Castro Valley Coin & Currency-Alan Kreuzer

Don is a good guy and personally collects stuff I love. Alan poofed recently, good to deal with these guys at shows.

If I could give less than one star I would. I was ripped off.
He’s incredibly rude. I was charged for services he said were free. I call that lying.
He did not return all coins I left for grading and sale. I call it theft.
(I documented each and every coin left in his trust.)
I was fleeced for well over $ 2000. Two $ 20 Libs.
Beware of buying «premium» coins that are way overpriced. Definitely check other dealers first. I wish I had. I would have saved thousands. Shame on me for being a sucker.
If you are dishonest with some maybe you are dishonest with all.
I had to let it go… what can you do? Fool me once… shame on me. Fool me twice… ain’t gonna’ happen here.
Great, honest, coin dealers are out there. Find them at coin shows and other shops. Trust is trust. Strange is strange. You will get some of lack trust and lots of strange at CV Coins.
I hope that sharing my negative experience will help someone in a positive way.

Don at Castro Valley Coin was very helpful to me and had great knowledge. Interesting shop and they gave me good deal on the coins I wanted to sell.

The owner of this store is rude and arrogant on purpose, which makes him better than people who are naturally unpleasant, and is a refreshing change from the artificial kindness you encounter at many other stores. However, he is extremely knowledgable, probably one of the top 10 experts in the Bay Area on rare coin grading and value, so I am going to give this place 3 stars.

Alan is brilliant and knows his coins, particularly, rare ones. I’ve been more than pleased with the numerous transactions with him over the years as have my clients.
5 stars (bed side manner a little lower!) but he’s a straight shooter in business like me and I don’t need to be coddled. Don’t take offense, he’s knowledgable, honest and well regarded in the coin world.

Alan and his staff are great! I won’t go anyplace else and judging by the «regulars» I see there, many share my opinion. Good selections, good prices and a great group of employees who share Alan’s’ passion everything related to coins.

Well my first experience at this place and definitely my LAST. Went in today and waited well over 5mins to even be greeted with a hello. And there was 2 employees. Guess they never heard of Eye contact and greeting makes a customer feel appreciated or welcomed. Took in a lot of coins and I did get more than I thought but service was crap. The man was more concerned I was gonna interrupt his lunch hour. Which is crazy they open from 1030−5pm and go to lunch at 12hmmm. He sure did let me know I should have came at a different time. Sorry for the inconvience. But maybe taking an extra 15 mins out your time for a customer would help your business or better yet there’s 2 employees have off set lunch hours. My daughter a teenager was confused on how someone runs a business by being rude about the type of product we brought in and how it seemed as though we weren’t welcomed. Atleast she learned how not to treat others

Try Oakland Silver & Gold in Piedmont, you get 20−30% more for bullion and they give you a quote over the phone. They also have a nice collection of coins.
I stopped going to Castro Valley Coin Shop when I brought in some silver bullion and the owner basically told me take it or leave it, I don’t really care… then another time one of his employees could not find a coin holder that I wanted to buy. That was it for me, it is like they are doing you a favor…

I guess I’m gonna repeat what others have said a little here.
Yes, if you know your stuff, they are very fair, but don’t expect anyone here to sprinkle on a dash of polite on top of your transaction.
My personal experience:
«I’d like to spend $ 150 on junk silver. I guess mostly dimes please.»
«Hey, you don’t get to pick, you get what you get.»
That was it. I was given quarters. I just wanted silver so I bought. Obviously it’s not the biggest deal in the world or I wouldn’t have completed the purchase. Maybe I was just so stunned by the response. I mean, maybe you tell a customer you’re out of something, but do you tell someone that orders a burger that you get a salad instead? (If you do, you shouldn’t.)
Kind of just gives me the impression if you were to walk in and jokingly say, «You gotta give me a good deal ok,» you would get an «I don’t GOTTA do anything, buddy» in response.
Like I said, fair price, just not going to get happy Unilocaler points with that way of doing things. Oakland Silver and Gold 15 minutes up 580 will put up with the most brand new collector’s questions and give you a deal with a smile. And no, I don’t work for them or get anything for adding that last part.

Called a number of coin dealers for quotes on some bulk silver coins. CV Coin’s prices were 10% to 20% higher than the other local dealers. I went in with those and some other estate valuables. Spent an hour+ with Alan going through the stuff. Yes, he can come of as abrupt at times. Get past it. His pricing was fair and he is very open about what he pays vs. what he can sell stuff for. I found him to be straightforward and honest.

Very friendly service. Even though I am a novice and not a big spender, Al took plenty of time to help me with service. Very good method to gain repeat customers and it would be nice if more businesses had service like this.

Very, very happy with this coin shop. Just visited for the first time and loved it because it was an old school coin shop. I sold some coins and was offered over what I was expecting. I also finally found a Dansco coin book that I had been looking for for a long time. I thought Alan was great. The guy could really talk shop and also taught me some things I didn’t know after collecting for 30+ years. My new coin shop in the East Bay.

I had a very good experience with my business dealings there. I sold some coins there and I felt they were up front and very fair. They told me the prices of everything that I brought in and were informative. Yes they are very business like and don’t do alot of chit chatting but I didn’t think they were rude at all. I’d return.

I’m very surprised by the claims of rudeness here. My experience has been just the opposite. I’ve managed to sit down and engage Alan in long conversations about coin collecting, ethics, the process of setting up a business, and received some free excellent advice in case I’m ever interested in getting into the coin selling business (I’m a few towns away, so it wouldn’t effect their sales). I’ve brought my son in here to buy some Whitman folders to start collecting pennies and nickels. I’m primarily interested in foreign coins, and this is one of the few places around which carries any. Their foreign coin guy is only there on Saturdays, and it’s worth waiting for him, because he’ll quote you lower prices.

I’ve purchase coins from this dealer before as gifts and for the most part I would say I was pleased with the service. The owner Alan was patient with me and the my little knowledge I have about coins, he explain exactly what I was purchasing and gave other recommendations. I went in with a little knowledge came out with more knowledge about coins, so I would highly recommend this guy.

This store used to be called Alan Kreuzer Coins before they moved down the street to this location. Maybe I am not as sensitive as others, or maybe I am in-​sensitized to rudeness but I like Alan Kreuzer’s style and highly recommend him if you want a good price on your gold or silver. He is brusque, but I am not the type who likes to mess around, especially when it comes to money, so the wham-​bam approach suits me fine.
I have sold him many coins from my collection including unusual foreign coins which no other dealer would touch. Alan or one of his staff will do the research and make you a fair price. He also buys silverware, gold plate, etc. He sells stuff too, but I have never been a buyer there.
I note a prior reviewer’s comments about not getting top dollar for collectible coins (coins with high numismatic value). I can see this point and would note that virtually all of the coins I have sold him were basically bullion coins without high numismatic value. I consider myself to be knowledgeable about coins and sell my more collectible coins through e-​bay.
My suggestion to those seeking to sell a coin is to do your research first and know what your target value is. If he does not offer enough, don’t sell! For bullion coins, however, I truly believe that Alan gives the best prices. He usually pays spot, most other dealers will pay less than spot.

This place is close to my house and has lots of parking. But then, so does my driveway.
Dealt with this place two times — years apart. Experience was the same: rude jerks who talked to me like I am stupid and wasting their time. Bought nothing either time because I refuse to support such behavior.
Won’t be back — and I know they won’t miss me. They made it pretty clear they didn’t want me there in the first place.

I was surprised by the other reviewers. I’ve been in this shop a few times, both to purchase and sell. The staff is very knowledgeable and if they don’t know something’s value, they research it to find out.
I haven’t dealt directly with the owner, although he’s been there the times I have, just with other customers. But the staff was very friendly and the deals they offered were fair. Of course they are there to make money, it’s a business. Unless you want to go into business for yourself, you have to consider that they are going to give you a fair price, but have to make money off the deal too.
I would recommend this place and I would go back myself.

The owner gives fair prices for coins/​jewelry, but is not great in the customer service dept. I am sure in this business they see all walks of life, but if you come in as a friendly customer, he still does not have patience, and does not want your input on anything. Go to sell your items for a fair price, but don’t expect service with a smile.