It's hard for me to believe that I've been a rare coin dealer for 10 years now. I don't think anyone would have expected me or this business to last as long as it has. I want to say thank you to all of our customers without whose support we would not be where we are.
It all started innocently enough in 2007 when my mother, eager to clear room out of her house, dropped off my "coin collection" when I was a kid to my new home. Now that I was married, it was a convenient time for my mother to clean house. I'm not sure what she did with my Star Wars figures..... As an ex-Wall Street commodities trader, it didn't take me long to become addicted to the notion of buying and selling rare coins. And so it started....
Then came the web site and me destroying a handful of cameras and lamps trying to get the perfect coin image. My weekends were filled with coin buying trips during the day and coin imaging marathons at night. I thought I might be able to turn this into a business enterprise, but everyone else thought I was nuts. This included my wife; our marriage ended in divorce - but not over the coin business. Each year I did a little more business than the year before.
In 2011, I opened the store in Fairfax. As I started to get a customer base, I dealt with growing online shipping and fraud issues, as well as an HVAC system that was too hot in the winter and too cold in the summer. I thought that I might be able to make enough to cover expenses and eventually take a small salary, but everyone else thought I was nuts. Somehow we survived and thrived.
In late 2013, I nearly tripled the size of the store as we moved into our current location in the same building as our old store. I thought that the extra expense for space and staff would present us as a premier rarities dealer and maybe I could grow the business and take a regular salary, and everyone said I was nuts. I have been blessed by a great team and some sheer luck.
Today, I can make a living at this, though paying all the bills is still a struggle. In another five years, I'll be an overnight success and people will think, "Nuts! I should have done that."
We will be celebrating our progress all year long. Each month, we will select a different product category each month and everything in that category will be 10% off. Use code "10Years" at check out to receive your discount. January will feature Walking Liberty Half Dollars on sale.
Thank you for your support these past 10 years.
Sincerely,
TJ
The Penny Pincher
