I have a few go-to shops which are great, but once you visit a shop you can't go back right away because they won't have anything. So I have the day off tomorrow and I was looking for a new shop to visit. I did a Google search and made a list of all the reputable looking coin shops in the area. Then I started calling. Would you believe that not a single place I called had more than a handful of foreign coins? Even though several of them mention foreign coins prominently on their websites. I tried about ten places and struck out on all of them. And I'm in the Chicago suburbs, not exactly the middle of nowhere. There's only one shop I found that I know has foreign, but unfortunately they kind of specialize in it. That can be good but the problem is that means I probably won't get a deal on anything. The best thing about collecting foreign coins is when dealers don't know what they have and you can get it for cheap.
If you are in south Chicago, you need to drive down to the Ottawa/Joliet area coin shops and pawn shops to find some good deals. My ex was from New Lenox, and I worked at a fireworks tent in that area along I80. While all the other guys went to bars and strip clubs to get drunk, I’d use my off time to find coins. Chicago area coin shops were really, really frustrating. I do not miss them at all - very frequently were also the absolute rudest shop owners I’ve encountered.
I did buy from a Joliet shop that had a booth at a coin show once and I wanted to check them out but I'm in the northwest so that's kind of far for me. I agree that many of them have a reputation for rudeness too. There's one I go to sometimes where the people working there will swear about and insult customers after they leave. I don't know why they're like that. When I'm at this shop I feel like I'm in the city and everyone has that big city attitude.
I was told by another Chicago-area coin shop owner (who was very friendly, but unfortunately didn't have much of what I was into at the time) that those shops (with the rude owners) exist solely because they want to buy people's collections, pick out the best stuff for their own collections, and get rid of the remnants. Which, honestly...that's kind of how my collection was built. So I'm not really judging them for that aspect of it. I do think it leads to really indifferent/rude customer service for people with standards or specific collecting tastes/needs. (I say that because it seems they were perfectly happy to sell you one of something, say a BU state quarter, if you didn't try to pick out a nice example. Same with something like a 1970 Proof Set - if you said you wanted one, they'd get you one - but that's the only one you'll see and it's take it or leave it.) I'll send you a PM for a place I visited where I got a few really nice deals (including that Mexican 1 Peso album I got a few years back with the nice Caballito Pesos in it, if you remember that one?)
Most of these places seem to do most of their business buying and selling silver but I kind of assumed it was like that for coin shops everywhere.
You would LOVE it here. My LCS has a large wooden box full of foreign coins. .15 cents each or buy the whole box for 6.95 a pound. I LOVE to pick through it and buy whatever catches my eye.
That does sound nice. My favorite shop has bins of foreign coins for 25 cents each but lately people keep buying them all in bulk so they haven't had much for me to look through.
If you're ever in Pensacola, might I recommend Emerald Coast Coins? When I lived there (2012-2016), I regularly bought foreign coins for $4 per pound. However, as of my last visit to Pensacola in March 2020, they have raised their price to about $6 per pound.
My local and only coin shop here in St. George, Utah has limited world coins. You would love the Las Vegas coin shows. Tons of world coins. From very cheap to crazy expensive.
When I worked in the city I went there a few times but I no longer do and I just don't feel like going downtown to buy coins. It's too much of a pain.
You can almost cross a dealer off your list for all time once you search their stock. Most change very slowly. Cherry picking foreign dealers is always one of the most enjoyable pastimes. Then coin shows are like shooting fish in a barrel because even US dealers often bring a box of foreign. The only problem is I never liked spending more than a few hours at a show. Fortunately I'm very fast and could scan a lot of coins in this time.
Being from the South (North Carolina), both times I visited New York, Boston, or Chicago, I found that Yankees are born rude. I'm probably wrong tho, because I have found the collectors in Coin Talk to be the most courteous and helpful. Every once in a while I see a member of Coin Talk get frustrated with entries and enter their frustration in a blog. I can't wait when I get up to sign on to Coin Talk. If you want good solid answers, this is the place to start looking. Y'all are very informative. Sometimes I see entries that we get frustrated with, but you have helped many, many collectors on this site. Thanks to all of you for your help and patience.
Yep, the few brick and mortar stores I've visited have few to none World coins, which is why I buy bulk online. Going through 20 lbs this winter so I don't get bored looking at snow. LOL
I know what you mean. I visited one dealer in the spring and I actually found a lot of neat stuff and got some good deals, but I got the impression he's had those coins for years and likely doesn't restock much so I don't feel like I'll be going back there.
I'd like to think it's not all of us but some of the people from the big cities and the near suburbs just have a different attitude. You can feel the difference. One shop I go to is like that - everyone is brash, rude, swears, etc. The other shop which is further from the city is run by a guy from farm country who hired all his employees from his church. Very different vibe there.
I've been simply testing shops now that I'm in the same region as you. @Hiddendragon I'm waiting to hit the shops now that I've tested them for when I intend to spend higher amounts. I like to test at lower amounts because if they are problematic when I'm only spending $60 do I want to give them the benefit of $300+ spending? I'll just need to check regularly, but luckily my local preferred (so far) shop is easy to hit during a weekday lunch break for me. And we're looking for the same stuff. Uh oh...competition. But really, whoever gets there first...you win.