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By Mike Cook
Las Cruces Bulletin
Editor’s note: The prices quoted for coins in this story reflect precious metals markets for mid-May 2022 and are subject to change.
Buying silver and gold coins is not only a fun hobby, it’s a great investment.
Just ask Las Cruces Coins & Collectibles co-owners Gary Henderson and his son-in-law, Joseph Santana.
They opened Coins & Collectibles at 2615 Missouri Ave. last July and have been buying and selling gold, silver and platinum coins and bars and appraising coins and coin collections for nearly a year.
The store also sells walking sticks handmade by Joe McClarin, framed butterflies, original artwork by Laurie Smith and coin-collecting supplies. Be sure to check out the two giant quartz crystals, which are both for sale. They come from the Ron Coleman mine in Jessieville, Arkansas.
Coins & Collectibles also has
“We enjoy having kids come into the store,” Henderson said, as he and Santana help “start a new generation in the hobby” of coin collecting.
It was pennies that got Henderson interested in coin collecting as a child living in Iowa. Henderson and his father would travel to Omaha, Nebraska, where they would buy $10 worth of pennies from a bank and then sort through them at their kitchen table for any collectibles. Henderson still has some of those pennies.
“It’s been a very fun hobby,” he said.
Henderson is also an avid collector of trade tokens. He has them from more than 40 states and even wrote a book “Iowa Trade Tokens,” about the hobby.
For investors, gold and silver coins hold their value “if U.S. currency goes kaput,” Henderson said.
They are an especially good investment now, he said, because “a lot of people are afraid our dollar is going to lose a whole lot of its value.”
Henderson said he and Santana received a lot of help and support from SCORE of Las Cruces in opening their business. SCORE provides volunteer mentors to help businesses thrive.
Henderson said he began meeting with SCORE mentor Peter Krebs six months before opening Coins & Collectibles. Krebs helped Henderson and Santana develop a business plan; comply with city, state and federal regulations; develop a marketing strategy; find a location; and get the necessary security in place.
Krebs and SCORE “gave us a lot of help in getting started,” Henderson said.
Las Cruces Coins & Collectibles is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday.
Call 575-571-7526 and email lascrucescoins@gmail.com.
Visit www.lascrucescoins.com.