Any cool coin places to visit in/near Tucson?

Tallpaul000 · December 17, 2014 2:25AM

Going there for xmas, and plan on moving there end of next year. So, if someone could give me some pointers, that would help. This includes not only coin shops, but pawn, flea and banks that are worth visiting for role searching, etc, etc.

PS - Merry Christmas

BustHalfBrian · December 17, 2014 2:35AM

I have family in Tucson. When I traveled there a few years ago, there was a nice cluster of coin shops in the area. However when I went in late December they were all closed until the new year.

Isn't the dealer who discovered the Wisconsin quarter high/low leaf varieties in Tucson?

MGLICKER · December 17, 2014 2:39AM

<< Isn't the dealer who discovered the Wisconsin quarter high/low leaf varieties in Tucson? >>

Yes. Rob Weiss of Old Pueblo Coins was involved in the discovery. Great old time shop.

Rick Snow's Eagle Eye is on the top of the list as well.

Tons of pawn shops, but when I last made the rounds a few years ago, coins were scarce. We also have a great number of antique stores many have the requisite handful of Morgans.

coindeuce · December 17, 2014 2:49AM

Tony Tumonis operates a reputable shop in Tucson also. Glass Shoppe Coins is at 4325 East Broadway Boulevard.

Tallpaul000 · December 17, 2014 5:38AM

Great info, thx

CaptHenway · December 17, 2014 5:46AM

Non-coin related: after you get settles in, be sure to spend a morning at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum just west of town. Great display of the local flora and fauna.

TD

Sonorandesertrat · December 17, 2014 6:03AM

I live in Tucson. Send me a PM if you want my two cents' worth.

TopographicOceans · December 17, 2014 6:12AM

Drive up to the Grand Canyon. You can throw an old 19th century circulated coin and let somebody find it one day.

MGLICKER · December 17, 2014 6:14AM

<< Drive up to the Grand Canyon. You can throw an old 19th century circulated coin and let somebody find it one day. >>

Best not to leave anything behind in the Grand Canyon.

It is particularly spectacular this time of year.

coinbuf · December 17, 2014 6:34AM

<< Drive up to the Grand Canyon. You can throw an old 19th century circulated coin and let somebody find it one day. >>

Great idea you could go to all the great landmarks in the USA and leave trash behind.

TopographicOceans · December 17, 2014 7:01AM

<< Great idea you could go to all the great landmarks in the USA and leave trash behind. >>

Actually I already do. I've left a number of Morgan silver dollars out for people to find.
Maybe you'll find one while you're out there picking up papers and garbage in our National Parks? (I assume you do that right?)

I guess one man's trash is another man's treasure.

coinbuf · December 17, 2014 8:42AM

<< 

<< Great idea you could go to all the great landmarks in the USA and leave trash behind. >>

Actually I already do. I've left a number of Morgan silver dollars out for people to find.
Maybe you'll find one while you're out there picking up papers and garbage in our National Parks? (I assume you do that right?)

I guess one man's trash is another man's treasure. >>

Funny how people that assume often are the first three letters of the word assume, in that regard you do not disappoint.

3keepSECRETif2rDEAD · December 17, 2014 11:15AM

...The Tucson International Airport with a departing ticket in hand

Erik

MGLICKER · December 17, 2014 2:49PM

<< I guess one man's trash is another man's treasure. >>

National parks are heavily visited and if folks left stuff behind and removed objects the sites would soon be trashed.

You may think that old dollars are wonderful but the next guy may collect beer cans and pez dispensers and think that his junk is a blessing for the next hiker.

SoCalBigMark · December 17, 2014 2:55PM

BustHalfBrian · December 17, 2014 2:56PM

When I went to Tucson I was only 13 and had just started collecting coins. For most of the three days I was there, my mom drove me around to banks to search for silver half dollars (this was when metals were just beginning to climb). I came away with about a dozen Walking Liberty halves (the first ones I ever owned), a few Franklins, and at least $10 in 40% silver. Of course, I doubt you'd have as much success as I did if you were to do the same today - the banks are all but cleaned-out.

So I guess sight-seeing is all that's left.

My sights were set on the banks! That's really all I remember about that vacation.

MGLICKER · December 17, 2014 3:08PM

<<

>>

TWQG · December 17, 2014 4:10PM

If I lived in Tucson I would eat at El Minuto every day.

lostincoins · December 17, 2014 4:14PM

I grew up in Tucson and miss it very much. The shops mentioned are very good and some have bid boards that you can find some very good CPs on. The shop on Oracle is good for that along with going through the boxes of Buffalos sitting out as I found some good pics in Feb when out there for a bit. If you go to Ricks shop ask to see some of the cool stuff he has put away as you will be amazed by what he shows you. As for leaving coins behind places it is best to geocach them. If you have a smart phone just look up some sites and use your GPS to find an item and leave one behind. The other thing you can do is create a travel bug and give it a destination and be able to watch it travel around the US. Mt.Lemon is supposed to get 6 inches or more of snow tonight and if you get a chance to get some pics of snow on the mountains or high desert please send me some of them as I very much enjoy seeing those images. Have a great trip and don't forget to get a Sonoran dog. Also the Sonoran desert museum is actually a very specialized zoo and is fantastic as the animals are mostly in natural habitats that you can barely see the divider between you and them.

TopographicOceans · December 17, 2014 4:52PM

Geeze, I'm not Johnny fricken Appleseed (or Johnny fricken Morgan) but I'm pretty certain if somebody finds an 1888 circulated silver dollar in a forest off the path that our National Park system will remain intact.

Congratulations Young Man, you just got yourself a CBH

<< When I went to Tucson I was only 13 and had just started collecting coins. For most of the three days I was there, my mom drove me around to banks to search for silver half dollars (this was when metals were just beginning to climb). I came away with about a dozen Walking Liberty halves (the first ones I ever owned), a few Franklins, and at least $10 in 40% silver. Of course, I doubt you'd have as much success as I did if you were to do the same today - the banks are all but cleaned-out.

-------------------------
18 years old. Lurking and learning since 2010. I like CBHs, a lot. >>

lostincoins · December 17, 2014 5:27PM

I was also going to say if you are into rocks and minerals or even fossils Tucson is a good place to find some nice stuff at good prices as the gem show now has people that stay set up all year and you could get some good deals right now. Kitts peak is not that far of a drive and you can go see some cool telescopes there. You could take a day trip to Bisbee which has a dam big open pit copper mine and a very neat artist community that has become very cool over the past 10 years, you could do a day trip to Tombstone and see boot hill and the OK coral and get some good old fashioned candy there. Driving up nort is going to be cold as the norther part of AZ is actually high elevation. Flagstaff gets a lot of snow but you could go to the sother rim of the grand canyon, you could see sunset crater (a valcano), the Anisazi Indian ruins (800+ years old) and the painted desert all in the same area. You can go to Nogales which is about 2hrs away and do some tourist stuff and if you do bring a magnet as you will see a lot of old Mexican silver coins but 99.9% are fake, the magnet will help with this. I actuall have a neat ring that I made that is a silver band with a silver neodymium magnet on the top and use it with out drawing attention to what I am doing as some places can be a bit rough if you call people out on the fake stuff. You can also go to the swap meet and find some oxacan wood carvings for a decent price usually 1/4 to 1/2 the price of the shops and you can look up the artist names online as they are signed on the bottom. You can also drive up Mt. Lemmon and do some sledding or tubing as there will be snow up that high and they have a lot of sledding and ski area up there. You could also go to Colossal cave if it is open and go on a tour of a cave that is actually connected to Carlsbad caverns in New Mexico. If you go to Sera vista you can do some wine tours. You can go to Sedona and see the red rocks and all the new are stuff. Anyway as you can see you have a lot of stuff you can do, hope this helps you out a bit.

EagleEye · December 18, 2014 5:21AM

If you stop by my shop, be sure to say hello. We will only be open today, Friday and Monday and will resume the following Monday, the 28th. I am not open Saturday, but many of the shops in town use Saturday to run their bid boards.

Bid boards are active at:
Glass Shoppe
Old Pueblo
Tucson Coin
Catalina Coin

I am good friends with all the proprietors and we meet once or twice a month for a poker game at my store.

ArizonaJack · December 18, 2014 9:58AM

Monthly poker game at store? Cool stuff!!

sonoranmonsoon · December 25, 2014 9:42AM

Hang out until early January. They have a pretty decent show there. It has been a few years since I attended it. Don't get to Tucson as much as I used to. I stills have a home there somewhere, not sure I remember where.

puffer · December 25, 2014 10:18AM

Isn't inveterate show dealer John Gulde out there in the winter?

MGLICKER · December 25, 2014 10:41AM

<< Hang out until early January. They have a pretty decent show there. It has been a few years since I attended it. >>

Yes......nice show at the convention center.

Any cool coin places to visit in/near Tucson?

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