Given the assistance I've received from other board members with their feedback, it seems as if I should "pay it forward" by sharing my experiences in visiting those shops suggested, as well as those I visited as a result of searching on the Internet. Thus, consider the following one man's take of Austin coin shops. ** Perhaps mods can change the thread title to indicate the thread now has reviews from the thread starter, as I can't figure out how to do it.**
Now, first a few caveats. My reviews are based on my experiences of going into these stores looking for a specific type of thing. Namely, at the present moment I'm trying to complete sets of modern circulating coins in BU, excluding silver coins, with silver Kennedys being the exception to the exception, since its silver run is short and quite affordable. For each series, I'm looking for anywhere from 4-12 coins to complete the series. (side note: after this project is completed, hoping to move onto older coins, such as silver moderns,
Walking Liberty halves, pre-1934 Lincolns,
Indian Head cents, etc.
Buffalo nickels,
Liberty nickels, etc.). I'm also trying to complete mint sets and proof sets for the clad era (1965-present), and have about a half dozen proof sets and a half dozen mint sets left.
Thus, in any event, because a certain store wasn't suited for what I was looking for, doesn't mean it wouldn't work well for you if you're looking for something completely different. For instance, my rankings below are based on the type of collector I am ... a medium-budget run of the mill collector looking to complete a few modern series (excluding proofs) in BU. Accordingly, your mileage may vary if you're into trading bullion, are a higher-budget collector of VAMs, are looking to sell coins, or something other than what I was looking to do. That being said, whenever possible, I have tried to gauge whether the store in question would be good for other types of collectors, and have included such notes below.
I've listed the stores below in the order in which I'm likely to return to them.
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1. McBride's
2915 San Gabriel Street
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 472-3532
Hours: Tu-F 9-5:30, Sat 9-4:30
This one's a bit strange in that it's in the back room of a gun shop. I'm certainly not a gun enthusiast, so to walk into a gun shop was a little weird for me. Nonetheless, I was able to put that aside quickly with the warm greeting I received by a kind woman working in the coin room. I asked her what I was looking for, and she kindly brought me out the red boxes of chronologicially sorted coins for me to flip through. During my time there, I found about five coins I needed (which is pretty good, given that this store was the third I visited, and the previous two had wittled down my want list quite a bit), including a key date 1939D
Jefferson nickel in BU condition for a price I believe was a steal. McBride's sold the coins at the prices marked on the flips, and didn't inflate the price at checkout (which, as noted below, happened at one other store during my visit).
As for the mint sets and proof sets, I found that they had very little selection, other than mint set cellophane sleeves stapled to their buy board, most of which were in not-so-great shape.
During my time there, the staff warmly and professionally interacted with individuals seeking appraisals to sell their items. In addition, browsing their display cases I saw a tremendous selection of higher-valuer coins. I really enjoyed visiting McBride's, and it will be a place I return to often as my collection matures.
Pros: Coins sorted in chronological order make it easy to find what you need; warm, knowledgable, and professional staff; wide selection of inventory. Convenient to downtown, has Saturday hours.
Cons: Lack of mint and proof sets in inventory (but not that big of a deal).
Other notes: From what I can tell, also looks to be a good place to go for those collectors seeking higher-value issues and classic coins.
Bottom line: The store I'm most likely to return to in the future. It's convenient to downtown, has weekend hours (important for someone like me who works 7-5, M-F), appears to have a wide selection for all types of collectors.
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2. Village Coin Shop
8650 Spicewood Springs Rd Ste 204
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 219-0030
Hours: M-Th 10-5
This was the first shop I visited among the five reviewed. Here I was greeted warmly by a gentlemen who kindly asked that I was looking for. For the individual coins, he directed me to a side room which had plastic bins of coins placed in cardboard flips and segregated into the bins by denomination, and told me that any coins I wanted would sell for two times face value. While I searched in the side room, he took my list of needed mint and proof sets and brought out sets matching my list. I spent significant time searching (along with my wife) bins of 1965 and later BU Lincolns, Jeffersons, Roosevelts, Washingtons, and Kennedys (no silvers), and came away with roughly 10 coins (mainly cents, but with one or two nickels and dimes) that I either needed or picked up because they looked like good candidates for upgrading existing coins in the collection (at 2x face, this was too good of a deal, especially for quality BU cents!). Also, the coins I grabbed, in my estimation, were Gem BU quality coins or just slightly below. As for the proof and mint sets, he brought out a bunch, and after flipping through them all to check the quality, I snagged a 1969 Proof Set.
While I was there, they had roughly five or six other customers come in looking to sell items. A wide range of things came in, including a lady with a modest hoard of Morgan and
Peace dollars, a gentlemen with a WWII-era campaign medal (e.g., given to troops for serving in the war), another gentleman with a wide assortment of foreign paper currency, a couple with some worthless private-minted coins won in a storage auction, and other items. I noticed that while engaging with each customer, they were not only extremely knowledgable of everything that was brought in, but also very kind and respectful to the customers, even if it was something they weren't terribly interested in purchasing.
Overall, I had the impression that the welcomed my presence in the store, even though I'm far from their most profitable customer. I'll be sure to go back again to search the bins and look for other spendier items when my hobby matures to that stage. As for the "spendier" items, looking in their showcase it appears as if they have a fairly broad selection of higher-value and classic coins.
Pros: 2x face for Gem BU quality coins, even commons, is excellent! Also, they were extremely patient as my two-year-old daughter walked around the store while the wife and I searched the bins. Wide selection. Extremely knowledgable, friendly, and professional.
Cons: Banker's hours (Monday-Thursday, 10-5) makes it hard to get there from a downtown M-F job (fortunately, I had Monday, January 2 off from work for New Year's Day). Searching through unsorted bins takes a while (a minor nitpick).
Other notes: From what I can tell, also looks to be a good place to go for those collectors seeking higher-value issues and classic coins.
Bottom line: In my mind it would be on par with McBride's if they only had better hours. Even the day I was there, the owner told customers he was closing at 2:00 so he could go home to watch the Rose Bowl. Their hours really make it hard for someone with a conventional "9 to 5" job to make it in.
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3. Heirloom Jewelry and Coins
9222 Burnet Rd
Austin, TX 78758
(512) 983-1222
Hours: Every day 10-5
I visited on the day of their grand opening at their new location, and Heirloom was the second store visited of the five reviewed. I was greeted by a woman who I imagine was a wife or relative of store owner Charles Hart. Initially got a bad impression and almost walked out as the clerk seemed to have difficulty in discerning what I was asking for, which should not have been the case for a business billing itself as in its name as a coin store. I was asked "how can I help you?" I said I was looking for coins. Her reply, "gold or silver?" Me: "clad modern coins." Her: "You mean 40% silver?" Me: "No. Coins without precious metals." At this point, it was as if she was looking at me as if I had horns growing out of my head and she said "I don't think I understand what you're looking for?" I replied "I don't think you have what I'm looking for" and started to walk out before she said, "we have boxes in the back with single coins, are you looking for something like that?" I said "maybe" and she proceeded to bring out rowed boxes of cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, etc. So, we eventually got there, although the route there was a little frustrating and off-putting.
Nonetheless, I spent some time searching my want list through the boxes of chronologically sorted coins in cardboard 2x2's, and again identified a handful of about 10 coins that I both needed and that met my quality standards. Some of the 2x2's had prices on them, some of them didn't. After I had finished, store owner Charles Hart grabbed his 2012
RedBook and the Greysheets to price the coins, although he only looked at the
RedBook in setting prices. He also informed me that any prices on the flips might be old, and he'd have to reevaluate them. In pricing the coins, he assumed every coin I picked out was MS-65, even if it wasn't. Also, he would occassionally bump up a price already written on a flip if the
RedBook told him a higher value, but didn't bump it down if
RedBook was lower. I might've walked out without buying anything, if it weren't for the fact that for two of the coins -- a 1965
Kennedy half and one labeled as a 1964
Kennedy half (more on that later) -- he didn't look to the
RedBook or Greysheets and priced simply by looking at his computer for the then-current spot price of silver and pricing each slightly above silver melt value, which was quite a deal for me because each of these two coins were simply stunning. So, I thought that because I'm getting a good deal on the two priciest coins in the lot, I'll let the overpricing on the others go. Turns out later that the 1964 was actually a proof, so the deal wasn't as good as I had thought, although I think I still got it at a bargain price, albeit for a coin I don't really want and will probably try to break with even by selling on
ebay (note: made about a 50% profit selling the 1964 Kennedy proof on
ebay).
As for mint and proof sets, my initial frustration in explaining what I needed made me forget that I was in there to look for those too. After I had purchased my items, I noticed they had boxes of at least proof sets on the floor behind their display case in a somewhat unorganized manner (perhaps on account of their recent move), but my wife had returned to pick me up from the store, so I didn't inquire further. I may try again another day if I want to fill in a set here or there, but I'm reluctant to go back as they'll probably look at the
RedBook for prices.
Looking in their case at the individual high-value coins they had, I surmised that their selection was OK, but nothing special. I get a feeling that they're a jeweler first, a bullion dealer second, and a coin dealer third.
Pros: Coins sorted in chronological order make it easy to find what you need, and they have numerous single coins available in the "commons" boxes.
Cons: Somewhat unknowledgable staff (probably due to that it's mainly a jewelry store and bullion dealer, with a small side business of selling coins to collectors), marking up prices already listed on flips based on
RedBook (while not marking coins down as well), using a
RedBook with one-year-old prices instead of the Greysheets that the very same
RedBook is sitting directly on top of, pricing coins as if each was an MS-65, mislabeling the 1964 Proof Kennedy (although, that one's on me too... I should've noticed that!).
Bottom line: I'm think I'm unlikely to go back, unless there's a particular set or coin that proves over time to be impossible to find at coin shows or the other stores listed above.
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4. South Austin Coin Exchange
3100 West Slaughter Lane Suite A 104
Austin, TX 78748
(512) 233-4653
Hours: M-F 10-4; Sat by appointment
At this location, there are two coin dealers, Brad Goldsmith and James Arnold who operate their two different "shops" out of the back of an insurance agency.
After explaining to Mr. Goldsmith long and hard regarding what type of individual coins I was looking for, he finally pulled from his safe two tiny boxes of miscellaneous U.S. coins including moderns and classics and having about 50 total coins in them. Didn't find anything I needed. His display case had quite a bit of mint sets and proof sets, which I looked through and grabbed a 1972 mint set and a 1977 proof set. However, while I found a few items in the display case, he said that within the next week, he was going to be selling everything in the display case to another dealer, and would no longer be carrying mint sets and proof sets. From the looks of it, he also didn't many individual classic coins for sale. Thus, in about a week it seems as if he'll have no inventory for coin hobbyists.
Also, despite the fact I walked out with a few things I was looking for, a few things made the visit unpleasurable. First, I has the general sense that Mr. Goldsmith was annoyed by my presence. Second, Mr. Goldsmith spent practically all of the time I was there on the phone trying to close bullion deals that it was nearly impossible to get his attention when I wanted to look at something else, and his employee seemed to be more interested chatting with Mr. Arnold than taking care of me. At one point, Mr. Arnold actually suggested to the employee that he ask what I need, as Mr. Goldsmith was likely to be on the phone for awhile.
As for Mr. Arnold, I had met him previously, and although he appears to deal in some higher-value classic coins, he has in the past taken the time in past encounters to suggest dealers at coin shows I've attended who might be able to address my collecting needs. If have have specific needs as my hobby matures to collecting classic coins, I may give Mr. Arnold a call in the future to see if he has what I'm looking for.
Pros: Mr. Arnold has been kind and helpful, despite not having the type of inventory that interests me at this point, and might be a good resource when looking for specific higher-value coins.
Cons: Banker's hours (although I believe Mr. Arnold is in business on Saturdays), apparent lack of selection for many types of collectors (except those trading bullion), feeling that my presence was not wanted.
Bottom line: Unlikely to deal with Mr. Goldsmith again. May in the future deal with Mr. Arnold, but even then, only for a classic coin that proves difficult to find from other sellers.
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5. Capital Coin and Bullion
7304 Burnet Rd Suite A
Austin, TX 78757
(512) 371-5884
Hours: M-F 10-6, Sat 10-2
Of all the shops I visited so far in Austin, this will be the one that I will most definitely no go back to. I was greeted by a young clerk and stated what I was looking for. Again, like my visit to Heirloom, he was initially confused as to what I was looking for (how can you work in a coin store and no know what someone means when they say "common-date" coins). His actual response to my question was, "you mean 90% silver?" After additional questioning, it began to appear to me that they did not have what I was looking for. So, I struck out here, and made no purchases. I'm am still very shocked at the difficulty I had communicating what I was seeking. You'd think I was speaking Klingon.
Another downside to the visit was the Ron Paul propaganda displayed throughout the shop. Now, I respect everyone's right to be a Ron Paul supporter or a supporter of anyone else, but I don't want my coin store to prosthelytize to me, regardless of what political views they have. Now, I'm sure there are some out there who might think "Oh, you're letting politics cloud your review." Wrong. I can assure you the politics of those running McBride's -- a coin shop in the back of a gun shop -- are quite different than mine, but they landed the highest review on my list. The key difference is, at McBride's they didn't surround me with NRA pamphlets and bumper stickers regarding their political views, the staff I dealt with was knowledgable, and they had I some of what I was seeking. Capital Coin and Bullion had none of that, and quite frankly, didn't apper to me to have that great of a selection for those seeking classic coins or other higher-value coins.
My main takeaway is that Capital Coin and Bullion is largely a bullion dealer with little for the true coin hobbyist. Even looking at their display cases, I was unimpressed with the selection as compared with other shops I visited. So, in sum, I won't be back -- my visit there was frustrating.
Pros: Left the store with all of the money I came in with.
Cons: Lack of selection, unknowledgable sales clerk, off-putting political propaganda.
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Posted 12/28/2011 4:58 pm
