The excellent website details this coin shop, their introduction is quoted below:
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'Coincraft is a family firm that was started in 1955. We are dedicated to serving collectors all over the world. We sell coins, banknotes, medallions, ancient coins and antiquities. Coincraft only deal with collectors, we do not sell coins as investments!
As members of numismatic and trade associations we are governed by their rules and regulations. Some of the organisations that we are members of are: Professional Numismatic Guild (PNG), a member for 25 years and one of only six members outside the United States. American Numismatic Association (ANA), Professional Currency Dealers Association (PCDA), Antiquity Dealers Association (ADA), International Banknote Society (IBNS) to name but a few.
We are a little old fashioned in that we still believe in helping collectors is our paramount objective. At Coincraft the collector is always right, even if he is occasionally wrong. Many collectors have called us the coin shop that they wished they had when they were younger. In fact we are as near as the nearest post box, fax machine, telephone or modem.
There are two Coincraft shops on Great Russell Street across the street from the British Museum. We have been at this location since 1976 and as we own the building, we expect to be here a little longer. I always believed that the buildings were built around 1760, but I have been informed that they actually date from around 1736. We still have one of the original doors in the basement. The outside of the buildings were redone about 1840 when the British Museum was built. The rooms are small and because of conservation we are not allowed to build from one building to the other.
The shops are open from 9:45 until 5:00 Monday to Friday and on Saturday one of the shops is open from 10:00 until 2:00. There is always someone in the shops or someone who can be called to help you with your enquiry. You will find a nice display of coins, banknotes, ancient coins, medallions and antiquities on display in the shops. Coincraft is one of the last places that you can see coins on display, a place where you can have a look and learn something, without having to buy anything.
We are proud of being numismatists (new-mis-ma-tists) rather than just being coin dealers. That means that we love and study the subject rather than just buying and selling 'something'. Coincraft are also numismatic book publishers and amongst the titles that we print are The Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins 1066 to Date, The Standard Catalogue of the coins of Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. We also produce THE book on the medallions of the Crystal Palace and THE book on British Patterns. Other books are in various stages of preparation. Coincraft is a full service company, if you need coin or banknote supplies, coins or banknotes, books on coins or banknotes, help on coins or banknotes then Coincraft is the place to go. As collectors ourselves we know what you would like and we hope to provide it.
When I say a family firm, I mean just that. I am Richard Lobel and I founded the company in 1955. My wife Claire Lobel is a world renowned expert on banknotes and heads up that department. Barry Clayden, the Managing Director, has been with me for the past 24 years. Alan Ward who is in charge of inventory and the fulfilment department has been here 14 years. Many of our staff have been here 8-10 years or even more. We hope that you will think of Coincraft as nice people to do business with.
About once a month we publish a 24 page tabloid sized newspaper called The Phoenix. In it are offerings of coins, banknotes, medallions, ancient coins and antiquities. Many of the items are discounted from their original issue price, we run one of the largest secondary markets in this type of material. There are also other special mailings that we send to our better collectors and of course most of the best material never gets listed. If we have something on a want list, then we try to fill that first. At Coincraft the collector is king.
One of our specialities is the medals and coins of King Edward VIII, the King who abdicated in 1936 to marry Mrs. Simpson. For a number of years I was listed in the Guinness Book of Records for owning the only known partial set of Edward VIII coins. This current issue we are listed for buying the largest, heaviest and most expensive group of banknotes ever sold at auction. The British Government sold 17,000,000 banknotes in one lot that weighed 15,000 Kilos and cost us £240,350!
Coincraft deals with collectors, dealers, promoters and anyone who is interested in coins, banknotes and antiquities. Some of the largest promotions in the United Kingdom have come through Coincraft, one way or the other. We are proud that we provide, original coins, properly graded and priced on the current market. There is no way that we can always been the cheapest, but we do provide value for money. Many of our purchases are so large that we can offer coins for far less than a mint originally sold them for. We have dealers who try to buy coins off our price lists, but collectors always come first! At sometime in the future when you stop collecting, we hope that we will have the opportunity to make an offer on your collection.
In order to offer coins and banknotes to our collectors, we need to buy! Every day dealers come into our offices and offer us coins for sale. They know, as do collectors, that if we agree a price, payment will be immediate. We also buy everything, not just the cream. Many dealers will only make an offer for a small part of the coins that you want to sell, thus leaving you with the less pieces to sell elsewhere. Coincraft buys everything and we will make an offer on a lot no matter how small or large. Over the years Coincraft has bought treasure ships, bank hoards, accumulations, collections and just about everything.
If you want to sell then it will pay you to contact Coincraft, after all if we can buy from dealers, we can buy from you. Cut out the middle man and sell directly to Coincraft!
The Phoenix our newspaper style catalogue is FREE on request, just fill in the form elsewhere on our web site. We will be happy to send you a complimentary copy. If you buy from us then we will continue to send it to you for FREE, you can not buy a subscription. We only send it to buyers, that way we keep our costs down.
If you are visiting the British Museum, then pop across the street to say hello, both shops are worth a visit as both display different material.
Stay well, be happy and keep on collecting.'