I will be visiting New England next week, and my hosts know I am into coins. They have heard about Littleton and want to take me there. I have searched the archives and know there are mixed opinions about the company (that's probably an understatement), but most seem to be aimed at their mail-order business. Has anyone ever visited them in person? I collect primarily mint state 20th century coins and die varieties. Given that I am perfectly capable of deciding whether a given coin is worth the asking price or not, is it worth a two hour drive to visit the place? I know this area is fraught with peril, but please try to avoid a flame war. If you haven't been there in person, you probably can't add much that is not already in the archives. TIA for any info.
Call first if you're interested in a particular coin. I've driven by the place and it just looks like a typical industrial building. There is a gift shop, and they do have tours, but they aren't open weekends and I would expect mainly mass-market stuff such as albums and state quarters. Personally? I only do it as a side trip if something else took me to the area. If, say, you were planning to ride the Mount Washington Cog Railway, the Aerial Tramway in Franconia Notch, or the Zipline in Lincoln, perhaps.
The key question is, even if they have tours and a gift shop, do they have a retail counter with easily-accessible stock? That would seem to be an unprofitable business, given the nature of their basic business.
I am a NH resident, and have never heard anyone speak of visiting Littleton in person and buying coins they wanted while there. That doesn't mean it can't happen, but I certainly wouldn't plan on it being a fruitful experience, even if you get in the door.
Easy as a phone call: "Call toll free 1-800-645-3122 (M-F 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET) ©1998-2014 Littleton Coin Company. All rights reserved. 1309 Mt. Eustis Road, Littleton, NH 03561"
I have heard they have a good selection of world coins, but charge 2-3 times more in price. they have their own silver bars too.
There is nothing wrong with Littleton. THere I said it. I have even bought from them a couple of times. If you have "advanced knowledge" of numismatics, then most of their pricing will not interest you. Ok, that is fair and well and good. But, just because most of their stock is high versus others does not mean all of it is. I have bought things from them half of what anyone else charges. So, like any other source, know what you are doing, keep an open mind, and buy something if you like the price. People get all mad at Littleton and I just don't understand it. Down the street from me are two grocery stores, Kowalski's and Cub. Cub is a more traditional cheaper grocery store, pretty basic. Kowalski's is an upper end, pricey store. Yes, they have specialty stuff like fresh sushi, etc, but if you go there to buy a bottle of coke I bet you pay 50% or more than buying it at Cub. Do those same people who scream about Littleton scream about grocery stores like Kowalski's? Every store offers different levels of service and clientelle. I am not going to stand outside Kowalski's and scream at the store and call all of their customers freaking idiots just because they freely choose to shop their. Its their own business. Same with Littleton. They have their own clients, they produce expensive magazines to send to them, and they have their own price structure that people freely pay. I have never heard of Littleton misgrading coins on purpose, I have never heard of them cold calling elderly to try to force them to buy, they are simply the Kowalski's whereas others may prefer the Cub Foods. To each his own.
OK, I went to the Littleton Coin Company in New Hampshire. From my perspective it was not worth a special trip. They have a very small display area that contains mostly mint sets, etc. I was in and out in about ten minutes. They will be happy to bring out anything that is in their catalog for you to look at, but there really is no opportunity to shop. You can get the same stuff from home. So, basically, I guess they essentially completely mail order.
Would it solve your problem to make each vertical panel a separate image, and run them across like a slide show?
I've visited them in person. Met several of their employees, they even treated me to lunch. A great bunch of guys. Yes, their coins are highly priced, I'm not going to make an excuse for that. I wouldn't visit their to buy coins, they don't have much of a retail shop anyway (they're mostly mail order), but it's a neat place to visit, nice people who enjoy coins as much as we do. Probably why I thought it was a neat place to visit was because they gave me a behind the scenes tour.
I recommend SilverTowne in Winchester Indiana for similar reasons. They do sell from a store front and do cater to a wider array of customers but if you express some interest in their business yyou might get a tour. I believe their operations are nearly as large as Littleton and they also have a refinery that is off-site. Some people don't realize how big the coin hobby is until they see some of these bigger operations.
I use to live in Wolfeboro NH and took the trip there, not worth the time. You may want to try the coin shop in Plymouth, NH not bad
