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A beautiful diamond can take your breath away, transport you on a flight of fancy, and turn the most grizzled old bachelor into a romantic poet. But when you’re buying a diamond, it’s essential to keep your head if you want to get the most diamond for your money. Knowledge is power, after all, and…
The chisel slipped, injuring one of his hands. And the work of Bo Hughes, one of the best-known hobo nickel carvers, was never the same. The Great Depression largely defined the hobo nickel phenomenon. With millions of people out of work and without prospects in their hometowns, many joined the drifter community, hoping to find…
Interested in starting a coin collection but not sure where to start or what you should know? Here are some tips from the experienced staff at West Seattle Coins and Bellevue Rare Coins to help you start collecting. First, choose a series of coins you would like to collect. Start small, with modern coins, before…
You’ve probably heard about it on the news. At around $1,700 an ounce, prices for gold are near record highs. Gold buyers are looking for anything that has gold in it — there’s never been a better time to trade your old jewelry, dinnerware or coins for some cold, hard cash. The only question is:…
In October, a man with a metal detector stumbled upon a “nationally significant” haul of rare coins. This amazing find consists of 159 pure gold Roman solidus coins from the fourth century. The amateur treasure hunter — whose identity has not been revealed in order to protect his privacy — was sweeping a private field…
This month, Dallas-based Heritage Auctions plans to auction off an extremely rare, 1905 $5 bill from the First National Bank of Fairbanks, Alaska. This item is one of four national currency notes of its kind ever printed; it dates from Series 1902, has a red seal and features President Benjamin Harrison. The minimum starting bid…
Russia dominated the diamond market in the 1970s with its abundant natural resources and its partnership with De Beers, which at the time was distributing most of the world’s diamonds. Perhaps this is why Russia decided to keep its massive find secret. The discovery of a 62-mile-wide asteroid crater called the Popigai Astroblem — said…
Coin collecting is one of the world’s oldest known hobbies (and one of our favorites!). Once thought of as an activity for the wealthy, today, coin collecting is becoming increasingly popular with millions of hobbyists worldwide. In the US, interest in coin collecting was sparked by the availability of commemorative coins in the 1930s as…
The U.S. Mint has had many directors over the last few centuries. Most geniuses in their own right. But none were as interesting or as celebrated as the original Mint director, David Rittenhouse. He was a celebrated astronomer, mathematician and inventor. Many interesting facts about him are below. *Rittenhouse was born in Philadelphia, PA…
Many people don’t realize that the money they handle every day has so much history behind it, as does the place where the money is made. The first United States Mint opened in Philadelphia and is still the largest producing mint in the world. There are many interesting facts about this historic place. It All…
The year was 1893. Chicago had beaten out New York and Philadelphia in holding the World’s Fair Columbian Exposition, a fair to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival into the New World. There was a need to raise funds for the massive event and a new commemorative quarter was created. Susan B. Anthony, aware…
The HMS Victory, a naval ship sailing back from Lisbon to England, sunk on October 4, 1744. The ships accompanying it on its return lost sight of the Victory right outside the Channel Islands when a huge storm came through. The ship was captained by Admiral Sir John Balchen with a crew of over 1,100,…
The mystery that shrouds this gold US coin is something out of a mystery novel involving theft, the Secret Service and a king of Egypt. It All Started at the Mint In 1933, the US minted 445,500 Gold Double Eagles. Because of the Gold Reserve Act that passed (making gold illegal tender), all of them…
From when I was a child, I remember antagonizing my brother. We’d get in a huge fight and ultimately flip a coin to see who was right. Now my own kids are doing the exact same thing. And I started thinking, “Is this a universal practice?” After digging around online, I came to a lot…
“Gold all time high!” “Sell us your gold for cash!” “Make a fortune off your old gold jewelry!” Sound familiar? Everywhere you turn you’re bombarded with ads featuring gold dealers urging you to sell them your gold. As of today, 1 ounce of gold is worth over $1600. Wow. And especially in these harsh economic…
To our valued customers,
In accordance with Gov. Inslee’s statewide stay-at-home measures, we will be closed to the public for two weeks starting Thursday, March 26.
This has been a difficult decision, as it’s been our goal to remain open as long as we could safely serve our community during this crisis, but this action is needed in order to minimize contact, help stop the spread of COVID-19, and keep our customers and staff safe. As we continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation, we plan to reopen our storefronts on May 4th, 2020.
This has been an unusually active time for the metals market, and we are working hard behind the scenes to meet increasing demand. If you’ve placed an order through one of our stores, please know we will be fulfilling all backorders as swiftly as possible, as well as working to replenish our inventory during this time.
Most of all, we want to extend our sincerest apologies to our customers and thank you for your continued support during this time. Be well, take care of each other, and stay safe. We can’t wait to serve you again soon.
— The team at Bellevue Rare Coins
Our showrooms are temporarily closed, but we are now taking bullion orders.
