Nunemaker’s Coin Shop is a brick-and-mortar coin and bullion dealer in Mishawaka, Indiana, run by the Nunemaker family since 1962.
This review covers what the shop sells, how it handles gold and silver transactions, its industry credentials, and what customers actually report after walking through the door.
Key Takeaways
- Nunemaker’s Coin Shop has operated as a family business in Mishawaka, Indiana since 1962 and holds BBB accreditation dating back to 2010.
- The shop buys, sells, and trades U.S. coins, currency, certified coins, world coins, bullion, and scrap gold, with free in-person appraisals.
- Current owner Alan Nunemaker runs the shop as an authorized PCGS dealer and a member of the American Numismatic Association and the Certified Coin Exchange.
A Family Business That’s Outlasted Most of Its Competitors
Larry Nunemaker opened the shop’s doors in December 1962. He ran it until his death in 2005, and the business has since passed to Alan Nunemaker, who now serves as owner and primary contact according to Better Business Bureau records.
That’s 63 years under one family name, which puts it in a small category of independent coin shops that have survived multiple gold price cycles, the rise of online bullion dealers, and at least three major recessions.
The shop sits at 2516 Lincolnway West in Mishawaka, a full-time retail location open to walk-in customers Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s closed Sundays.
There’s no online storefront for placing orders. If you want to do business with Nunemaker’s, you go there, call the local line (574-288-7464), or use the toll-free number (877-510-9785).
What They Actually Sell and Trade
Here’s the breakdown of product categories listed on their site:
| Category | What’s Included |
|---|---|
| Bullion | Gold bullion and silver bullion in bar, coin, and round form |
| US Coins | Circulated and uncirculated U.S. coinage across eras |
| US Type Gold | Historic U.S. gold coin denominations |
| US Currency | Paper money, including older and rare notes |
| Certified Coins | Coins graded and slabbed by third-party grading services |
| World Coin & Currency | Foreign coins and banknotes |
| Scrap Precious Metals | Broken jewelry, dental gold, and unwanted gold items |
That’s a fairly standard lineup for a shop this size. What stands out is the scrap gold angle. Nunemaker’s leans on this heavily in its marketing, and for good reason: it’s a walk-in, watch-the-scale, get-a-number-based-on-spot-price model.
You’re not mailing your grandmother’s broken bracelet to a PO box and hoping the check that comes back is fair. You hand it over, they weigh it, they quote a price tied to that day’s market, and you decide on the spot whether to accept.
That’s a meaningfully different experience than the mail-in gold buyers that flooded late-night TV a decade ago. Those operations often paid a fraction of melt value and relied on customers not knowing better.
A local shop with a storefront, a phone number that’s been the same for years, and a reputation to protect in a small Indiana city has different incentives.
Credentials Worth Checking
Coin dealers are not regulated the way, say, a pawn shop or a bank is. Reputation and industry memberships carry a lot of weight in this business, because there’s no license that guarantees fair dealing. Nunemaker’s lists the following affiliations:
- American Numismatic Association (ANA) member
- PCGS Authorized Dealer
- National Coin & Bullion Association member
- Certified Coin Exchange member (listed as C20)
- Central States Numismatic Society member
The PCGS authorized dealer status matters most if you’re buying or selling certified coins, since it means the shop works directly within that grading network rather than through a middleman.
The ANA membership is closer to a baseline credential; plenty of dealers carry it, but it’s still worth confirming a shop has it before you hand over rare material.
On the consumer protection side, Nunemaker’s has been BBB accredited since October 2010 and holds an A+ rating. The BBB file also confirms the business start date of December 1, 1962, and lists it as an LLC incorporated in 2005, the same year Larry Nunemaker passed away.
Customer Feedback: A Mixed Bag of Sources, Consistent Theme
Reviews for Nunemaker’s are scattered across smaller platforms rather than concentrated on one big review site, which is typical for a business this size in a mid-sized Midwest city.
Aggregated data from Birdeye shows a 4.4-star rating across 53 reviews pulled from Google and Yellow Pages listings. One reviewer, a self-described longtime mail-order customer, described buying an 1833 half cent from the shop that he held onto for years afterward.
More recent feedback echoes a specific pattern: people show up not knowing much about coins or bullion, and staff take the time to explain pricing and grading rather than rushing the transaction.
A reviewer from a numismatic directory listing described bringing in items for assessment and receiving a clear explanation behind the valuation, not just a number. Another mentioned buying a first ounce of silver and getting patient answers to beginner questions.
None of this is unusual for an independent coin shop that depends on repeat local business. What’s worth noting is the consistency. Across different platforms and different years, the same two things keep coming up: fair pricing explanations and low-pressure service.
Where It Falls Short
No online catalog means you can’t browse inventory before making the drive. If you’re out of state or looking to buy a specific certified coin sight-unseen, Nunemaker’s isn’t set up for that kind of transaction the way a large online bullion retailer is.
Spot prices are linked on the site through a third-party feed, but there’s no live shopping cart, no shipping calculator, no way to lock in a price without physically being there or calling.
That’s a real limitation if you’re comparing this shop to national online dealers like APMEX or JM Bullion, which ship nationwide and post real-time pricing on every product.
Nunemaker’s business model is built around foot traffic and phone calls, not e-commerce. For someone local to northern Indiana, that’s not a downside. For someone shopping from another state, it rules the shop out for anything beyond a phone inquiry.
Who This Shop Makes Sense For
If you live within driving distance of Mishawaka and have gold jewelry, old coins, or currency you want appraised without shipping it anywhere, this is a straightforward option with over six decades of operating history and an A+ BBB rating behind it.
If you’re a collector looking for a specific certified coin and want to shop nationally by price, you’ll want a dealer with an online catalog instead. Local sellers and beginner collectors in the region seem to get the most out of what Nunemaker’s offers.
Conclusion
Nunemaker’s Coin Shop is a long-running, credentialed local dealer with a solid reputation for fair, explained pricing on gold, silver, and coins.
It works best as a walk-in or phone relationship rather than an online purchase option, so weigh that against how you actually plan to buy or sell.
