Belleair Coins, also known online as Gold Silver Sales, is a family-run coin, bullion, and jewelry dealer based in Largo, Florida. The business has operated under the Arbutine family since 1972, and today it runs both a physical storefront on West Bay Drive and an online presence at goldsilversales.com.
This review looks at what the company actually offers, how it prices and buys precious metals, what customers say about the experience, and where it fits if you’re deciding whether to sell gold, silver, coins, or jewelry in the Tampa Bay area.
Key Takeaways
- Belleair Coins has operated in Largo, Florida since 1972 and holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, accredited since 1977.
- The company buys and sells gold, silver, coins, currency, diamonds, and fine jewelry, with in-person transactions and a mail-in option for out-of-area sellers.
- Customer reviews are largely positive (4.7 stars across hundreds of reviews on Birdeye), though a handful of complaints mention pricing disputes on specific items.
Company Background
Christopher Arbutine runs Belleair Coins as president and CEO. He’s also served as Mayor of Belleair Bluffs, which the company mentions in its marketing and local commercials. The business was incorporated in Florida in 1979, though BBB records show the file opening in 1977 and business activity dating to 1973. That’s a long runway for a small retail operation, and it matters in an industry where fly-by-night gold buyers show up during price spikes and disappear a year later.
The store is located at 1350 West Bay Drive in Largo, and it operates as a walk-in business, no appointment required. Belleair Coins also sells through eBay under the store name “Belleair Coins Gold & Diamonds,” with over 147,000 items sold and a 100% positive feedback score on that platform as of this year. That’s a separate metric from the BBB rating or Birdeye reviews, but it does show a long transaction history that’s publicly verifiable.
What Services Does Belleair Coins Offer
The company’s core business splits into two sides: buying and selling. On the buying side, they purchase gold and silver jewelry, scrap gold, bullion coins and bars, rare and collectible coins, currency and paper money, diamonds, fine watches, and sterling silverware. On the selling side, the retail store carries fine jewelry (including engagement rings, wedding bands, and bridal pieces), numismatic coins, and bullion for collectors and investors.
Here’s a breakdown of the main categories:
| Category | What They Buy | What They Sell |
|---|---|---|
| Precious Metals | Gold, silver, platinum scrap and bullion | Gold and silver bullion coins/bars |
| Coins | US, world, and ancient coins; exonumia | Collectible and investment-grade coins |
| Jewelry | Gold/silver jewelry, estate pieces, antique jewelry | Engagement rings, bridal jewelry, fashion jewelry |
| Currency | US and world paper money | Not a primary retail line |
| Other | Diamonds, watches, military medals, sterling flatware | Watches, loose diamonds, collectibles |
For people who can’t get to Largo in person, Belleair Coins accepts mail-in items. According to information on their site, a registered and insured 10-pound package shipped from New York would run under $40 in postage. They ask customers to call ahead before shipping anything, which is standard practice among reputable mail-in buyers and worth doing regardless of which company you use.
Pricing and How Transactions Work
Belleair Coins doesn’t publish live buy prices on its website, which is typical for this industry since gold and silver spot prices shift throughout the trading day. Instead, they offer free evaluations and appraisals, and transactions happen in person at the store or through the mail-in process described above.
A few operational details worth knowing before you go:
- Evaluations and appraisals are free, with no obligation to sell.
- The company states transactions happen in a private office setting rather than an open sales floor.
- Payment on accepted items is described as immediate, not delayed or processed through a third party.
- If you decline an offer on a mailed-in item, they say they’ll return the item and reimburse the shipping cost.
This structure is fairly standard for regional coin and bullion dealers. The bigger question for any seller isn’t really the process, it’s the price you’re offered relative to spot value, and that’s something no company publishes upfront because it depends on the specific item, its condition, and the market that day.
Reputation and Reviews
Belleair Coins carries an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and has been BBB accredited since 1977. That’s a meaningful data point in this industry, since gold and silver buyers see a disproportionate share of BBB complaints nationally compared to other retail categories.
On Birdeye, the company shows a 4.7 star rating across several hundred reviews collected over time. Facebook reviews show an 86% recommendation rate from over 200 reviews. On a dealer directory run by uscoinshows.com, one customer described a positive experience where staff spent extra time with a young coin collector and the owner gave the child a small gift for his collection. Another reviewer on the same page described a negative experience, saying the store’s offer came in around $35 under what they expected and that they wouldn’t return.
That mixed pattern, mostly strong reviews with occasional pricing complaints, is common across the entire buy-gold industry, not unique to this dealer. Anyone selling precious metals or coins anywhere should expect some variance in offers between buyers, since pricing on used jewelry, scrap gold, and collectible coins involves judgment calls, not just a spot price lookup.
How Belleair Coins Compares to Other Options
If you’re deciding between a local coin shop, a national mail-in gold buyer, or an online-only bullion dealer, here’s how the tradeoffs generally break down.
Local shops like Belleair Coins let you get a same-day cash offer and walk away without shipping anything, which removes the risk of items getting lost or damaged in transit. You also get a face-to-face evaluation, which matters more for jewelry and rare coins than for standard bullion. The tradeoff is that your offer is limited to whoever’s in that particular market, so you don’t get competing bids the way you might shopping a piece around to multiple online buyers.
National mail-in services can sometimes offer more competitive pricing on bullion specifically, since they operate at higher volume, but they carry shipping risk and slower payment timelines. For collectible coins and jewelry with sentimental or historical value, an in-person appraisal from an experienced buyer, which is what Belleair Coins offers, tends to catch details that a mail-in service might miss or undervalue.
For someone in the Tampa Bay area specifically, Belleair Coins offers the combination that matters most for most sellers: a long operating history, third-party accreditation, and a physical location you can walk into without an appointment.
Things to Know Before You Go
A few practical points for anyone planning to sell to Belleair Coins or any similar dealer:
- Bring items in their current condition. The company states they don’t require items to be cleaned or polished before evaluation.
- Ask for the current spot price of gold or silver on the day you visit, and ask how the offer relates to that number.
- Get a written receipt for anything you sell, including item description and price paid.
- If mailing items, confirm shipping and insurance details by phone first, as the company requests.
- Compare at least one other offer if you have a high-value piece, since this protects you regardless of which buyer you end up choosing.
None of these steps are specific to Belleair Coins. They’re reasonable practice with any precious metals or coin transaction, and a business with a long track record and a decent BBB rating generally won’t have an issue with a seller taking these precautions.
Conclusion
Belleair Coins is a long-running, BBB-accredited coin and jewelry dealer in Largo, Florida with a mostly positive review history and a straightforward in-person and mail-in buying process.
For sellers in the Tampa Bay region looking for a local option with a decades-long operating history, it’s a reasonable place to get an evaluation, though as with any precious metals transaction, it’s worth comparing offers before accepting one.
