By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
ZEPHYRHILLS — Kevin Ryman and Charlie Proctor will be giving free appraisals for those who want to know the value of their coin collections March 6.
“People have been coming by and calling me asking about coins more and more,” Proctor said. “It’s great for me because I love coins and buying and selling them. It gives me a reason to focus more on coins.”
The event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Ryman Construction Inc., 36413 SR 54 in Zephyrhills. It is the second such event for the two men. The first was in Dade City in January.
“We want people to make appointments so we know how many people to expect,” Kevin said. “We’ll be paying cash to anyone who wants to sell their coins there too. We’ll appraise as few as one coin or a whole collection. If people keep showing up we’ll do more of the appraisals in town.”
To make an appointment, call Ryman at (813) 714-0962 or Proctor at (813) 780-1858.
“I first got interested in coins because my grandparents (Ike and Catherine Miller) had some and I loved looking at them,” Ryman, who owns Ryman Construction, said. “I’ve always bought coins and I don’t sell nearly as many as Charlie does.”
Proctor, who owns Charlie’s Coins, had his interest sparked by one special dime.
“I didn’t have a relative who had a lot of coins, but my father (Clarence) would let me and my sister (Patty) have as many coins as we could grab from his pocket in one handful,” Proctor said. “He worked three or four jobs at a time and always had a lot of change. One time I found a Mercury dime, which were all made of silver. I started researching coins because of that one dime and I’ve been hooked since.”
Ryman and Proctor both said their favorite coins are any of the old ones made from gold and Morgan silver dollars, which were made from 1878 to 1921 and are 90 percent silver.
“For years the auto detail company brought in a lot of my income, but last year with the economy the way it was people cut back on their cars,” Proctor said. “For the first time I made more selling coins than in car detailing.”
Neither Proctor nor Ryman ever clean the coins they buy for themselves or for later sale.
“That kills the value of the coin,” Proctor said. “I know a cleaned coin as soon as I see it and I won’t buy them that way. People might think it’s no big deal to try and take some dirt off, but it’s really destroying the coin.”
Zephyrhills winter resident Stanley Rynes buys coins from Proctor eight or nine times each year.
“I love collecting Civil War tokens, and Charlie will call me whenever he gets some in,” Rynes said. “I’ve been to other coin dealers in the area and Charlie is the one I like most because of his honesty. He bends over backward to make sure you’re comfortable with any deal.”
Ryman has developed a similar reputation with Proctor.
“Kevin is a great guy, and I thought that before I knew he collected coins,” Proctor said. “His construction business keeps him a little busier so he can’t buy and sell as much as I do, but he’s starting to get people to see he gives fair prices on coins.”
