My Local Coin Shop + 100th Post Giveaway + Winner Announced

quickwing · June 9, 2007 1:21AM

I've been buying a few coins from a fellow in my local shop lately. Started slow because I didn't know him or his reputation, but I have really been impressed. Every time I go in the front door of the small shop is a turnstile of traffic with most walking in with something to sell. I am surprised EVERY time I'm there that people are always coming in to sell and he gives each and everyone a fair quote for their coins...most take the cash without bargaining. He also trades in stamps and currency. He has given a newbie the time of day and is always patient. Because of his huge volume he always has stacks of recent purchases he lets me browse through including large bags of melt silver. I went through one of those melt half bags without looking at the whole bag or even 1/3 of the coins and quickly picked out a dozen 64 Kennedy’s that were mint 63-65 a few nice toned Franklins and about 10-12 Walkers from 1916-34. He priced these at $4.25 each. If I had the cash on me I'd have gladly taken the whole bag (probably about 1000-1200) and had fun poking around for days.
Anyway last weekend I took my 6yr old son into the shop. The proprietor really seemed to enjoy having a young wide eyed kid ogling over his stock. He helped my son fill in a couple of holes in his quarter album and offered to sell the 01 proof and unc. Silver Dollars bullion coins both for $42. The quarters he sold at face and then gave him a handful of darksiders just for coming by. My boy was already interested in coins but now he caught the fever just as bad as his old man and wants to go back to the shop as often as possible. When I popped by the shop during the past week the first thing out of the owners mouth was "how's Alexander and when are you going to bring him back in".
I hope everyone had their own local shop with a friendly fellow being the counter that helps newbie’s, and children, and anyone through the door like he's glad to see them.

Well as the custom has it, I owe the board members who have helped me and others with our questions and queries a chance at some REAL DUD COINS. Since this is my 100th post and I’m a working stiff, I have very little in the way of coin value to offer BUT here is the deal. I’m leaving for vacation tomorrow and will not be back in town (or to the board) Until July 1st. On the 4th of July after shooting off some fireworks and downing a few malt beverages I will draw at random 1 poster to this thread. You can comment good or bad about your coin shop, you can respond just count me in, or you can call me cheap and leave it at that.
The lucky board member drawn from this post will receive THEIR CHOICE of
1. One MS 64 Kennedy (I do want Russ to respond), one 58 Franklin VF, and one 34 Walker G-F picked from the “melt bag”
2. One Lower MS Morgan from my stash of Common Dates (Bag marks and all)
3. New and Uncirculated $10 Bill with my sons name below the picture
4. Sharp Stick to poke yourself or others with

Thanks to everyone for adding much to this wonderful hobby.

UPDATE JULY 4th- Will draw random poster from this thread late this afternoon for a BU Morgan (or other prize)-LAST CHANCE TODAY JULY 4th!

THANKS ALL: WINNER IS jobiwan115

Shortgapbob · June 9, 2007 1:26AM

You should out the shop owner. Someone who does business that well deserves good word of mouth and other people's business as well.

robkool · June 9, 2007 1:30AM

I would like to know where the shop is at , so I can take my baby daughter there...

quickwing · June 20, 2007 6:22AM

Thought I would bump this old post back up. Not many comments before and maybe none again? With all the negative comments about rip offs, rude dealers, and general scallywags (Name a dealer you'll never deal with) I'm sure there are lots of great honest people out there who eek out a modest living treating the public fairly. My local shop is in Memphis TN and if anyone is coming to the area and wants to stop in and poke around this shop just PM me and I'll "out him". He will be out next week at the Currency Show and not in the store.
Found a couple of nice bargains yesterday for my Dansco...35 Bust Dime, 01 Lg. Cent, 76 Seated Half, and a really nice Stone Mnt. (I'm not a fan of Comm's but this one was PURE) to name a few. Most were just VF's not brag coins. Bought at grey+ small margin.

Artist · June 20, 2007 6:47AM

<< <i>Not many comments before and maybe none again? >>

In theory the rule is "If you can't say something nice... don't say anything at all," but in practice I have found the opposite more likely to be true.

Congrats on finding a dealer you like - I wish the brick & morter place I frequented as YN was as equitible, but it at least it afforded me some education (if gotten the hard way.

)

STONE · June 20, 2007 7:00AM

A dealer that nice must have some other LARGE collateral backing him up, or he really is a very generous man.

Glad to hear you have a friendly local dealer.

BlackBeard · June 20, 2007 7:05AM

...and you see what treating your customers well does. You get a regular customer and word spreads. Too bad some of the grumpier ones don't try this approach.

That is no doubt a strong contributor to his being busy with customers. Congrats on finding a winner.

NumisOxide · June 21, 2007 3:32AM

Longacre · June 21, 2007 3:41AM

Missed this the first time around. Great dealer!

jobiwan115 · June 21, 2007 5:49AM

I'm nowhere near there, but that's great, I'm happy for you, that you have such a great dealer nearby.

I've also had good success with local coin shops, 2 of them in particular, and one other that's pretty good.

When I got CBH fever last month, one of those 2 was a great find, he had a couple dozen in the VG-EF range, and I've dug on a few of 'em. Shame I've had to self-impose a buying freeze for the time being, until my wife gets out of school next March!

eyoung429 · June 21, 2007 5:57AM

Missed this one .... Nice to have that kind of a shop to deal with!!!!

They are few and far between!!!

beartracks42 · June 21, 2007 8:16AM

I am envious of your local store. The closest coin shop to me is 80 miles away!

Doogy · June 21, 2007 8:25AM

nice to hear about your shop and his way his does business!! this kinda' thing bums me out though, as my local shops (Phoenix, AZ) all seemed to be owned by cranky old guys that are neither helpful, but act like they could care less that you're standing there. I will say however that there is at least one very bright spot; that is Tony Tumonis from Tucson. As i'm sure you're aware, he is running for ANA Governor. I hope he gets it, as he has great ideas and wants to bring the ANA back to the common collector. I look forward to buying from him more in the future, but being in Tucson, it won't be as often as i'd like.

nice story, thanks for sharing!

DOug

Bustnut · June 21, 2007 9:55AM

When I started collecting about 45 years ago the closest coin shop was about 35 miles away. My dad and I made the trip a couple of times a week. I remember that if I found $6 worth of Lincolns in the boxes and I only had $5 it always seemed to be enough. When I got to where I was spending hundreds and thousands for coins I remembered the guys like him who always had time and encouragement for me and those are the people I spent a lot of money with. Most of them are gon now but they will never be forgoten as long as I live.
Bustnut

quickwing · June 21, 2007 10:21AM

Go to the original post and at the bottom you'll see what's at stake for the 100th Post Giveaway.

rage88 · June 21, 2007 10:26AM

I would like to know more about this coin dealer also. The local coin dealer here made me a very generous offer when i brought my coins in a few weeks ago, but instead of selling them i ended up starting back up collecting them.

cvan68 · June 21, 2007 10:32AM

Refreshing to hear about a good guy like you appear to have. The local shop I deal with here in Phoenix used to be pretty good, but of late make me feel as if I am a bother to them, so now I rarely stop in. To me it it seems like your guy has a gift remembering names and making you feel welcome, not to mention good buisiness sense!

ModernCrapNut · June 21, 2007 10:39AM

I hope to find a shop like that in my area. I would love to take my younger grandsons into a business like that.

SeaEagleCoins · June 21, 2007 10:54AM

Always a pleasure to hear "good news" about a dealer... not all dealers are "grumpy old rip offs"...as a matter of fact, I have met very few who are...but if I do, I just move on... wish I lived near Memphis...

Hope you have a nice vacation, Quickwing !!!

laxmaster92 · June 21, 2007 11:24AM

Your definetly blessed to have a awsome dealer like him. Some like us have the low stocked, not knowledgable dealer like me. The coins this guy has probably has a net worth of $200. His stock is common date, low grade stuff at outrageous prices. The only time he gets new stock is when he scams some old guy out of his life savings. When I walk in I dont get a response even though Im there about every week. He has no bargans bins, melt buckets, freebies. HE doesnt have any commems, notes,errors or classic MS coins. I wish I had a real dealer

Sorry about my little rant.

N8 · June 21, 2007 11:31AM

Great story, thanks for the chance

fengk · June 21, 2007 11:42AM

As far as coin shops go, there aren't really any in my area that cater to walk-in business like your local B+M shop. Mostly, they're there for bullion purchases and an occasional coin or two, but there really isn't anyone to just "talk" coins with. You're lucky to have a nice store like that near you!

wazari777 · June 21, 2007 11:45AM

Please put me in also. Thanks

leoprdfrog · June 21, 2007 11:53AM

I wish coin shops had made me feel that welcomed as a kid, normally they just looked at me like I was about to mess everything up. Oh and thanks for the chance

TCoins · June 21, 2007 11:58AM

Great story, which I had a local coin shop like that.

RareBronzeCollector · June 21, 2007 12:07PM

I wish I had any local coin shop near me........ Used to have 3, now have none......

Omega · June 21, 2007 1:23PM

Thanks for sharing your story. Thanks for the chance. I took my kids to a local show a couple of months back and had a great time.

johnsim03 · June 21, 2007 1:46PM

This is a really neat story - thanks for sharing it.

John

jobiwan115 · June 21, 2007 1:47PM

<< <i>Refreshing to hear about a good guy like you appear to have. The local shop I deal with here in Phoenix used to be pretty good, but of late make me feel as if I am a bother to them, so now I rarely stop in. To me it it seems like your guy has a gift remembering names and making you feel welcome, not to mention good buisiness sense! >>

cvan68, welcome from a fellow Phoenix area coin lover. I would've PM'd you, but you don't have that function on. I'm curious about what coin dealer you've been working with. Maybe we could exchange notes on local dealers. PM if you'd like, and once again, welcome to the boards, you're in the right place!

quickwing, thanks for the chance, and have a great vacation.

Bajajim · June 21, 2007 2:14PM

I'm in for the sharp stick.

tightbudget · June 21, 2007 2:24PM

<< <i>I'm in for the sharp stick. >>

Agreed, I do have a very annoying brother and such a tool would come in handy...so count me in!
And that's one generous coin dealer...wish all dealers were like that.

mark511 · June 21, 2007 3:34PM

Thanks for the chance.

AskRaq · June 21, 2007 3:51PM

Please enter my YN (Nicole) whose 18th birthday happens to be this 4th of July!!

BTW - I want your coin shop.

I can't remember seeing a "real" coin shop since I was a kid in Ohio.

In my area of southwest Florida there are only 2 types of places to buy coins:
(1) Pawn Shop/Fleamarket... usually nothing, once in awhile a Panda coin, or some other 'pseudo-mint' issued crap
(2) Rare Coin Galleries (ie. High-end Jewelry Stores with coins... and maybe a few pieces of art & antiques, in the six-figure range)

I'd like to see an old-fashioned Coin Shop...

morganbarber · June 21, 2007 10:20PM

Please count me in. Thanks.

Weather11am · June 21, 2007 10:46PM

My local shop is the opposite. I can buy a war nickel for $2.00 or a mercury dime for $3.00. Thanks for the give-away.

fastrudy · June 21, 2007 11:32PM

Congrats and thanks for the chance. You should have sold the sharp stick on eBay.

slipgate · June 21, 2007 11:33PM

Please count me in if not too late.

ricko · June 21, 2007 11:46PM

Thanks for the chance .... Cheers, RickO

thezookrew · June 22, 2007 12:19AM

Thanks for the opportunity! And congrats on finding a gem of a coin shop!

Perry

LindeDad · June 22, 2007 12:56AM

I could also use a sharp stick.

rec78 · June 22, 2007 1:03AM

Good to hear!! Congrats! And thanks for the chance!
When i was a just starting out in the early 1960's, there was a small shop i would frequent when we were in town. The owner was very nice to kids and even had a bowl of g/vg indian head cents for kids to look at. The price was 10 cents each. I thought they were really cool back then even in g condition as i had never seen indian head cents before-so i bought a whitman folder for 29 cents (yea that is all the cost in 1962) and filled up the p mint dates from 1897-1909. I think i still have these coins today. The most unusual thing is that the owner of the shop was a woman. Unusual for the time. Bob

guitarwes · June 22, 2007 2:53AM

you're cheap??????

thanks and congrats!

johnjinx · June 22, 2007 4:14AM

Thanks for the chance.

NH484000 · June 22, 2007 4:18AM

Thanks for the chance and congrats!

Coinguy19 · June 22, 2007 4:39AM

Please enter me in your giveaway, thanks.

hubird · June 22, 2007 5:01AM

Thanks for your story and this opportunity. Support Your Local Coin Guy.

SilverEagles92 · June 22, 2007 5:03AM

Awesome, thanks for the chance!

rah1959 · June 22, 2007 8:17AM

You have a nice shop owner there!

I visit a shop in Richmond, Va....IMPERIAL COINS....nice place. Owner is friendly and has given me fair prices on old bulk silver and supplies that I ahve bought. I usually buy my UNC AMERICAN SILVER EAGLES there to give all the kids in the family for Christmas presents.....

He has a nice selection of coins....both US and World...most raw but some slabbed too.....no third world companies....most are NGC, ANACS and a few PCGS...I think most of the slabs are from buys he makes or trades.

Thanks for the giveaway also....please count me in!

RAH

droopyd · June 22, 2007 8:49AM

There are no decent coin shops in the NYC area, at least not that I've found.

I hope things look up when I relocate to LA in August.

Congrats on your gem of a shop in your town and yes, please count me in on your giveaway!

DJCoinz · June 22, 2007 8:50AM

Very cool that you've got a dealer like that. Count me in--thanks!

AlixTCat · June 22, 2007 11:13AM

I don't have a coin shop. There is one in town, maybe even two. But I've only ever been there once. It's across town and I was not impressed enough by their inventory and prices to make the trek back there again. (It's about 15 minutes across town. I could walk it in a few hours. That should show you how unimpressed I was by the shop.) I booked a room for the last FUN show, but could not afford to take the time off work AND buy coins. Hahaha!

Please enter me in your giveaway. I'd really appreciate it.

Jonathan

My Local Coin Shop + 100th Post Giveaway + Winner Announced

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