Coin Buyers in Dallas, TX

What turns up in Dallas coin collections, neighborhood by neighborhood

Dallas was a money town before most of its neighborhoods existed. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas opened in 1914 to serve the Eleventh District, and every Federal Reserve note it issues carries the letter K and the number 11. Sellers pull those K notes out of old wallets and cedar chests all the time. Most trade near face value, but star notes and crisp older series deserve a second look before anyone spends them.

Fair Park left its mark too. During the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition, the Texas Centennial half dollar was sold at a booth on the fairgrounds, and some families kept one in its souvenir holder ever since. That coin was struck from 1934 to 1938 and is 90% silver, and collectors pay more for it than its metal alone. Later trips to the State Fair added souvenir medals and tokens, and we sort those out honestly, since most are keepsakes rather than silver.

The city is big enough that collections change from one part of town to the next. Oak Cliff voted to join Dallas in 1903, and older homes on the bluffs south of the Trinity often hold wheat cents, Walking Liberty halves and silver certificates pressed inside a family Bible. Preston Hollow estates lean toward gold: Saint-Gaudens double eagles, Krugerrands from the late 1970s and small bars kept in a bank box. Postwar houses in Lake Highlands and Casa Linda tend to give up mint sets bought one year at a time.

East Dallas has its own habits. Around Lakewood, Swiss Avenue and the M Streets, we often meet grown children clearing a house a parent owned for decades. Those homes hide coins in odd places: a coffee can in the attic, a sock at the back of a dresser, an envelope taped under a drawer. Check every one of those spots before the estate sale crew arrives, because a crew pricing furniture will not stop to look up a mint mark.

Estates inside the city limits usually pass through the Dallas County probate courts. When an executor needs paperwork, we write up every coin by date, mint mark and grade for the court, the insurer or heirs who want an even split. State law has us record a photo ID from each seller, so have a license handy, and call (469) 754-8608 for a weekday appointment. For a collection too large to carry, call to set up a home appointment.