As my last day at my current job draws near, I have had some time to reflect on my time here. When I started here in 2011, I knew very little about coins. In nearly two years, I have learned so much more than I ever thought I would. My boss calls me the foreign coin expert, though I don't think I know all that much. I can look at most foreign coins and tell you if they have been devalued or if they contain any silver, but there is still so much more out there.
I am really kind of glad to be leaving here. It seems to me that with the turmoil in the stock market and the fact that gold prices are lower than when I started here, the stores can't stay open if people aren't selling scrap jewelry. I heard the boss saying just this morning that he was probably going to close the Pendleton store because it has been so dead for over a month. He also closed his booth in the nearby flea market. I had to pull all the jewelry out of it today and reprice it for the other two booths he has. He also claims he is going to keep me on part time to keep those two booths filled with jewelry and other miscellaneous items he gets in now and then. I'm not holding my breath, but the extra cash would come in very handy.
As far as the rest of the company goes, Tony is going to work out of the Fishers' store after I leave. In my opinion, he'll pull his hair out trying to answer questions about coins as it seems those folks are a little more educated about collecting coins and Tony is not.
Bad Billy is going to continue to work out of the Anderson and Fishers (maybe some Pendleton until he closes it). Weave will still work at Anderson and maybe Pendleton until closed. Boss is going to work out of the Indy store mostly since he's putting Tony in Fishers and I won't be around. Sherry is going to continue to work out of the Anderson store and do running for the company like I used to. The last employee, whom I won't name, is looking at jail time for a past crime. I also found out he's on the sex offender registry list for sexual misconduct. Nice. That would be the 3rd one Boss hired. I am glad to be going.
Boss is going to sell the car that he let me drive for the last year and a half. He thought is was worth way more than it really is. Of course when you think it is one model with features it doesn't really have, that kinda changes things. It's still a decent car that will make someone a nice ride, but has some issues like no dash lights at night, an odometer that can't be read, it uses oil, it's been wrecked (NOT by me), it has lots of rattles and vibrations, cigarette burns all over the place (again NOT by me), but it runs and will get you where you need to go. I thought about buying it just for a fuel efficient option over my big white truck, but I really can't justify another payment and added insurance costs especially since I only have 2 more years left on my truck.
Do I feel bad that because I am leaving, Boss is having to completely re-evaluate his operations? A little bit. Why? Well, he let me in on his dream and because I essentially changed my mind about participating in his dream, he's not going to be able to go forward. He's already talking about selling out this business and revisiting the cigar store/smoke shop business. He's a smart guy, he'll figure it out without me.
It's been a trip, sometimes fun and sometimes sad and a lot of bizarre, but it was worth it. I've learned a lot about myself, coins and buying scrap gold. And no, I would probably not ever open this kind of business especially since the powers that be are constantly changing the rules that govern buying scrap metal. I'll still sell whatever I find at garage sales though.
And now, on to my future....
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