Coin Shops in San Francisco

OneCent

I will soon be traveling to San Fran on business.

Anybody have any recommendations as to a coin shop that I might want to visit?

Thanks.

coinlieutenant

Guy named Dean downtown...Cant think of the name to save my life. Ask Seth Chandler...

John

Cladiator

Jack Beymer up in Santa Rosa could be worth the drive. It's about an hour north of SF. His prices are stiff to say the least but the guy has some seriously quality coins.

SFDukie

If you're a gold guy-give Kagin's a call and ask to drop by and see their stuff-they're in sausalito, just across the GG Bridge-less than 30 mins from downtown in nl traffic. They don't have a storefront, but have been very friendly and are very knowledgable and have an excellent reputation.
Don

WTCG

<< <i>If you're a gold guy-give Kagin's a call and ask to drop by and see their stuff-they're in sausalito, just across the GG Bridge-less than 30 mins from downtown in nl traffic. They don't have a storefront, but have been very friendly and are very knowledgable and have an excellent reputation.
Don >>



Visit Dean Witter in the Hobart Building on Market Street or Trader Sam's on Valencia Street in the Mission District. Kagins does not have a shop, but they are located in Tiburon. You can reach Tiburon by taking the Red & White Fleet ferry from Fishermans Wharf or the Ferry Building for the 25 minute trip.

San Rafael, Petaluma and Santa Rosa in the North Bay all have coin shops, but you will need a vehicle. Santa Rosa is deceptively farther from San Francisco than it looks on a map.

SFDukie

<< <i>

<< <i>If you're a gold guy-give Kagin's a call and ask to drop by and see their stuff-they're in sausalito, just across the GG Bridge-less than 30 mins from downtown in nl traffic. They don't have a storefront, but have been very friendly and are very knowledgable and have an excellent reputation.
Don >>



Visit Dean Witter in the Hobart Building on Market Street or Trader Sam's on Valencia Street in the Mission District. Kagins does not have a shop, but they are located in Tiburon. You can reach Tiburon by taking the Red & White Fleet ferry from Fishermans Wharf or the Ferry Building for the 25 minute trip.

San Rafael, Petaluma and Santa Rosa in the North Bay all have coin shops, but you will need a vehicle. Santa Rosa is deceptively farther from San Francisco than it looks on a map. >>



My mistake WTGC, I meant tiburon, not sausalito for Kagins. All those east marin closein burbs seem the same to me

Another in town dealer is Don's village coins off of Ocean avenue in lakeside (an SF neighborhood). He's been very straightforward in my dealings with him. FWIW trader sams is in a rather seedy corner of the mission district.

LincolnsRule

Witter Coins. It's a great store, high quality, fair grading.

BECOKA

Not sure if they have anything for sale but how about the SF Mint?

JSsson

I think there are only three coin shops in San Francisco and Wei and others named them. The shop in the Mission District is not in the greatest neighborhood so if you go there you should go with caution. I also agree that Dean Witter is a great dealer. The guy in Lakeside seems to be closed a lot.

In my opinion Jack Beymer is not worth visiting. His coins are decent, but his prices border on thievery and his business practices (as told by some dealers I trust) are questionable to say the least.

droopyd

<< <i>Guy named Dean downtown...Cant think of the name to save my life. Ask Seth Chandler... >>



Dean Witter. A relative of THAT Dean Whitter. Decent guy. I still have some of the early date Lincolns he sold me more than a decade ago. Sold a few things to him and he gave me a fair price.

droopyd

<< <i>Visit Dean Witter in the Hobart Building on Market Street or Trader Sam's on Valencia Street in the Mission District. >>



Dean Witter I like (see above). Trader Sam's often has decent stuff at high prices, but they'll bargain (they're mostly a pawn shop). They keep weird hours though, so call ahead first.

droopyd

<< <i>Another in town dealer is Don's village coins off of Ocean avenue in lakeside (an SF neighborhood). He's been very straightforward in my dealings with him. FWIW trader sams is in a rather seedy corner of the mission district. >>



Don's is good, smallish shop but decent inventory. He once had an MS seated half with a shattered reverse die that I still kick myself for not buying.

And how can you call the Valencia Corridor "seedy"? Haven't you drank the local Chamber of Commerce Kool-Aid? It's upscale, man, upscale I tell you. The crack hos actually have teeth!

droopyd

There is (or was...) also a place down El Camino Real in Palo Alto/Stanford area in one of the shopping malls. Fairly large inventory but losta modern crap, as I recall they also did sports cards.

WTCG

<< <i>There is (or was...) also a place down El Camino Real in Palo Alto/Stanford area in one of the shopping malls. Fairly large inventory but losta modern crap, as I recall they also did sports cards. >>



That's The Coin Broker at the Town and Country Village across the street from Stanford University in Palo Alto. They have been around for a long time.

droopyd

<< <i>That's The Coin Broker at the Town and Country Village across the street from Stanford University in Palo Alto. They have been around for a long time. >>



That's the one I was thinking of, thanks -- actually it was fairly decent though I haven't been there in 10 yrs or so.

Julian

One of the great dealers in SF is Robert R. Johnson, who was a big dealer when I started dealing over 40 years ago. He was a very highly regarded dealer in gold.

As a side note, back in the middle 60's, when the ANA was in Chicago, no one had offered a 27-d $20 in a very long time and Paramount purchased one. They cleared out an entire showcase to highlight it. It turned out to be an added mintmark and it was Bob Johnson who detected it.

I do not think that he has a store anymore, but he probably does have an office. Give the office a call and see if they have anything that might interest you.

topstuf

Us geezers can remember Leo Young in Oakland.

And Billy Hall on Union St. with YUMMY coins.
his brother, Joe had a nice sleazy place on 16th south of Market where you could actually take a chance and park your car.
Steve Ahajanian with his banks and banks of safe deposit boxes in da shop instead of a single safe.

AND..... Joe Escove in the heart of the tenderloin where you could play jump-drunk on your way in.

But....they're gone now.

scuse the reminiscence.

OneCent

After seeing this thread recently resuscitated and through a kind PM, I realize that I never closed the circle with my attempt at a San Francisco coin escapade.

I left Philly Int'l airport on the morning of January 16th headed for the City by the Bay. I arrived at SF Int'l airport in the early afternoon after an uneventful 6 1/2 hour flight. We had a car waiting to drive us the 18 miles to our hotel on the Embarcadero. I must say that I was absolutely awed by the scenic landscape encountered on the drive into town. Beautiful brown hills on both sides of the freeway with houses frequently nestled neatly into the crevasses. We passed-by the new ballpark (AT&T field?), made a left onto the Embarcadero and began to approach the Bay Bridge. At this point, I fully came to the realization that I was in San Francisco and the coin that I wanted to purchase while here would be a Bay Bridge Commemorative. How fitting! A coin I always appreciated and even more so now that I just experienced the actual bridge being commemorated! We arrived at our hotel on the Embarcadero waterfront and my whirlwind business trip began.

I knew before the trip that my opportunities would be limited to do any type of sightseeing or coin shopping as I would only be spending a day and a half in Frisco before heading down the rode to Palo Alto for a day and then a red-eye home. My opportunity to break-away came one-hour before I was to check-out and go to Palo Alto. Since I only had one hour and was in the Spear Tower, I needed someone close. I rememered Trader Sam's from this thread so I decided to locate the phone number and see what time they closed. I telephoned the shop and a guy with a gruff voice answered. I asked "what time do you close" to which I received a reply of "4:30, why do you want to know?" Huh? I usually don't have a merchant ask why I want to know when the store closes when I call to inquire. Anyway, I told the guy that I was stopping through town and wanted to look at some coins. He said that he would hold the shop open for another 15 minutes if I could make it up there by then. As I had no idea how long it would take me to flag a cab and make it to his shop in rush hour traffic and make it back in time to depart, I told him not to bother. I was actually quite disappointed as I really wanted to buy a Bay Bridge commem in San Francisco. Frankly, after the phone conversation I has with him, I'm not so sure Trader Sam would be on my list to vist the next time around.

Anyway, with the 1/2 hour I had left in SF I took a walk up California Street to where the hills begin:





Sunrise on the Bay Bridge (from the Embarcadero):



San Fran is one of the most beautiful cities that I have visitied in this country! It is highly cosmopolitan and it's geographic location is quite unique. I fell in love with the town almost immediately. I will be back next winter and I will get my Bay-Bridge commem and do some numismatic sightseeing!

JSsson

I live in Sacramento, which is about 80 miles to the east of San Francisco. I have always thought that San Francisco is probably the most endearing and beautiful cities in America and those photos courtesy of OneCent certainly proves my opinions.

Trader Sams' is more similar to a pawn shop than a true coin shop and the store people are a little bit gruff, but they are nice people once you get to know them a little bit. They are also located in the Mission district very close to a BART station so getting there by safe public transportation isn't too difficult.

flaminio

Great report, but...

<< <i>Frisco >>

Don't call it "Frisco" .

droopyd

<< <i>Don't call it "Frisco" . >>



I see the people in "Frisco" are still as "pompous" as ever!