Fort Worth Coin Co. Inc.
1114 Norwood St.
Fort Worth 76017
817-336-1782
www.fortworthcoin.com
Three years ago, John Slate sought sound and honest advice on purchasing bullion for his financial portfolio. He found what he was looking for and a lot more at Fort Worth Coin Co.
“They were kind and easy to work with,” Slate said.
Today, Slate drops into the store in the city’s Cultural District on a weekly basis. He also has become an avid coin collector.
Fort Worth Coin recently moved to the corner of Lancaster Avenue and Norwood Street after serving customers at a West Seventh Street location for 44 years.
In addition to buying and selling rare coins and the products that accommodate collecting them, Fort Worth Coin deals in numerous other areas such as appraisals for estate and insurance purposes. The business includes buying all forms of gold, silver and platinum bullion, gold and silver jewelry (new, used or broken), sterling flatware, diamonds and tokens, and numismatics (the study or collection of coins, tokens and paper money).
Jeffree Slye-Nelson, the company’s director, said the secret of the business’ success is simple: a heavy emphasis on customer service.
“People come here because they like us,” Slye-Nelson said. “We like people. We enjoy visiting with them. We get to know them.”
Slate was one of those people.
“The thing that I like is when I go in, they know what I’m looking for,” Slate said. “They show you things that will help you make good selections. They know what’s really valuable and what is not. They’re fair in their pricing. You can go look it up on the internet and see that they are correct.”
Slate said he’s fascinated with the dates of coins and the story that the dates tell.
For example, he always carries a 1941 half dollar, thought its value pales in comparison to other coins he owns. But he often uses it to strike up a conversation with a younger person who could use a good history lesson beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on Dec. 7, 1941.
“That coin has been in someone’s pocket since World War II and it’s since seen a lot of good times and bad times in our country,” Slate said.
Another satisfied customer is local scientist Aleksa “Alex” Jovanovic, who began collecting coins five years ago.
“They are nice people, they have a nice selection of coins and it always feels pleasant when I come in,” Jovanovic said of Fort Worth Coin. “We talk and discuss things back and forth. Most things in coins are history-related. It’s very interesting.”
Fort Worth Coin’s clients ranges from beginners to longtime collectors. Regardless of one’s level of experience, the store’s employees say they’re more than willing to help them.
“Everyone probably has coins in their garage or in their house. It could be something that their grandparents left and you just never know,” Slye-Nelson said. “We encourage people to bring them in and let us look at them. There are a lot of old coins out there in attics, boxes and socks. You might find a home run in there.”
Fort Worth Coin Co. was established in 1973 as a small business within a typewriter company. It was originally owned by Bob Morrison, who collected coins. Morrison sold the company to Everett Hull in the late 1970s. Hull owned the company until the early 2000s. Today, it is owned by a family trust that’s presided over by Donna Child.
Fort Worth Coin is keen on silver dollars, which are popular among collectors. It also stocks some rarer sliver dollars such as those minted Carson City, Nevada. They are rare because of low mintage.
Fort Worth Coin at times will have a rare 1937 three-legged buffalo nickel, on which one of the buffalo’s front legs is missing. This was caused by a mishap at the Denver Mint when a pressman who was trying to remove marks from a reverse die (caused by the dies making contact with each other) accidentally removed or weakened one of the animal’s legs. By the time mint inspectors discovered and condemned the die, thousands of pieces had been struck and mixed with other coins, according to Wikipedia, citing Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins.
Such rare coins often offer intriguing historical facts that captivate collectors.
“Coins teach us a lot about history and geography,” Slye-Nelson said.
Hollie Hale, a Fort Worth Coin numismatist, said the business warms up to youngsters who want to learn.
“We love those young collectors who come in and express interest in something other than playing on their iPads or their Game Boy,” she said. “They are interested in coming in and learning some history and getting a merit badge. They don’t have to spend a lot of money. They can come in and get a book for a couple of bucks and we’ll start them on wheat pennies. It’s just a real big feeling of success for them to actually go through there and get every hole filled. It’s something they actually look forward to. A lot of them start at four or five or seven and eight. We really love these young collectors.”
