Bick’s Coin Stamp Etc Emporium

Bick’s is an experience. That is really the best summary of it I can possibly provide.
This is a family-​owned store that has been in the same spot for at least a couple of decades — I certainly remember it from when I used to like baseball cards as a kid, although the family was smarter than I was as to when to get out of owning sports cards. The store now focuses on coins, precious metals, jewelry, stamps and other collectibles.
When I was a kid, I went to a store in an office building in Chicago that sold minerals and other gemstones. Stones were often stored in old boxes, the store was not slick or brightly lit and — as a kid — there was that real feeling that you would come across something great. Bicks is a little like that, it’s wonderfully unslick. The husband and wife who are the ones seen up front most often are quite nice and are often more than willing to chat about products and the industry. They also do buy.
Overall, Bicks is great — they have great stuff, great knowledge of what they deal in and the store has a great, old school feel. It remains kind of an institution in the area.