MORE THAN JUST GOLD AND SILVER

Madison Coin and Jewelry offers opportunity to buy, sell and trade wide variety of collectibles

Ron Rakes didn’t have to look far to find a location for the collectibles store that he and his sons wanted to open about six years ago.

In fact, a storefront that’s attached to the building that houses Ron’s primary business, Rakes Carpet One in Madison Township, turned out to be the spot chosen to convert into Madison Coin and

Jewelry.

“I’ve always rented the space out,” said Ron, about the shop located on the east side of the Rakes Carpet One Building at 6559 North Ridge Road.

After Anderson Jewelers vacated the store, Ron and his sons — Scott and Jon Rakes — formed a partnership to start a new retail venture. They launched the business in addition to continuing operations at Rakes Carpet One.

Ron said the decision to open a collectibles store in November 2014 stemmed from hobbies that he had enjoyed for many years. During Ron’s youth, he had been a collector of sports cards and pocket knives. Later, he got involved with coins, jewelry and precious metals.

“And my sons also have the same interest as me,” he said. “(The business) started as, ‘Let’s just see how things go,’ so we all had a little bit of inventory at home that we had been collecting ourselves. We brought in our inventory, and then of course we buy, sell and trade, so we

have a lot of people bringing things in.”

A sampling of collectibles that Madison Coin and Jewelry buys includes Zippo lighters, military items, stamp collections, fountain pens, vintage razors and old signs.

Asked to rate the top-selling items at Madison Coin and Jewelry, Ron offered this list:

• 1. Gold jewelry. “Definitely No. 1,” he said. “People cash in their gold and we resell it.”

• 2. Coins.

“Silver coins in particular,” Ron said.

• 3. Sports cards. “We have actually been picking up in sports cards lately,” Ron said. “It’s been making a return.”

He believes that the revival

might have sparked by the airing of “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary series examining the career of basketball star Michael Jordan and giving particular attention to his last season with the Chicago Bulls.

“It kind of popped interest on (Jordan’s) cards and some of the players from his era,” Ron said. “Also speculated a lot of interest in LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant, when he died. Some of your big-name players. So their rookie cards have really taken off. A lot more people are coming in for sports cards.”

• 4. Pocket knives. “I probably have a dozen collectors of pocket knives who come in regularly,” he said.

Business at Madison Coin and Jewelry often booms whenever gold and silver soar to high levels, Ron added.

He said Madison Coin and Jewelry is licensed as a precious metals dealer.

“So that enables us to advertise that we buy gold and silver and that’s through the State of Ohio Department of Commerce,” he said. “That’s important because you’re really not supposed to advertise that you can purchase precious metals without the correct license.”

One thing that makes Madison Coin and Jewelry a good place to purchase collectibles is that its retail prices “are very, very good,” Ron said.

“You can buy a diamond

ring here for $100 that would be $1,000 at a jewelry store,” he said. “We work on a tighter margin because we own the building, don’t pay a lot of overhead, it’s just a family business. We don’t have to make a big, huge profit margin, so our prices are fantastic.”

Madison Coin and Jewelry also strives to give customers an honest assessment about the value of collectibles that they’re thinking about selling.

“A lot of interesting pieces people bring in, they really don’t know what they are,” Ron said. “And we’ll research it for them on the computer and tell them what it is, so we’re kind of in the realm of ‘Antique Roadshow,’ where they bring

things in and don’t know the value. We look them up and tell them the value of things. And then we make them an offer and they can make a decision.”

Ron said Madison Coin and Jewelry buys a lot of collectibles that similar shops won’t purchase.

“People are always bringing stuff in,” he said. “They’re like, ‘This is my last stop and I’ve been to five places and nobody seems to want this.’ We will usually purchase just about anything, like (one of the stars of ) ‘American Pickers’ says: ‘Anything we think we can make a buck on.’ “

For more information on Madison Coin and Jewelry, visit its Facebook page or call 440-428-7871.

BILL DEBUS - THE NEWS-HERALD BILL DEBUS - THE NEWS-HERALD Ron Rakes, one of the owners of Madison Coin and Jewelry, poses for a photo amid some of the shop’s coins and other collectibles. Ron owns and operates the Madison Township store along with his sons, Scott and Jon Rakes. Pocket knives are one of the more popular collectible items at Madison Coin and Jewelry in Madison Township. The business is co-owned by Ron Rakes and his sons, Scott and Jon Rakes.