of policy, the Mint does not promote coloring, plating or altering U.S. coinage: however, there are no sanctions against such activity absent fraudulent intent.

It is illegal to alter a coin to say it's something it's not. IE: an "error" coin. If you REALLY wanted to stretch it, all those "colored" silver dollars, those NFL coins they they paint offer the face are illegal. Will the US Treasury go after any of them, not worth their time and effort. Even jewelery makers who cut out the George's face on quarters aren't worth their time.

The Treasury worries about all the counterfeiters out there. Why do you think they change the paper money ever 5 years now. They know that foreign governments have gotten into the act of producing US currency. (IE: Iraq and China (It's rumored.)) I read an article by the head of the US Mint, I believe. He said some of the foreign US currency looked better than what they produced. LOL

Silver smelters have been smelting silver coins for decades now. Most people aren't going to take their time to search through their coins. (Especially pennies!) Because silver coins stand out over today's alloy coins, it's easier to sort them out. (Besides they wear a lot faster than today's alloys.)

Now when the US Mint switches to a steel based coin (which will happen in the near future) There MAYBE a shortage of coins. But the Mint cranked out so many of the State quarters that I would really surprised that if there were. (Nickels aren't even worth collecting as they only made 3 years of nickels with any silver.)

I know there are pennies out there. The lady who runs the Laundromat where I go, saw the sticker on my van. She said she will bring me a huge box of pennies to go thru. (And if anyone gets silver quarters, it would be her!)

[charlotte49er]

First day that my add ran in the Charlotte Observer. So far nothing. I didn't think I would be flooded with e-mails right away though.

Gason Gazette cancelled my ad, stating that they didn't allow that kink of add. You can advertise that you perform services for money, but not buy money for money. Craig's list was the same way. I may go back and reword Craigs list.