Coins We Love: 20 Years, A Special Number at DLRC

Central States Update: “We’ve been here too long…” Just kidding. Several of us arrived on Saturday and we’ve literally been searching for coins and buying deals all week. Unfortunately, the show started really early for us, but it has been productive. The market is in a weird place right now and coins have become difficult to find. They are leaving the market and not re-entering shortly thereafter. It’s a new phenomenon, and one that we’ve been hoping for over the years. But what does this mean for the long-term collector? I personally think it means that we’ll see price guides start to go up, and nice coins are going to climb further in value. It’s an interesting time to be a coin dealer, but we will have to report back with more next week as we recap the Central States Suburban Schaumburg, Illinois, Invitational Numismatic Event.

Part 2:

Outside of its founders, only four people have worked at DLRC for 20 years. And 3 are currently active! Mary Lee (retired), Jason, Marty, and now Matthew Kavalek have crossed the Rubicon, err…I mean, the special threshold. I was hired just a few weeks before Matthew, though he actually started a month or so before I arrived, so I would say that Matthew’s tenure has been very close to my own, and we’ve literally seen each other grow up, so to speak. Matthew was 21 when he started as an imager and probably thought that the coin business was a little nuts. But he stuck with it, he kept imaging coins (and dealt with the incessant hum of the flatbed scanners that we’ve long retired) and hung in there. As time passed, Matthew started to really take an interest in the mostly circular items that he was scanning and began learning as he went. To know Matt is to know that he also loves computers and the technology behind them, so he expanded his repertoire, assisting with coin processing and handling inventory. Matt kept taking on more tasks in more varying skill sets until he was also assisting customers on the phone. Soon enough, he was selling coins and then shortly thereafter, he was buying coins. Now, to say Matt’s position at DLRC changed a bit in 20 years is really an understatement. He came from zero numismatic background to a point that he now buys, sells, handles customer service items, and basically is a Swiss Army Knife for DLRC. He’s an integral part of the fabric of DLRC and we’re thankful for him. For those of you who deal with Matt on a regular basis, you know what I mean. He’s consistent and always has his hands full.

Having seen him grow from being a young adult to an adult, to a husband and a father has been a real pleasure. Most importantly, I’m glad to be able to call him a friend. We’re thankful for Matt and celebrate his 20 years at DLRC. Thanks, Matt!

Numismatically Yours,

John Brush and Your Friends at DLRC

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