How is your local coin shop?

I am a member of the local coin club. Don't know if it is the only club locally, but it is the only one I know of. The club has well attended meetings, hosts the local coin shows, and so on and so forth.

Anyway, a couple of the club's members opened a retail coin shop recently, and each time I go up there I see at least one of the other members. Today I saw six members shopping, talking about coins and current event, and generally hanging out. Sort of reminds me of Floyd's barbershop on the Andy Griffith show. Plus, they travel the show circuit and replenish their coin stock regularly.

In other words, I am really liking my local coin shop. :thumb:

 

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I wish I had a local coin shop... the only one closed before I started collecting.

 

I like one of my local shops.
It's kind of like watching sausage being made though, IMO...
You have to overlook some things or you will hate them all.
There are a few other shops in my town, besides the one I frequent, that I won't go near.
I was either too close to the sausage machine once, or they flat out tried to rip me off, ruining their shops for me personally.

It's very hard to find a coin dealer with ethics IMO. At least in my experience... maybe I have just had the misfortune to meet all the bad ones... :shrug:

 

I have three shops locally, all of which I enjoy about the same. Unfortunately, there is no Floyde's Barbershop feeling in any of them. Usually I'm the only customer every time I go in, or I walk in on some people trying to sell their "rare" 1986 proof sets and bicentennial quarters.
Guy

 

same here. i have 2 shops that i go to regularly, and neither has that feel. however, at one of the shops, i have been known to spend a saturday hanging out watching college football with the owner, but no one else has joined us. i'm trying to get that floyd's barbershop feeling.

 

I know what you mean about watching sausage being made. Their is a local gold, silver and jewelry shop that I use to buy from, but after watching them will sellers, I can't think of them as anything but sleazy.

I guess the difference with this coin shop is we know the owners and there is a trust level. Sure, they are doing it to make a living, but they also love the hobby. He is happy to tell you what he has in the coins, and says what his profit is. Not sure how the man off the street is treated, but I haven't seen anything that makes me uncomfortable.

Plenty of friends and families in the shop when I stop in. Today there were at least 5 kids (under 10) running around playing. Owners' kids, and the kids of club members I know. There are the normal cameras, buzzers, and warning signs, but the owners let us look at whatever we want and there is never a feeling that the owners treat us with any distrust. In fact, I suspect if they were busy and a club member asked to see something in another case, they may even say go around and pull it out. Don't know that would happen, but it would not surprise me. Good vibes all around!!!

 

My local coin shop is awesome. My dad took me there as a kid, then when I went back in last year, after 25 years, it looked exactly the same! same people run it, they are honest and helpful. Now I spend hours in there sometimes.
However, one thing I did found very strange was when I was going outside to have a smoke, he told me it was okay to smoke in there.

 

Even the one shop that I can still go to and enjoy my time there did something recently that bothered me...

A lady (knowing nothing) came in with an inheirted collection wanting to sell.
I was digging through the huge bin of common wheats, labeled "Wheat Cents - 10 cents each"...
They were at the counter, about 24 to 30 inches away from me.
The person behind the counter totally drove down the value of the seller's collection with their words.
I let all this go in one ear and out the other. It happens everytime I go to any shop...
But then the person behind the counter said of the seller's wheat cents... "and these (gesturing to the big pile without looking at dates), I give 2 cents each flat rate... I can only get 3 cents apeice for them."
It was all I could do to keep from pointing at the sign on the box I was digging through.

Yeah, they gotta make a living, but they should do it without taking advantage.

Edit:
I didn't look, but neither did the shop owner... The pile of wheats could have all been key dates for all we knew. I know they weren't, but to just offer below melt value and not even look. You know if they turned up key dates they wouldn't call the lady up and say "we didn't give you enough for your wheat cents".

 

I really enjoy my local shop - I can chat with any of the guys behind the counter and they make me feel welcome. And yes this dealer offers a flat 2 or 3 cents per wheat cent and they will not search them. At the same time they do not have a junk bin - if you want something like a low grade wheatie they have to go get it. They do not have enough room for junk bins. I also get to search the "special boxes" even though they know I cannot afford them. 99.9% of the coins are raw - and just like any coin shop, you should know what you are doing. And this dealer has made mistakes, none intentional - both in my favor and not in my favor. As I learn more the more confidence I have going into the shop and avoiding some of the coins.

The other shop makes me uncomfortable - the last two times in the store while looking at a coin in the display and deciding if I even want to check it, they start dropping price. Not saying the shop is bad, but the other is just more friendly.

 

It depends on where I go. I really like two of them, and I haven't had a problem at any yet. I'm lumping in dealers at an indoor farmer's market and people at flea markets too. I really like one for his bargain bin coins, and the other for his knowledge and amazing hours. I like the one at the indoor flea market, because that is where I got a $2 silver 3 cent piece that was someone's pocket piece. No complaints!

 

I love my local shop! I've been doing business there for 20+ years and its done nothing but grow and get better. There are usually a few folks in there, rarely too many for comfort. The owner keeps a good stock and the guys are always more than helpful. You do occassionally get a glimpse of the sausage making, but that is just part of it. I actually enjoy seeing when he makes a new buy on something I want, I know what he paid for it and can call his bluff on markup! Ha Ha Ha I love going to the shop in the fall, there's always an above average crowd, the Hogs game is on the TV, the weather is perfect and the 30 minute drive down is a joy. My coin shop is part of my love of collecting.

 

I have one that I buy almost all of my dealer purchases from, both bullion and collector coins. He is weak in world coins but I have limited interests in those to begin with. Another has all the modern stuff and I think he makes a good portion of his income from silver and gold purchases and not so much from coin sales. There are two others; one has mostly low graded and more common coins and the second doesn't make you feel welcome, especially if you ask too many questions about an item. I feel fortunate to have this many choices within a 10 mile radius. Plus, a good portion of my purchases come from auctions and shows. Being in the Chicago market, these can be found on a monthly basis so availability is excellent.

 

I have two locally and both are awesome shops. I really lucked out. They both have decent selections (not as large as I would like, but then again, I don't think it would be as large as I would like if they were the size of Wal-Mart ) and their prices are very good.

My only complaint with one of them is that it is nearly impossible to get a parking spot. He's right in the middle of a crowded shopping plaza and sometimes there is nothing close by. I had to try three times before I could get a spot! I've only been in there once but what I saw was enough to make me want to go back- lack of time and money to spend has prevented it.
The other shop has a little less stuff but it's more along the lines of what I collect-circulated!

But I know that I could go into either shop and be treated with respect and find something cool for my collection.

 

I like my coin shops and most that I go to.
The biggest complaint is that most shops seem to have very little inventory. It just comes in and is sold.
As for unethical behavior, I see this kind of talk all the time here. My question is what is unethical about buying wheats for 2 cents and selling them for 10 cents? Jewelry stores have that kind of mark up all the time and we don't question it.
Now if they lie that is my line. Offer what you want as they can take it or not but don't lie about it.

 

One coin shop near me that carries nothing that I collect Walked in there once, the guy didn't even greet me, just kept watching TV... I understand that a small coin shop in the US is highly unlikely to carry Imperial Russian coins, but I just came in for a look and the "Barbershop" feel was definitely not there, maybe more like "Graveyard"...

 

I have quite a few coin shops local to me (I'm in the Wash, DC area).
One is run by a nationally known dealer (Julian Leidman).
But I can't remember the last time I went to any of them.

This is because my wantlist has a lot of less popular and harder to find issues.
I do all my buying at the big shows such as Whitman.
That, plus a local dealer (not a B&M) gets me almost everything I am looking for.

 

Honestly, the only coin shop that is near enough for me to get to, is not someplace I want to go. My very first visit, I got treated like a "rube". That turned me off. They don't display much inventory and had no supplies that I could see. I guess my favorite coin store is eBay ? I don;t know where else to go to buy and sell and get supplies. Toss in this forum, shich is like having a bunch at Floyd's with a slower pace of conversation.

gary

 

I've only been to my local shop about 3 or 4 times but every time I've been there there's been someone either buying a couple grand worth of gold or selling a couple grand worth of gold. The most expensive coin I've bought there so far was a 2010 ASE and even then the person ahead of me in line was buying like ten of them. The salespeople have always treated me nicely even though I'm not making any big purchases though. My only complaint so far is there seems to be lack of inventory in between the cheap coins(less than $20) and the expensive coins(more than $100), which is my price range.

 

This has been my problem with my local coin shops. They have just been TOO busy with silver and gold buyers to even get a sniff - usually I am the only one buying coins. Just hasn't been a pleasant experience the last few times. My favorite one doesn't go to shows so their stock is pretty...well, I have either bought it or don't want it.

 

I am lucky to live in SE Michigan. The ANA was founded here and this has always been a nexus for numismatics. But shops are as individual as their owners.

You have to think of yourself as making the experience for them.

Regardless of the owners or clerks, I generally try to focus on my own business, and observe the traffic.

That said, I have walked out (quietly) rather than put up with an owner's idiotic opinions on other people's religions. I saw another shop owner look at the Greysheet and "quote" a price actually not printed there, just to low-ball a customer. On the other hand, there's a local dealer, whether I am buying or selling, when I walk in and walk out, I get the prices pretty much that I expected with no surprises. But he doesn't share much information. Another shop, I never find what I want, but I learn a lot about other stuff.

The same applies to coin shows. We have four or five a month within an hour's drive of everywhere. Who you see, who sets up, who walks the floor, it depends. Some shows are folksy downhome affairs one week and not so warm the next.