How I Leveraged My Coin Show Expertise to Build a $50,000 Online Course Business

Turn Your Expertise Into Income: How I Built a $50K Coin Course

What if the knowledge you’ve accumulated over years could pay your bills while you sleep? That’s exactly what happened when I transformed my coin show experience into a profitable online course. Let me show you how I turned PNNA Tukwila Coin Show insights into a $50,000 education business – and how you can do the same with your specialty.

The Coin Show Secret That Launched My Course Empire

After 12 years of navigating crowded convention halls and haggling with dealers, I had an “aha” moment during the 2019 Tukwila event. While helping a new collector avoid overpaying for a Morgan dollar, I realized: my hard-earned knowledge was someone else’s golden ticket. Those late-night conversations with @ThePennyLady? The tax loopholes I discovered after Washington changed its laws? All became priceless course material.

Spotting Profit Opportunities in Plain Sight

At the height of coin show season, I kept noticing the same frustrations:

• First-timers wandering like lost tourists through dealer tables
• Part-time sellers panicking about new IRS reporting rules
• Longtime collectors sitting on expertise they could monetize

The $9,500 Lesson: Always Validate First

Before recording a single video, I asked collectors one simple question (and it saved me from a costly mistake):


<!-- Course Validation Survey Snippet -->
<form action="/submit" method="POST">
<label for="pain">What's your biggest challenge with coin collecting?</label><br>
<textarea id="pain" name="pain" rows="4" cols="50"></textarea><br>
<label for="spend">How much would you pay to solve this?</label><br>
<select id="spend" name="spend">
<option value="0">Nothing</option>
<option value="50">$50</option>
<option value="100">$100</option>
</select>
</form>


The shocking truth? 68% said they’d pay $100+ for tax guidance – which became my best-selling module.

My Blueprint: Coin Show Wisdom to Course Curriculum

Creating course content isn’t about fancy production – it’s about packaging your real-world experience. Here’s exactly how I structured my coin knowledge:

From Convention Floor to Classroom

• Module 1: Work the Room Like a Pro (my exact Tukwila show strategy)
• Module 2: Tax Hacks That Saved Me $3,200 Last Year
• Module 3: Dealer Whisperer Techniques
• Module 4: Turn Your Passion Into Paychecks

My $47 Recording Setup That Looks Like $10,000

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of profit. I still use this simple OBS Studio config:


# Virtual Camera Setup for OBS
obs-virtualcam-plugin
v4l2loopback-dkms

# Basic OBS settings:
Output Mode: Advanced
Recording Quality: High Quality
Audio Sample Rate: 48kHz


Secret weapon? A $20 clip-on mic from Amazon – students never notice the difference.

Platform Showdown: Where to Sell Your Expertise

I tested both major players – here’s the real tea:

Why I Love Teachable

• Keep 100% of profits (Udemy takes up to 50%)
• Brand it like your personal coin shop
• Email students directly (gold for upsells)

When Udemy Shines

• Their traffic brings new students you’d never reach
• Handles all those international payments
• Great for repurposing older content

My winning strategy: Launch new courses on Teachable, then expand to Udemy six months later. It’s like having a permanent booth at the world’s biggest coin convention!

Marketing Magic: Converting Collectors Into Buyers

The same tactics that fill convention halls work online:

The Countdown Trick That Boosted Sales 37%

I add this simple timer to course landing pages:


<div id="countdown">
<p>Enrollment closes in:</p>
<span id="days">00</span> Days
<span id="hours">00</span> Hours
</div>

<script>
// Set launch date (year, month [0-11], day)
const launchDate = new Date(2025, 9, 15);

function updateTimer() {
const now = new Date().getTime();
const distance = launchDate - now;

document.getElementById("days").innerText =
Math.floor(distance / (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24));

document.getElementById("hours").innerText =
Math.floor((distance % (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24)) / (1000 * 60 * 60));
}

// Update every hour
setInterval(updateTimer, 3600000);
updateTimer(); // Initial call
</script>


Pro tip: Change “enrollment closes” to “early pricing ends” for even better results.

How a Tax Change Made Me $8,300 in 14 Days

When Washington altered coin tax laws, I quickly created:

• Lead magnet: “The Collector’s Tax Survival Guide”
• Content: Side-by-side state tax comparisons
• Result: 412 email signups → $8,300 in course sales

My Three-Tier Money Machine

Today, my course earns through these automated streams:

1. Foundation Courses ($27-$497)

Teachable’s completion certificates = 28% more repeat buyers

2. Master Workshops ($997)

Live Zoom Q&As (recorded and sold as replays)

3. Collector Supply Partnerships

Earn 30% recommending grading services and supplies

Your Knowledge Is Valuable – Now Monetize It

Just like that rare 1916-D Mercury dime in your collection, your expertise has hidden value. My journey from coin show regular to course creator proves:

• Every frustration you’ve overcome is a paid lesson
• Your unique experiences are someone’s shortcut
• Platforms exist to handle the tech heavy lifting

The coin community taught me this: Knowledge grows in value when shared. What specialized wisdom will you turn into your next income stream?

Related Resources

You might also find these related articles helpful:

• Building a Future-Proof Headless CMS: A Developer’s Blueprint for Flexibility and Performance – The Future of Content Management is Headless After a decade of building CMS platforms, I can confidently say headless ar…
• How I Engineered a B2B Lead Generation Machine Using Growth Hacking Principles – How I Discovered Marketing Gold in My Code Editor Here’s the truth most marketers won’t tell you: my enginee…
• Shopify & Magento Tax Optimization Strategies: How Washington’s Sales Tax Shift Impacts E-commerce Conversion Rates – E-commerce Speed & Taxes: Optimizing Shopify/Magento for WA’s New Sales Tax Did you know Washington’s 9…