In early 2024, I went on a crazy four#8208;state road trip and visited 23 coin shops. I wrote an article in CoinWeek about the oddities and interesting observations I noticed along the way. I'm doing it all over again, this time heading towards the Pacific Northwest. I will document my journey and the unique cultures of coin shops around the North and PNW on my Instagram.
As some here may know, I'm a huge Dansco album nerd. That's why I'm excited that on Friday, March 21st, I'll be visiting the Dansco Corporation's Headquarters in Sumas, Washington! The company's owners were kind enough to accept my request to visit and nerd out.
Along with documenting the different cultures of coin shops around the North/PNW, my top goal is to add rare & unique Dansco albums to my collection.
Montana Billings
Montana Bullion & Coin
Grizzly Gold and Silver
Ardie's Coins
Bozeman
Penny Ranch
Williams Gallery
Butte
JS Coins
All Stars Collectibles
Missoula
Grizzley Gold and Silver
Missoula Gold & Silver
Treasure Coins
Jem Shoppe Jewelers & Rare Coins
Idaho Coeur d'Alene
Spartacus Coins Bullion Collectibles
Post Falls
North Idaho Coin Company
Washington State Spokane
Coin Corner
A-1 Coin Co.
Coins Plus, Inc
Eastern Washington Coin Co.
American Coin & Vault
Red Line Coins
Everett
Odyssey-2
Seattle
Coin & Stamp Shop
Kirkland
Bel-Kirk Stamps, Coins, & Comics
Redmond Rare Coins
Tacoma
Tacoma Mall Blvd Coin, Stamp, & Jewelry
Lakewood
B & I Coin Shop
Olympia
American Rare Coin, Gold & Jewelry
I can't promise I'll make it to all 27 coin shops, but I would like to invite the community to join me in any way they can.
Are there any coin shops along my route that you think I should especially visit?
What would you like me to keep an eye out for and report back?
What questions would you like me to ask the owners of Dansco?
Anything else you think I should consider?
It's shaping up to be one heck of a week-long road trip. Wish me luck.
Day 1: 8-hour drive to Billings, MT. No coin shops today
After I made my post, a few people reached out and convinced me to spend a few hours at Grunberg Schloss Collectors Cabinet in Ponderay, ID. They also recommended I focus on certain Spokane shops with more coin albums to browse through. With the detour to Ponderay and changing the schedule, I've removed these coin shops on my road trip list.
Idaho Coeur d'Alene - Spartacus Coins Bullion Collectibles - DJ's Coins & Collectibles - Post Falls - North Idaho Coin Company
Washington State Spokane - Coin Corner - A-1 Coin Co. - American Coin & Vault
Added
Idaho Ponderay - Grunberg Schloss Collectors Cabinet
Day 2 Update: Three cities, 344 miles, & five coin shops
The first significant day of my coin-collecting trip was a success! I added the following items to my inventory for about $600. My car is getting quite full, so I may need to visit the post office soon. Below are my thoughts on the various coin shops I visited.
Today's Haul
- 8 x Dansco Albums - 11 x Dansco Pages - 4 x Vintage Whitman Albums/Folders - 16 x Modern Whitman Canada Folders - 2 x Library of Coins Albums - 36 x Vintage Mehrig Albums - 4 lbs World Coins + Misc Individual World Coins - 1 x Commemorative Clad Half Dollar
I could not resist buying a large set of 36 Mehrig albums for just $100 in total. The dealer who sold them to me acquired them from an older dealer who purchased the albums in the 1950s. I don't know much about Mehrig albums; however, David Lange researched them extensively for his coin album research books. Although I had promised myself I wouldn't add albums from other manufacturers to my collection, this was too good to pass up. Now I will need to buy another bookshelf, lol.
Montana Billings Montana Bullion & Coin They required arranging an appointment beforehand, so I skipped it.
Grizzly Gold and Silver - I had a pleasant conversation with Randall about German coins. He was surprised to learn that I spoke some German, as I had studied abroad and taught English for two years in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, which he had recently visited. - The selection of world coins and coin albums was good, and there was a typical display of US coins. - Gave me a discount on some coin albums. - I got this pro tip for buying world coins individually, but a dealer only sells them in bulk. "Offer to pay double the bulk price if you get to pick out individual coins. So if they charge $10 per pound, offer to pay $20 per pound, but you get to pick out each coin. I've found dealers will be open to that."
Ardie's Coins - Ardie was very personable, and we had a great conversation about our favorite coin album manufacturers [he enjoys Library of Coins]. - They had an extensive wall of various Dansco albums. - Huge selection of world & US coins, tokens, and medals. - We agreed to stay in touch since he has more albums in storage for me to look at.
Bozeman Penny Ranch - The store was pretty busy when I visited. There was a fair selection of US coins. I didn't see any world coins, and they only had a few coin albums. - I got a good discount on the few albums I purchased.
Williams Gallery - General modern coin shop with mostly US coins, but they had a wide selection of coin albums, especially Littleton - I only saw US coins, and most were Morgan dollars - I got a good discount on my purchase Butte
JS Coins - This is the best coin shop I visited today! I'm always surprised by coin shops in small towns. Usually, they're tiny, don't have much inventory, and mainly operate as gold and silver shops. But sometimes, I find a small-town shop run by a passionate collector. - The shop typically closes at 6 pm, but Joseph stayed open an extra hour and a half so we could talk coins. We even had a funny moment when I asked him about Dansco albums. He said, "I actually have 400 Dansco's in my collection," and I replied, "I think I have you beat at 800." - I really enjoyed talking with Joseph. His main job is being a plumber, but he collects coins and runs his shop for fun. (That explains why the store sign says JS Plumbing & Heating) - - - He sells on WhatNot and ebay and taught me a lot about how WhatNot operates. - It turns out he even bought from my ebay store before! He pulled out one of the business cards I put in my ebay orders. I'm going to see if I could create a custom gold-type set Dansco album for him - I created a short video giving Joseph and JS coins a shoutout that you can check out here:
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I enjoyed meeting all my chats with shop owners and seeing how they market their coin shops. Here's to tomorrow!
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Posted 03/16/2025 11:06 pm
Excited to hear more as you go along. 
Will they be updating their U.S. commemorative albums?
