Hi all. I just was wondering if anyone on here has ever had much luck finding interesting coins at pawn shops? I'm heading to a part of town today for some errands that has 2 or 3 pawn shops & thought maybe I should stop in & check them out. Can you believe I've NEVER been in one before? Guess I've led a sheltered life Any hints or tips on what I should look for or ask? Do I have to browse around or are coins the type of thing that are kept out of view & I have to inquire about? I'm really quite excited to go check these places out, kinda feels like a treasure hunt. Thanks! Robin
I haven't ever gone to the pawn shops for coins, but that is a pretty good idea. I will have to give that a shot. If I were to guess, the coins are going to be in a glass case near the jewelry. If you don't see anything, just ask. One other thing; don't be shy at all about bartering with your pawn broker. Where I might soft pedel these discussions with a coin dealer, I work the pawn broker like I would if I were buying a car. Just my style, use that which works for you. good luck, Cris
Pawn shops are a great place to find coins. Most will be common coins, but the price is usally based on spot prices.
I've checked a few pawnshops and have never found anything worth buying. They are fun to look in, but overpriced.
Well, no luck today. I was running late getting out of the house & knew I wouldn't have time to hit all of my stops so I called 3 of them. The one closest to me says that whenever they get coins in they put them up on ebay, another one said they don't accept silver coins...only gold. La de da, who knew pawn shops were so snooty, lol. And the 3rd one said she had some but just sold them yesterday and for me to check back every couple of weeks. Oh well, it was worth a try.
Pawn brokers tend to buy coins cheap and either price them way outta sight or just keep them for themselves. I do business with some local pawn shops but it's usually scrap gold, watches, or anything numismatic related that's weird or different. I bought a boxload of Indonesian currency last year, all still in original bank bundles...not a great find but interesting. Most pawn shop owners that I know keep all the gold and better date coins for themselves, since they usually pay very little for it they can afford to put it away.
I use to go to antique stores and try to find coins among other things. Coins aren't their specialty...and if they're like anyone else in the world....they'll think that ANY coin older than 1960 is worth tons...so they'll overprice it majorly. If you've ever looked behind the counters....some people have about 18 pricing guide books on antiques or whatnot...if you're lucky, you'll get a circulated coin that they looked up in a book and figured it was proof or something and marked it as that. Probably the only way you'll get a coin at a good price is if it's an error they overlooked. 3 legged buffalo...DD....key dates...who knows. I've never tried a pawn shop though. I'll try some in my area and let ya know if I found a copper 1943 penny!
