Fountain Hills resident John Gibson is the owner of what he deems a “hobby-business” at Fountain Coins of Arizona, where he appraises coin collections and brokers coin transactions for avid coin collectors like himself.

A member of the American Numismatic Association since 1990 and a collector since 1967, Gibson is a numismatic consultant, educator, appraiser, evaluator and broker for all things coins.

It all started at the age of 10 when Gibson spied a small, blue coin collector’s album in Bob Braun’s house, Gibson’s childhood friend. Braun’s parents were coin collectors, which held Gibson’s attention.

“I just was intrigued as heck by that. I don’t know why,” he said.

In grade school and well into his new obsession, Gibson said his enthusiasm for coins began earning him good grades in history class, “because I knew all the presidents on the coins,” Gibson said. “For Roosevelt and for Kennedy, [the coins] came out the year after they died so, if I remember what year the coins came out, I could remember what year those two presidents died.”

In his late 20s, Gibson turned his hobby into a part-time business, giving presentations on coin collecting to seniors living in RV parks around Mesa.

“These older folks would come up to me during Q&A time and say, ‘My husband just died and left me this box of coins. What do I do with it?’” Gibson said. “So, I started helping them and saying, ‘Well, they’re worth this or that or the other and I can take it to this place or that place, or I can broker it for you.’”

Soon, Gibson was appraising and liquidating coin collections on a regular basis and growing his reputation as “John the Coin Guy.” In 1989, he officially opened his business and called it Mesa Coins.

Finding time between a full-time job and raising his children, Gibson incorporated his coin business and moved from Mesa to Fountain Hills, where he changed the business name to Fountain Coins of Arizona.

In his business, Gibson tracks the going price for precious metals like gold, silver, platinum and palladium to ensure his clients get the best prices for their coins.

“Over the last 25 years or so, I’ve developed a network of buyers,” he said. “I know my buyers so I can get you top dollar in the market.”

In 2007, Gibson started the Four Peaks Coins Club, formerly known as Fountain Hills Coin Club, which is in its 16th year. The club meets every second Tuesday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Emerson Art Gallery, where there are numismatic presentations, discussions on coin collecting and a gathering of local coin enthusiasts to talk about their newest and rarest collections.

“I've been at it for 55 years and I still don't know everything,” Gibson said. “I learn something new at that Coin Club meeting every month. So, it's kind of nice and that helps me in my business; the more I know, the more I can share, the more I can help people that are ready to liquidate their collections.”

For Gibson, collecting coins is like collecting miniature pieces of art that are passed down through millennia.

“If you look at coins and currency from other counties, it’s just gorgeous. The Greeks have Greek gods on their modern coins,” he said.

Whether it be an appraisal, liquidation or simply a second opinion on a long-held or sentimental collection, Fountain Coins of Arizona is here to help. Contact John Gibson at 480-231-3896 or visit his website at FountainCoinsAZ.com.