Witter Coins

Friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable. Stopped in during a short trip and was impressed with their large inventory and pleasant conversation. Highly recommend a visit!

Went into this shop for some help valuing a collector’s coin and am super happy. Seth was very trustworthy, knowledegable and nice, and patient with me as I have no experience with coins. I will be bringing in my coin collection for sale later as it seems like a great shop.

I have been collecting coins for over 30 years and I can sincerely say that Witter coins is my hands down favorite coin shop, not only in the Bay Area but all of California.
My first interaction was with Dean himself in 2002. Dean is a real gentleman that established the core values of the shop. He is honest, helpful and very fair.
Recently, I visited the shop for the first time since Dean’s retirement and I was very pleased to see that Seth, the new owner, is carrying on the traditions of the shop. Even better, Seth is embracing expansion of the shop’s services and hours while bringing the business forward technologically as well.
Seth submitted some coins to PCGS and CAC for me which was very appreciated. His inventory is immense and his prices very fair. It is obvious that his goal is to promote numismatics and build excitement about coins, not squeeze collectors for the last cent.
Bottom line: If you are a coin or paper money collector and find yourself in the Bay Area, a visit to Witter coins is a must!

My review concerns my experience trying to sell a LARGE (11 crates!) coin/​currency/​token collection on behalf of my girlfriend. The collection was inherited from her deceased husband who was an avid collector and attorney. An important aspect of this review is that neither I nor my girlfriend are coin collectors.
Endings first: I successfully negotiated a deal with Seth, owner of Witter Coin, who recently took over the operation from Dean Witter who retired. I am very happy with the price we got and the professionalism with which Seth handled the transaction. I live 3 hours from San Francisco, but due to the size of the collection, Seth offered to drive out to my place and see the collection which saved me much time and hassle trying to bring it to San Francisco. Seth was one of several coin dealers I showed all or part of the collection to. Seth gave me the best offer without a lot of hassle.
I can safely say after much looking (from Sacramento to San Jose), and spending several full days driving, meeting and working with various coin shops and dealers, there are only two you need to talk with and Seth is one of them.
My experience taught me a lot about the current state of affairs in the Coin business. You can basically divide up the business as follows:
First, there are a lot the pawn shops. They sell or buy most anything. You can skip these.
Second, there are the gold/​silver dealers. If that’s what you’re interested in fine, but if rare or historical coins/​currency are your pleasure, avoid these.
Third, there are a group of shops that primarily look to feed various TV-​based coin dealers or other large bulk sellers. You will get a small cut of what these guys sell to their dealer. Avoid them.
Fourth, there a group of «specialists» who want only the cream from your collection and nothing more. Avoid piece-​melaing it. You’ll do better selling the entire collection generally.
Fifth, there are the real collectors who happen to own shops. These guys are a dying breed — literally. These guys know and understand all the ins and outs of older coins, interesting coins, etc. And they want to have a variety of things on hand for their retail customers. They may or may not have an Internet business. They will talk with you about any coin not just the cream.
Seth at Witter Coin is in the last category. And also the anomaly as he’s still a youngish guy and will be around for a long time to come. Honest, bright and easy to work with. Go talk with everyone else first, then come to Witter Coin, You will get the best deal here.

Extremely pleasant buying experience. Excellent collection and fair prices. I recommend Witter Coin and would buy again the next time I am looking for that rare coin. Seth and his team are friendly, helpful, and I learned a lot while talking to them. Thank you.

Extremely nice, polite and helpful people. Their world gold coin inventory was pretty limited, but they have a pretty huge collection of silver and other coins. I definitely recommend you drop by if you live around San Francisco.

I made my first coin purchase with Seth and his team. They are knowledgeable, fair, honest and friendly. I will be back.

Mr. Witter is an old fashioned coin dealer who is a genuine numismatist – an endangered species. This means that whatever you collect, from ancients to U.S. type coins in all grades, to worldwide foreign, Witter has deep stock and the knowledge to advise to help you get started or add to your collection. I have enjoyed every visit since I resumed collecting about 20 years ago. He is also a fair buyer who will pay what your coins are worth in the current market. Highly recommended!

Stopped in on a trip and was happy to find a true collectors shop. This not a bullion store with a few coins, but a real deal coin shop with a huge inventory. It’s great to see multiple examples of same coins in slightly varying grades which is rare for a lot of shops. You’ll have to ask to see things so bring your wish list as it will likely be there. I was really pleased to find a fantastic selection of Indian Head cents and type coins.

Best Experience in years!!!
Called ahead & asked Mr Witter if he had what I was looking for… «Yes» he said come over anytime.
I was there within an hour, he had a basket full of what I was looking for waiting for me to look at & was able to answer any question & he is just a great person!
Purchased what I needed for a Birthday present & it was sooooooooo much less hassle than EBay’s on line bidding. Yes, I am sure that going back & forth for a month I could buy a $ 23.00 item (sorry, it’s just to much work).
Mr Witter had a much better selection & his prices were market … not to high & not to low.
Highlight of the day… His phone rang & his excused himself to pickup … wait… wait… it’s coming… yep… he picked up his AT&T wire phone with a rotary dial on it… It was a riot… Yep, I think he has been there for years!!!
I recommend Witter coins about 200% !
Note he is on the 14^th Floor of the Hobart Building on Market Street, safe & fun experience!

Yesterday I called and told Mr. Witter that our grandson had expressed a desire to get a Byzantine coin for his birthday, and asked whether he had any available. He said that he had quite a few. I told him that we would be by around 1pm the next day to look at them. When we got there about 10 minutes before 1, Mr. Witter was taking care of another customer, but he looked at me and said «Are you the Byzantine guy?» I said yes, and he placed a tray of coins on the counter for us to peruse while he finished with the other customer. Getting back to us, he was very kind, considerate and solicitous. We chose a couple of coins, which we know our grandson will really appreciate. Mr. Witter’s prices seemed very reasonable to us, and we recommend him very highly for casual customers such as ourselves. The customer he was waiting on when we arrived was from out of town and made a sizable purchase of a number of coins, so he must be well regarded elsewhere as well.

Mr. Witter is a gentleman. He has helped me out with my coin collections. Highly Recommended !!

Great service, knowledgeable, and honest. A must-​visit place for anyone who is new (or an old hat) at coin collecting for special occasions or personal collections.
My advice? Just go in, tell Mr. Witter what you are looking for! You’ll be in and out in no time and have just what you need.
(and, financial trivia buffs, Mr. Witter is from the Dean Witter family of brokerage fame, but keep it on the DL)

This is a small place on the 14^th floor of the Hobart Building.
I was buying a coin as a gift and the proprieter was very helpful.
I don’t know anything about coin collecting, so I can’t critique the prices, but I was treated with respect and patience and left satisfied with my purchase.
Call first to check on the hours. On the day I visited, he was only open until 4:00 p.m.
Kind of funny that I never would have found this very old fashioned business without the very modern tool called Unilocal

Mr. Witter is a true gem. He combines graciousness with an extensive selection that ranges from ancient Roman coins to the modern era. I brought in a bunch of old coins and bills from around the world and he reviewed each one with me (no charge). His shop is in a safe building downtown, right above the Montgomery MUNI/​BART station on Market Street. I enjoy doing business with Mr. Witter and recommend him without reservation.

I saw a good review of this place up here on Unilocal so I decided to give his shop a try.
Yes, I agree. Mr. Witter is a gentleman. This is your old fashioned type of coin shop – the kind that you used to see when you were a kid back in the ‘70s and ‘80s – well, at least when I was a kid. Very friendly, attentive service. He caters to the beginning hobbyist to the gift buyer to the experienced collector, and has an interesting, variegated inventory. His store is also near BART – a nice plus.

not a collector myself, but was looking for some rare pennies for my father-​in-​law. i was pleased to find that this dealer was just down the street from my office. i have never bought from a dealer before, but after doing some internet pricing research to determine values, this dealer was very fair. he didn’t even push the higher quality, more expensive versions of the coins i was looking for. i can now see after interacting with Dean how one could get into this hobby… i’ll be back to get the other missing coins for my father-​in-​law.

Dean is one of the last of the true coin dealers with good knowledge and the right personality to run a coin shop. Most of the other shops around San Francisco suffer from lack of customer service. Dean at Witter Coins always has what I’m looking for or can certainly get it for you if the coin is out of stock. What I like best is his selection is not only rare U.S. coins but also coins from around the world. You don’t need to have a million dollars to buy a slabbed coin from his shop. Dean has everything in the price range for young collectors to big wig investors… keeping it real the way coin collecting should be… fun and affordable. Keep up the good work!