Lovely Coin Experience on Cape Cod

NeophyteNumismatist

My family and I went to Cape Cod, MA to get away for a while, and it was lovely. Most of the trip was not coin related, but on a dinner trip to Falmouth, I saw Falmouth Stamp and Coin (they were closed). When we got home, one of fishing hats I had bought was "too small", so I volunteered to the wife to take it back the next morning (knowing the coin shop would be open). When I got there, the shop was nice with a good mix of raw/graded coins and supplies.

A younger gentlemen behind the counter told me he made custom albums, and I knew right away it must have been @DinosaurMan! It was cool to meet him, talk coins and coin photography. He did a nice job on the shop's website and worked to show coins in different lighting, link directly to the certs, and has a lot of cross-referencing built-in for collectors. His website is https://coinsandstamps.com.

Falmouth Stamp and Coin was the most fun I have had in a coin shop in a long time. As I was looking through coins, a boy walked in with his Dad. The boy was about 9-10, and was interested in coins. I immediately moved all my things away to allow the boy to be closer to the coins, and the boy told me he had found a Walking Liberty Half Dollar metal detecting on the beach (Wow. what a find...right?). Then he told me about his State Quarter Collection that he finished, and he was beaming - showing a mixture of adult and baby teeth. I told him about the W quarters and a few things he can still find in circulation, and DinosaurMan showed the boy lots of old coins. The boy got an 1909-O Barber Dime, a 1910-S Cent, and a 2004-S Proof Lincoln Cent. He was thrilled with his new coins, and he dad was very supporting (but did not collect himself).

It was fun to watch the kid interact and get excited over coins. It made my day! I want to thank the people of Falmouth Coin and Stamp for being so kind to that kid. To me... that type of interaction is more valuable than the inventory the shop carries. Great inventory can be had at any auction, but the teaching... and inspiring of the next generation collector... cannot.

Thanks @DinosaurMan and thanks to Falmouth Stamp and Coin!

NewEnglandRarities

That’s an excellent story! The Falmouth guys are excellent and have handled some great coins over the years.

gumby1234

I haven't been into Falmouth Stamp and Coin for at least 25 years.

Conshyboy

Did you ever return the hat? Lol

NeophyteNumismatist

@Conshyboy - I did. I was able to swap out the hat without a problem. It took two minutes, and I was gone for hours.

yosclimber

Falmouth Stamp and Coin is indeed a great shop.
I used to visit it during family vacations in the 1990s.
I bought many seated dimes there.
And then I bought a nice coin from them online a couple of years ago.

mark_dak

Love places like this. Also nice to hear a story about a YN getting started in the hobby. Need a few million more before I sell off what I have accumulated.

Mark

shortnock

Good to hear good things about nice people. Way to go Falmouth Stamp and Coin.

c0injunky

That’s a great little shop and they are extremely helpful, I always try to stop in when I’m down that way.
Would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area!

DelawareDoons

Falmouth is a fantastic shop, the exact kind of shop we need more of if this hobby is going to flourish again. I've been there twice over the years and will be going up there again at some point in the not too distant future. Love that place!

JBK

I was there a couple months ago and the shop was bursting with inventory, even covering much of the counter space.

And they have some of those old-school rotating display cases!

gumby1234

For anybody planning on being over there, there is a much smaller place i used to visit frequently in Yarmouth. I dont know if its still around. It was called Bass River coins.

NewEnglandRarities

@gumby1234 said:
For anybody planning on being over there, there is a much smaller place i used to visit frequently in Yarmouth. I dont know if its still around. It was called Bass River coins.

I believe the owner passed away last year. I’m not sure if the shop is still operating. I’ve bought and dealt with them a few times before being semi-local for 20 years. There was some good stuff to come out of that shop, but many had some difficultly with the owner who was very “matter of fact”.

gumby1234

@NewEnglandRarities back about 30 years ago I was stopping into every coin store I could find multiple times a month. I traveled from Cape Cod to Concord and everywhere in between. Nowadays one or two coin stores a year. I've been to 2 shows this year. Spent more money on the forum buying from members.

logger7

There is also Del Greco in Weymouth who is a major dealer not far away. The Adams' homestead is nearby as well as many other historical sites.

NewEnglandNotes

Del Greco changed hands a few years back, now it's Pilgrim Coin. Dave is a great guy and I stop in whenever I'm in the area, I don't think I've ever left empty handed.

I have never visited Falmouth Coin in person, luckily I hardly ever get called to work on the Cape. I have purchased from their website and was pleased with what I got.

gumby1234

@logger7 Its Pilgrim coin and currency now. Changed a while back. I was just in there a couple of weeks ago.

redraider

I tried to buy something from them on their website. They came back and raised the price almost $500 from their original advertised price, so I passed. I thought the price was in line and reasonable as posted, but after someone showed interest, they jacked the price. Not too thrilled with my experience here.

TONEDDOLLARS

Bought a lovely toned GSA there one year. Was my go to shop every year while vacationing in Falmouth

The_Dinosaur_Man

Thank you @NeophyteNumismatist for the kind words! It was a pleasure to meet you and have you in our presence. I hope we meet again in the future.

Bikergeek

I just had a good chat with the guys at Falmouth including @The_Dinosaur_Man. What a good bunch of folks - and Tom Holland was a wealth of history and stories. Appreciate meeting you guys!

DelawareDoons

@NewEnglandRarities said:

@gumby1234 said:
For anybody planning on being over there, there is a much smaller place i used to visit frequently in Yarmouth. I dont know if its still around. It was called Bass River coins.

I believe the owner passed away last year. I’m not sure if the shop is still operating. I’ve bought and dealt with them a few times before being semi-local for 20 years. There was some good stuff to come out of that shop, but many had some difficultly with the owner who was very “matter of fact”.

Matter of fact, lol.

Guy outright refused to sell me some stuff I picked out because I was a "tourist". Wasted an hour of my time before telling me I wasn't welcome to buy. I've been in a lot of coin shops, that was easily the worst experience I've ever had in one.

gumby1234

@DelawareDoons said:

@NewEnglandRarities said:

@gumby1234 said:
For anybody planning on being over there, there is a much smaller place i used to visit frequently in Yarmouth. I dont know if its still around. It was called Bass River coins.

I believe the owner passed away last year. I’m not sure if the shop is still operating. I’ve bought and dealt with them a few times before being semi-local for 20 years. There was some good stuff to come out of that shop, but many had some difficultly with the owner who was very “matter of fact”.

Matter of fact, lol.

Guy outright refused to sell me some stuff I picked out because I was a "tourist". Wasted an hour of my time before telling me I wasn't welcome to buy. I've been in a lot of coin shops, that was easily the worst experience I've ever had in one.

I never had that problem. However I was once at a coin show with some stuff to sell as usual and a dealer accused me of my coins as being stolen. I felt like knocking him out. I went to dealers i knew on the other side of the room. They got a chuckle because they had sold me many of those same coins years ago.

NewEnglandRarities

@DelawareDoons said:

@NewEnglandRarities said:

@gumby1234 said:
For anybody planning on being over there, there is a much smaller place i used to visit frequently in Yarmouth. I dont know if its still around. It was called Bass River coins.

I believe the owner passed away last year. I’m not sure if the shop is still operating. I’ve bought and dealt with them a few times before being semi-local for 20 years. There was some good stuff to come out of that shop, but many had some difficultly with the owner who was very “matter of fact”.

Matter of fact, lol.

Guy outright refused to sell me some stuff I picked out because I was a "tourist". Wasted an hour of my time before telling me I wasn't welcome to buy. I've been in a lot of coin shops, that was easily the worst experience I've ever had in one.

That sounds about right! You are not alone at all with that story from what I’ve heard and read (the Google reviews for the store were quite entertaining to read through). My experience there was similar, though for some reason right as it seemed he was going to “send me on my way”, he actually decided after denying having anything of interest to me, all of a sudden went to the back room, came out with a box, and I bought multiple items. His prices were strangely very in my favor, and he was fairly nice to me afterwards. I can’t explain it!

jesbroken

Glad to hear you met @DinosaurMan. Would love to do the same. He made a custom album for me and I love it. Nice to go into a CoinShop were people still care about the hobby and not just bullion and moderns. Not saying the hobby has nothing to do with bullion and moderns, just that it is not my cup of tea. Glad you had a great trip, Neo. So you performed a hat trick. LOL
Jim