So, the other day, I was clearing out some old boxes from the attic, you know, stuff that’s been up there since my grandpa passed. And I stumbled upon this small, kinda dusty wooden box. Inside? A whole bunch of old coins. Not like, ancient Roman stuff, but definitely not the kind of change you find in your pocket these days. Some were silver, some looked like copper, all sorts of weird designs on them.
Honestly, I had no clue what to do with them. Were they worth anything? Were they just cool-looking junk? My first thought was, “Okay, Google,” but then you get a million conflicting answers, right? It’s just overwhelming. Then my neighbor, old Mrs. Henderson, she mentioned this place, “Don’s Coin & Jewelry,” said she’d sold some old bits and pieces there once. Figured, what the heck, couldn’t hurt to check it out.
My Trip to Don’s
So I gathered up the box, feeling a bit like I was on one of those antique shows, half expecting to find out I was a millionaire, half expecting to be told it was all worthless. Walked into Don’s, and it wasn’t what I expected. Not super fancy, you know? More like a proper old-school shop. Lots of glass cases, coins, some sparkly things that were probably the “jewelry” part.
There was this guy behind the counter, probably Don himself, looked like he’d seen a million boxes of coins in his life. I kinda awkwardly put my box on the counter and mumbled something about inheriting them and not knowing anything. He just nodded, real calm, and started looking through them. Didn’t rush, which I appreciated. He pulled out this loupe thing, you know, the little magnifying glass jewelers use, and peered at a few of them real close.
The moment of truth, right?
He spent a good ten, fifteen minutes looking. Picked some up, put some down. Then he started talking. And here’s the thing, he wasn’t just like, “This is worth X, this is worth Y.” He actually explained a few things. Like, he pointed out some wear and tear on one, told me a bit about where another one might have come from. It was pretty interesting, actually.
- He showed me how to spot common fakes (not that mine were, thankfully!).
- He talked about how condition is super important.
- And he was honest, you know? He wasn’t trying to pull a fast one.
Turns out, I wasn’t sitting on a goldmine. Shocker, I know! Most of it was, well, not exactly junk, but not super valuable either. A few pieces had a bit of silver value, and a couple were interesting enough for collectors but not like, mega-rare. He made me an offer for the few bits that had some value, and it seemed fair, especially after he’d explained everything. It wasn’t a life-changing amount of money, but it was more than I walked in with, and definitely more than they were worth sitting in a dusty box.
I ended up selling a few and keeping a couple of the ones he said were interesting just because, well, they were grandpa’s, and now I had a bit of a story with them. The main thing I took away wasn’t really the cash, though. It was just… the experience. Going into a place like that, a bit clueless, and coming out feeling like I’d learned something. Don, or whoever he was, he didn’t make me feel stupid for not knowing. He just shared his knowledge.
So yeah, that was my little adventure at Don’s Coin & Jewelry. Not a blockbuster movie plot, but a decent way to spend an afternoon and figure out what to do with some old memories. Sometimes these little local places are gems in their own right, you know?
