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Business & Tech

Smithtown Coins: A Hidden Treasure Chest on Main Street

Local store has been exchanging currency and more since the 1970's.

The interior of the small Smithtown Coins storefront on Main Street is hidden and unexpected.

The shop, which originally opened at the opposite end of Main Street in 1974, has cases of coins, but is also filled with antiques, photographs, baseball memorabilia and other items.

Owner Jerry Kramer (for you fans of Seinfeld, yes, that's his real name) says everything there is indeed for sale. Following the initial exchange of coins, the business grew to include diamond sales.

"When gold prices went crazy in 1980 we started buying a lot of gold from the public, so we went into jewelry and diamonds," Kramer said, who grew up in Brooklyn and Queens. Due to his shop's low profit margin, he speculates that they "were probably selling more diamond engagement rings than the jewelry store in town," at one point.

Kramer, who is "semi-retired," got into coins at a young age. In his 20's he listened to a radio show featuring author (and later U.S. presidential nominee for the Libertarian party) Harry Browne discussing his book How You Can Profit From The Coming Devaluation. Browne predicted that paper money would lose much of its value and encouraged investment in silver and gold.

"What originally prompted me to accumulate coins is especially true today," Kramer said. "The true rate of inflation is many times larger than the government figure. Many people think that the monetary system will collapse and silver and gold will be the only exchange mediums along with a pure bartering service for goods. Each time the government increases the money supply, each dollar becomes worth less."

Currently, determining the value of a coin involves some other factors. One is scarcity.

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"Age doesn't necessarily create value," Kramer said. "I have stones in my backyard that might be a million years old. It's scarcity, condition and demand that create values." An example he points out is that some ancient Roman coins sell for under $20 because they are found at digs "by the hundreds."

Even though Kramer owns coins that date from B.C., standouts of his personal collection include U.S. gold coins from the 1800's and Morgan silver dollars. The idea that older coins are worth more seems to be a myth.

The other factor is condition, which according to Kramer, is subjective, since a particular coin may be graded differently at different examinations. Collectors today can send coins to widely trusted companies for condition assessments. Before they are graded and sealed, however, Kramer warns not to try to polish them up.

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"Coins should never be cleaned. Making one shiny detracts from its value. Coins properly preserved best should be individually packaged in mylar or PVC safe containers."

In addition to owning a shop for 37 years in Smithtown, Kramer and a business partner ran a coin store in Manhattan in the 1980s, though moved to an office-only location in the city after an armed robbery. Is this evidence that money is the root of all evil? "I think that anything that drives you to do immoral things creates evil," Kramer speculates, adding, "It's the love of anything to excess."

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