09/28/2026
Just had a frustrating phone call from a guy looking to find a place that will buy his coins. Good example of how strange the public can be.
He asks, “yeah do you collect coins, buy coins?”
I reply, “yeah, but depends on what it is, what kinds of coins do you have?”
He responds, “where are you located?”
I repeat, “what kinds of coins do you have?”
He repeats louder, “WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED?”
I pause, thinking how best to respond and wondering if I even want to further engage with this angry person…
He continues, “because I’m in FL and if you’re not in FL…”
I answer, “I’m in FL, Venice, FL, but I’d like to know what you’re wanting to bring in.”
He responds, “NO, you’re just trying to rip people off!” And hangs up.
And the reason I try to find out what a person is wanting to bring in is because MOST people don’t know values of coins very well and the internet is misleading. Some people think they have common pocket change that is heavily circulated and damaged but surely contains a mint error and is rare…so by asking I can save them the trip, and myself a little time.
A common question is about the 2023 quarter with Jovita Idar on the back and “IN COD WE TRUST” on the front and it’s somehow worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. When in fact it really reads “IN GOD WE TRUST” and they simply can’t see it well enough and the coin is common and not worth more than face value. There are scammers online with outrageous prices trying to convince people this common face value quarter is worth a lot more than it really is. This coin is frequently asked about, maybe once per month. Always a sad conversation and the customer sometimes doesn’t believe they haven’t found a free payout off the ground or in a pocket of change.
