David, do you know some of the dealers from So. Cal. from the 60s and 70s?

LanLord

David,

I was a YN in the late 60s and early 70s. I occasionally stopped into a coin store in Santa Ana called ABC coins.

Did you ever go there, if so, do you know where the people went to?

Also, one of my hangouts was the Wooden Nickel in Tustin. It was owned by a guy named "Whitey", probably a nickname,

But I don't know what his real name was. He sold the store to a guy named Dick Feinburg (?) in the early 70s.

Did you know any of them and if so, know where they went?

Just looking for some of my roots.

homerunhall

Hi Tom,

I knew the guy from ABC coins a little. I also knew Whitey. In fact, I first met Whitely before he had a shop. He used to hang out with the rest of us coin nerds at "Dave's Coin Shop" on South Main in Santa Ana. After he retired from his normal job, he opened up his shop.

In 1961, I went to my first coin shop (I was in the 8th grade.) The owner was Andy Verbance and the shop was in downtown Santa Ana. I used to help him out on Saturdays and he'd pay me by giving me an Uncirculated roll of some late date Lincon for my days work. Dean Becknell had a coin shop in Westminster, and that's where I first met Walt Ankerman in 1972. Dick Striley had a coin shop in Compton in the mid-1960s, and sat on his roof with a shotgun during the Watts riots. He later bought Dean Becknell's shop in Westminster.

Around 1966 I used to hang cards in laudromats around Orange County that said "Paying $1.10 for any silver dollar." I sold the coins on bid boards at Dave's Coin Shop and later Dean Becknell's.

That's about all I can remember.

David