Franklin's veteran-owned collectibles shop has coins and a whole lot more

FRANKLIN — When Rod Crochiere first got out of the Navy, he was looking to make some extra money. But while trying to sell some of his comic book collection, which he had been building since childhood, he was met with a harsh reality.

"They really didn't have much value," he said. "So I wanted to find something collectible that had value long term. I came across coins, and I started buying collections. The price of silver was going up (consistently), so no matter what I did, I was making money selling silver coins."

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Crochiere soon developed a passion for buying and selling collectibles, starting with coins and comic books, then expanding to historical artifacts, toys and unique collector's items.

In 2019, Crochiere opened a by-appointment-only collectors shop in downtown Franklin. Two years later, he expanded by moving into part of the former Acapulcos restaurant (now on Union Street) location at 15 Main St. The new location, called I Have Coins and Collectibles, gave Crochiere a place to display his towering inventory of comic books, coins, toys, military artifacts, historic items and other collectibles.

"It was a restaurant space before, so it was pretty nasty," he said. "I had to renovate the space before moving in. We were able to get shelves up on the walls, but really I only have about a third of what I own on display here."

The shop features an eclectic display of items available for purchase. Coins, or "numismatics," as they are called in the collector's world, are the most numerous, but also dotting the walls are rare editions of comic books, Pokemon cards (which Crochiere said he began collecting due to his son), sports cards, video game memorabilia, historic weapons, military items and more.

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"This is a Samurai sword from 1790," Crochiere said, pulling out the ancient Japanese weapon. "The family that sold it to me was the family of a Korean War veteran, who left behind a bunch of military memorabilia. This was made by a famous Samurai sword developer — if you take the handle off, you can see the signature. They were using it to cut pieces of paper, apples, and having fun cutting things, so it needs to be refurbished."

Crochiere opened his store right before the pandemic hit in early 2020, which typically would not be a good time for business. But interest in collectibles exploded during the pandemic, as many new people took up the hobby.

'Hobbies blew up again'

"Everybody who was at home, the collectibles started coming back out of the closet and the hobbies blew up again," Crochiere said. "The prices skyrocketed, there was a lot less inventory for the collectors that were out there. With the stimulus checks, there was a lot of extra money people had. People who were getting $600 checks were going to coin shows and spending $600."

Crochiere served in the Navy from 1993-98. Some of the evidence is in the store, including a plank owner certificate, which notes that Crochiere was part of the crew that commissioned the USS John C. Stennis, a nuclear-powered supercarrier. The plank owner certificate is a naval tradition that states that a crew member who commissioned a ship is entitled to a piece of the "plank" when the ship is decommissioned.

Crochiere also possesses a certificate from the Order of Magellan, given to Navy sailors who circumnavigated the globe.

Andrew Parker came across Crochiere during the pandemic when he was looking for more information on a coin collection a family member had, and was looking to start building a collection to pass on to his children.

"I met with Rod and he gave me a wonderful idea of what everything would be, what would be the safest way to collect for my children without losing money or losing the stuff, and we've become friends," Parker said.

Perhaps the most spectacular item in Crochiere's store is a small medal that was sold to him one day by a woman who came into the store.

"She was in an awful situation, her house had burned down and she was going to be evicted from her apartment, and she had some old items she was looking to sell. She had this medal that she wanted $200 for, then she had someone offer $100 for it," Crochiere said.

Upon doing some research, Crochiere discovered it was a Carpathia Medal, which was given to the crew of the Carpathia, the ship that rescued survivors after the Titanic sunk in 1912. The medal is one of 14 gold Carpathia Medals that were issued.

"She only wanted $200 for it, but I don't do business like that," Crochiere said. "I gave her everything that I could afford at that time; we actually had a plan to auction it off in Europe, as part of an auction that happens every few years of Titanic memorabilia, but she couldn't wait that long. It's not the easiest thing to sell. Is it historical? Yes. Is it very valuable? Yes. But you need to wait for the right buyer to come along."

The sense of adventure that can unfold anytime a customer walks through the door is Crochiere's favorite aspect of the job.

"You never know what is going to come through the door. Someone can come through one day with literally anything; it is a treasure hunt in here every day," Crochiere said.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Franklin veteran-owned coin and collectibles shop sells comics more