Coin Show Etiquette – Dealer Tables

Coin shows are interesting places. You can think of them as a cross between a museum and a storefront for valuable collectibles and investments. But, don’t think of them as similar to a technology trade show.

At a technology trade show, the booths are open and people walk freely among the tables and displays. Access to the coin dealers and their displays is not the same as at a trade show.

Yes, the tables are set up in a booth arrangement with each dealer having a front table that is his/her “storefront” and a backup table that is their office and storage room.

Think about it. In a regular store or a museum, unless you are invited, the office and storage areas are off limits. That is definitely true at a coin show. Guests should not move behind a dealer’s store (front table) into the office/storage area (behind the front table) unless you are expressly invited.

Attendees should also be careful about stepping into the walkways between dealers’ tables. If the show has a lot of traffic, this space may be used very temporarily to allow people to pass in the public aisle, but please move back into the general walkway as soon as possible.

Veteran coin show goers know these rules almost instinctively. Then again, one might inadvertently forget if the dealer is someone they work with regularly. Whether you are a veteran or a new person visiting a coin show, if a dealer asks you to move out of their space, please smile and do as they ask.

Just remember, coin shows have public spaces for access to the dealers’ storefronts. The areas between and behind dealer tables are private for dealers only to use.