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Bob's Coins of Manchester has operated out of the same storefront on Kelley Street since 1978, making it one of the longest-running coin shops in New Hampshire.
Owner Robert "Bob" Lavoie started the business in 1973 after graduating from Saint Anselm College, turning a childhood coin collecting hobby into a full-time trade.
Today the shop buys and sells US coins and currency, gold and silver bullion, antique pocket watches, and pre-1970 sports cards, and it has built a customer base that spans casual sellers cleaning out a coin jar to serious bullion stackers.
This review looks at what the shop offers, how its pricing stacks up against the current precious metals market, and what customers actually say about doing business there.
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Key Takeaways:
- Bob's Coins has operated in Manchester, NH since 1973 and at its current Kelley Street location since 1978.
- Review sites show a consistent rating around 4.0 to 4.2 stars, with praise for fair pricing and criticism aimed at customer service tone.
- New Hampshire charges no state sales tax on coin or bullion purchases, which gives local buyers a built-in cost advantage over shoppers in most other states.
What Bob's Coins Sells
The shop's inventory runs from circulated pocket change to serious rare coin material. Bob Lavoie specializes in US coins spanning half cents through double eagles, along with a standing supply of gold and silver bullion products.
He's also a recognized name in antique pocket watch collecting, with a specific focus on Early Howard watches produced between 1857 and 1903. He's published his own reference guide on that subject.
| Category | What's Available |
|---|---|
| US Coins | Half cents through double eagles, circulated and rare |
| Bullion | Gold and silver bars, rounds, and government-minted coins |
| Currency | US paper money, various eras |
| Watches | Antique pocket watches, Early Howard specialty |
| Sports Cards | Pre-1970 baseball cards primarily |
| Supplies | Coin holders, albums, and related accessories |
One limitation worth flagging up front: the shop does not do mail order. Everything happens in person, either by visiting 378 Kelley St or calling ahead to check current stock.
For someone used to shipping coins to an online dealer for appraisal, that's a meaningful difference in how the buying and selling process works.
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Pricing and the New Hampshire Bullion Advantage
Anyone buying or selling gold and silver locally should understand two things: the current spot market and the state tax picture, because both affect what a fair local price actually looks like.
As of early August 2026, gold spot price has been trading in the range of roughly $4,030 to $4,070 per troy ounce, according to pricing tracked by JM Bullion and CNBC's Gold/US Dollar Spot Price index.
Silver has been trading between roughly $56 and $59 per troy ounce over the same period, per Forbes Advisor and JM Bullion data.
Both metals are up sharply over the past year. Forbes Advisor reported gold prices climbing more than 70% over the trailing twelve months, while silver has moved even more dramatically, briefly touching an all-time nominal high above $121 per ounce in late January 2026 before settling back into the high $50s.
That volatility matters for anyone selling bullion or coins for melt value. A local dealer's buy price should track spot within a reasonable margin, and it's worth calling ahead or checking a live spot price before walking in with silver eagles or gold jewelry to sell.
New Hampshire also has no state sales tax, which applies to bullion and coin purchases the same as everything else sold in the state.
Buyers in Massachusetts, for comparison, pay sales tax on precious metals purchases under a certain transaction size, so a New Hampshire coin shop has a structural pricing edge for anyone within driving distance of the state line.
That's one reason coin shops along the Massachusetts border, including shops in Nashua and Manchester, draw customers from outside New Hampshire specifically for bullion purchases.
Related: Reagan Gold Group Review
Customer Reviews and Reputation
Bob's Coins has a moderate but consistent volume of reviews across several directories. The numbers vary by platform because each site tracks its own review pool, but the pattern holds fairly steady.
| Platform | Rating | Review Count |
|---|---|---|
| Chamber of Commerce directory | 4.0 stars | 72 reviews |
| Birdeye | 4.0 stars | 101 reviews |
| US Coin Shows directory | 4.2 stars | 90 reviews |
| Yellow Pages | 4.0 stars | Unranked count |
The Better Business Bureau lists the business as having been in operation for 53 years as of 2026, with a BBB file dating back to 1990. It's registered as a sole proprietorship under Robert Lavoie.
Reading through the reviews themselves gives a clearer picture than the star ratings alone.
A recurring theme in the positive reviews is that Bob pays close to top dollar for silver and gold, and several reviewers mention using the shop repeatedly over years for both buying and selling.
One reviewer described bringing in Native American dollar coins and Indian Head pennies for a custom project and getting good guidance on sourcing them.
Another mentioned starting family members in coin collecting with Bob's help.
The negative reviews cluster around a different issue: interpersonal tone rather than pricing or product quality.
Multiple reviewers described interactions as blunt or short, with a few describing the owner as short-tempered during negotiation over item value.
One recent Yelp review from August 2025 suggested the shop seemed less interested in handling complicated purchases than it may have been in years past.
This is a real pattern across enough reviews that it's worth setting expectations: this is a no-frills, straight-talking operation, not a boutique retail experience with hand-holding.
Customers who want fair pricing and don't need extensive customer service warmth tend to leave satisfied. Customers expecting a more accommodating retail interaction sometimes don't.
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Buying and Selling Experience
For sellers, the practical workflow is simple. Bring in coins, currency, bullion, watches, or pre-1970 sports cards, and Bob or his staff will evaluate them on the spot.
There's no shipping, no waiting period, and no online appraisal queue. That's a real advantage for anyone who wants same-day cash for a collection they're liquidating, especially compared to mail-in dealers that can take a week or more to process and pay out.
For buyers, the shop's strength is its range. Someone hunting for a specific date or mint mark in a series can call ahead and ask what's currently in stock rather than driving over on a guess.
The half-cent-to-double-eagle range covers most of what a US type collector would need, and the bullion stock covers standard gold and silver products for people building a metals position rather than a numismatic collection.
How It Compares Locally
Manchester and the surrounding Nashua and southern New Hampshire corridor have a handful of established coin shops, but few with Bob's Coins' longevity.
A shop that has operated continuously since 1973, through the 1980 gold spike, the lean stretches of the 1980s and 1990s, and the current bull run in both metals, has weathered more market cycles than most local competitors. That kind of track record is one reason repeat customers keep coming back even when reviews mention rough edges in how negotiations sometimes go.
Conclusion
Bob's Coins of Manchester is a long-standing, no-mail-order shop that offers fair pricing on coins and bullion backed by more than five decades of operating history, though reviewers consistently note that the in-person experience can be blunt.
For buyers and sellers in the Manchester area who want straightforward pricing without a lot of retail polish, it remains one of the more established options in the state.
