by Jaclyn Roco
Staff Writer
On D Street is a little shop which is walking distance from the University of La Verne campus.
Perhaps you’ve passed by it many times, but have never noticed it because of its unassuming facade.
You finally inspect it long enough to read the simple words etched onto the clear glass window: “Coin Depot, Established 1977.”
Interesting, but not enough for you to venture in.
You dismiss the shop from your mind.
In the wee hours of the morning one day you walk by the same shop in Downtown La Verne, intent on heading over to your usual after-hours haunt.
But you stop in your tracks because you are greeted with such a strange sight.
One thought enters your mind: What is the Coin Depot doing open late at night?
Don Hauser, owner of Coin Depot, may have just the answer for all those who have wondered the same thing.
“This place is so busy during the week that whatever we buy during the day we process at night, otherwise nothing gets done!” Hauser said.
“On Saturday nights we usually stay here really late, even until the sun goes up,” Hauser said. “These times are spent on the labor in classifying and presenting everything.”
Hauser admitted that his coins usually spend around five to 10 years just sitting there before he has time to classify them.
“I’ve even bought stuff sitting around from 20 years ago,” he said smiling.
Besides collecting a large number of coins and trinkets, Hauser displays music antiques as well as other objects that date back from World War II.
Hauser and his wife, Catherine, opened the business in Downtown La Verne nearly two years ago. Although his experience in appraising coins goes back much longer.
“We moved here from San Gabriel two years ago because we’re local to the area and love it,” Hauser said. “I’ve been in business for 30 years now.”
Because his clients know him and the hours he keeps, it is not unusual for Hauser to receive guests at the oddest of hours.
“A lot of people come around because they know we’re here,” Hauser said.
Hauser explained that it is not common for ULV students to enter his establishment though faculty members often come in to buy or sell things, he said.
Sophomore Stephanie Pavon was only one of a few ULV students who felt compelled to explore the shop during its daytime hours.
Slowly browsing through the isles, she closely examined the coins displayed and asked Hauser questions on the antiques that he carried.
“I saw the history stuff like the amplifier and Kaiser things and it just looked interesting,” Pavon said.
