My family and I are going to St. Louis to have fun for a few days. Before I start googling, do you guys have any suggestions for decent coin shops worth checking out in the St. Louis area?
St. Louis is perennially in the top 5 most dangerous cities in the country, boasting a higher murder rate per capita than Chicago. Currently #4 in violent crimes per capita according to the FBI. In truth, I wouldn't visit the place unless I had to. That said, my style of tourism - immersion - will be far different than yours, and the city has a lot to offer the casual tourist. One may assume the areas frequented by visitors receive plenty of law enforcement attention. In most major metropolitan areas crime tends to concentrate in the areas where people actually live, packed in tightly together, so alarming statistics must be taken in context. I will say that I was unable to find a dealer whose name I recognized within 50 miles of the Downtown Zip Code aside Scottsman Auctions. Not encouraging. With luck, though, a local member will have more relevant information.
I've visited St. Louis a few times and never felt uncomfortable or threatened. I even took public transportation extensively and drove through East St. Louis without incident. Perhaps I was lucky. But still, using caution in any new city is a good idea. My impression is that the vast majority of the violence occurs in East St. Louis, but that's just an impression. Do some research to verify. The St. Louis Zoo is absolutely amazing. They have a King Penguin exhibit that is nothing like I've ever seen before. And if you're up for something completely different, America's pyramid lies not too far outside of St. Louis in Collinsville in a place called Cahokia Mounds. From the top of the highest mound you can see downtown St. Louis and they have an amazing interpretive center that describes the civilization that lived there (at one point more than 1 million people lived in Cahokia). It collapsed some time in the 16th century and no one knows why. Sorry, enthusiastic rant over. Unfortunately, I did not visit or even research any coin shops while in the area. Sorry! Still, I had a great time. Be careful and enjoy!
I too have been to St. Louis and had no problems. I went on a tour of the Budweiser Factory and Grant's Farm at the expense of Anheuser-Busch. Was a cool trip. Even went to a Cardinals game. I'm sure you can find trouble anywhere, if you look for it. Can't help with the coin shops though.
I may be able to offer assistance... Of course, one key aspect to this question is this: what do you collect? Because different shops have different specialties (example: one shop up near Chicago does ONLY world coins.) I have done a lot of business with Eagle Coin & Stamp in O'Fallon, IL (about 15 min across the river, right off the highway.) They are usually pretty fair with prices and selection. Always friendly. Also, apparently they have a website now. (ha!) Sketchy/Safety factor (of the neighborhood): Very Safe I've visited Scotsman's Coins a few times. I feel like they've had more selection than Eagle, but their prices are way, way too high. Some of the sales people are friendly, some are not. One of those places where if you ask for something specific (like 1964 Proof sets, or generally proof sets), they will hand you one or two of that item and then pretend like they only have those two. And give you the stink eye. I do NOT shop here any more because of this. Sketchy/Safety factor: Slightly Sketchy Marine Coin Company is a bit further out of the way, which is both a good and a bad thing. The people there are extremely friendly, and the woman working there (I am terrible at names) is what I'd consider an expert on vintage jewelry. Less selection than Eagle. Sketchy/Safety Factor: Very Safe Midwest Money is probably in between Eagle and Scotsman's in terms of variety and friendliness. I used to shop here a lot when I worked at the Target down the street. Went in to their new location and was pleasantly surprised, although my purchase did have a few errors (foreign silver thrown in that was not foreign silver - should have checked - bulk foreign purchase of over 60 lbs was about 10 pounds short once I got it home and weighed it on my scale.) Sketchy/Safety Factor: Slightly Sketchy PAUSE: I'm giving you my best estimate of variety in terms of selection, although, in my experience, lots of coin dealers have lots of the same types of coins. Quality material does NOT sit on shelves, it gets purchased by collectors almost immediately unless the price point is crazy. So most shops will have the same types of stuff. Edel Coins is similar to Eagle, very friendly but maybe a little less selection to choose from. Most material is behind the counter. Mike is very friendly and always negotiates better prices without my asking. Sketchy/Safety Factor: Very Safe T&E Coin in Bethalto is close to Edel, owner is a friendly guy but selection is much lower than Edel/Eagle/Marine. But every once in a while I'll find something that I can't find elsewhere like one of the Matte Proof Jefferson Coinage Sets. Sketchy/Safety Factor: Very Safe Ken's Coins in East Alton is one of those shops where they take pocket change, put it in 2x2's, scribble illegible words and prices on them, and then try to pass them off as collectible coins. I will never, ever go in here for any reason. One time, I brought about $20,000 in graded coins (nice stuff, too, key dates and the like, not common modern stuff or junk) in to see if I could get a reasonable offer on them. I then received an offer that was so low I actually laughed at him, packed up my coins, and walked out. The first coin I sold from that group by listing on eBay was higher than his total offer for the entire group. I won't even link you to their address, that's how poorly I think of this place. And East Alton is NOT a nice place to hang out. Sketchy/Safety Factor: Very Sketchy I hope this helped. I've tried to avoid giving advice on shops I rarely frequent (unless I had something specific to say.) St. Louis does have some wonderful attractions. Missouri Botanical Gardens is my favorite place (visit the Climatron or feed the HUGE koi in the Japanese gardens - just remember to bring quarters for the food and maybe a small bag so you don't drop it all over the ground). The City Museum is a TON of fun, just don't go after dark as downtown is EXTREMELY SKETCHY. I lived about a block from there and someone would get shot at the 7-11 across the street from my apt ever other day. Wear clothes you are comfortable climbing in, and if you're bringing kids, make sure to keep an eye on them...before you know it, you'll see them in the ceiling or under the floor and won't know how to catch them. If you want to do something cool outside, rent a boat (foot paddle boats) at the Boathouse on Forest Park - you can paddle through a series of interconnected lakes surrounding many of the museums. If you're sneaky enough, you can steer the boat under one of the fountains and only get your partner wet. As mentioned earlier, Cahokia Mounds is pretty cool, as is the Gateway Arch (not sure if they've finished the renovations yet.) I personally hate zoos, so I won't say much more about that here. The Pageant on Delmar street hosts many popular but maybe not huge stadium level bands and acts (saw Sarah Silverman (yes, please) and Dave Chappelle there, among others) and there are some good places to eat there, but it tends to get sketchy after dark (although they've done some work to end that.) The Tivoli Theatre is also here, and is a great place to catch an indie movie (can you say popcorn with real butter? I sure can.) And, of course, my favorite: St. Louis Bubble Tea. Cherokee Street has a LOT going on - if you like Mexican food, head here. Same for the Hill, but for Italian food. St. Louis is like many other cities - be smart, don't wander around sketchy areas after dark, don't park your car in a dark alley - and you'll be fine. Well...hopefully that all made sense. I can do my best to clarify anything I've said above if you have specific questions. Welcome to the Lou, and (as it was scratched into the wall in the back room of the restaurant below my grandfather's apartment) "Beware the toasted ravioli." Also, don't even waste your time with Imo's pizza, that's trash pizza (might as well eat the box it's delivered in.) Chicago deep dish and NYC thin crust is WAY better, in that order.
Gents, particularly Stldanceartist - Thank you very much for your feedback. I will take your suggestions. We are going to hang out around the Loop tomorrow, which should be fun.
If you think the Rams leaving St Louis was about ANYTHING other than loads of money, you aren't seeing the big picture. They moved here for a money grab, they left for a money grab.
The NFL is a huge many grab - the commissioner makes over $40M annually for acting like a robot for the owners!
He's the equivalent of a sacrificial anode. I'm pleased stldanceartist responded - had him in mind and I should have thought to ping him.
