Local News

FAIRMONT, Minn. (AP) ― Signs along Highway 15 advertise gold, silver, diamonds, coins -- everything you can expect to find inside Kuehl's Coins.

A step through the shop's front door reveals little floor space but case upon case of collectibles and valuables. Indian head pennies mingle with buffalo nickels. Silver dollars share space with proof sets. Rings and necklaces sparkle side by side in one case, while several watches hang on the wall above them. And over it all reigns the shop's owner, Vaughn Kuehl.

Kuehl's Coins has been a part of Fairmont for 26 years. A couple hundred regular customers come and go, Kuehl said.

Recent fluctuations in gold and silver prices have had their impact on his business. In the spring and summer, when prices were high, many people were coming to Kuehl to sell their valuables. When prices went down, more people were interested in buying.

But even now that trend is changing.

"People think the economy is going to get really, really bad," Kuehl said, adding that many people have stopped buying despite the low metal prices.

Still, this has been a good year for Kuehl's Coins. Kuehl, who also farms corn and soybeans near Ormsby, said some years the farm brings in more money, and other years the coin shop is at the top. This year both enterprises are bringing in about the same amount.

Unlike other stores that enjoy an increase in business during the Christmas season, Kuehl's Coins doesn't really get any busier.

Members of the older generations, who are more likely to sell their collections, don't travel as much in the winter, Kuehl said. He also said people tend to buy other items than coins and jewelry as Christmas gifts.

It seems when people buy coins they tend to buy them as an investment, Kuehl said. The only problem is rare coins, which provide the biggest return, are getting harder and harder to find.

"If you find the rare coins and hold them long enough, they'll be a good investment," Kuehl said.

Three of the most valuable coins -- the 1877 penny, 1916-D dime and 1909-S VDB penny -- are worth about $1,000 each, Kuehl said. The 1916-D dime is so named for the year and the mint in Denver where it was made. The 1909-S VDB penny is named for the mint in San Francisco, and the VDB on the back of the coin refers to its designer, Victor D. Brenner. Kuehl currently has an 1877 penny in one of his cases at the shop.

According to Answers.com, there are several things that make a coin valuable, including the condition of the coin, the metal it's made of, the country of origin and the year it was made.

About five years ago, a man brought a collection to Kuehl for appraisal. The man, Kuehl said, had gone through probably millions of coins in more than 40 years, and he had managed to find 15 three-legged nickels. A three-legged nickel is a buffalo nickel that was polished so much at the mint -- where the coins are made -- that one of the buffalo's legs was polished away. Such mint errors, because they're often rare, can raise the value of a coin.

Kuehl was surprised the man managed to find 15 of them, adding that those coins would now be worth about $1,000 each.

Such finds are uncommon, though, which leads Kuehl to suggest that people not get into coin collecting for investment purposes.

The reason they should get involved, he said, is "just for the enjoyment of it."

Kuehl himself became interested in coins back in 1980 when the metal prices were unusually high. It was an interesting time, he said, and the silver prices were always in the news.

"That got me kind of interested," he said.

Now the coins in his shop are the only collection he has time for. He buys and sells coins and other valuables, and he also offers appraisals.

Many people who inherit coin collections from older relatives bring the coins in to be appraised and possibly sold.

The average collection brought into Kuehl's shop sells for between $2,000 and $5,000.

Kuehl does have two pieces of advice for collectors: Avoid buying coins off a TV shopping program and be wary of traveling coin traders.

Coins sold on television may look pretty, he said, but they are often so marked up in price to help pay for advertising that they're not a good investment. And traders who travel from hotel to hotel advertising cash for coins often only pay about 60 or 70 percent of the coin's value, Kuehl said.

He also suggested people not clean their coins. He used the example of a customer who brought in some old Indian head pennies a couple of years ago. The pennies were the nice brown color they're supposed to be, Kuehl said, and he recommended the customer not clean them.

The customer, however, didn't heed his advice. After being cleaned, the coins turned a strange green color, Kuehl said, and went from a value of about $300 each to $75 each.

"It's not a good idea to clean coins," Kuehl reiterated.

By CHRISTINE RUPP
Sentinel

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