About Us

The story starts with a boy of 6 years named R.B., who loved to buy and sell dirt and rocks.  This playful experience led him to the land of coins.  At 9 years, this boy would venture into auction houses with his father, a retired engineer/surveyor who happened to be one of the draftsmen who designed a Kennedy plane. This boy grew up seeing and appreciating the incredible numismatic adventure in front of him.  His sense of the finite value of those rare items fostered his passion and so at 14 this boy formed RBW Antiques to run at a booth in an antique guild in Bellingham, his home town.

At 16, this young man began to work for Stamp and Coin company.  Fast forward to 10 years ago, and this gentleman opened Bellingham Coin Shop out of his garage.  Inside of a year, this small business moved into a warehouse and thus continued this gentleman’s journey and in 2015 rented the space on Cornwall Avenue.

Several years ago, this gentleman went to an Estate sale wherein he discovered a top hat of the former governor of Washington.  He put it on and really liked how it felt.  The sophistication . . . the elegance . . . the history.  It felt like his father would have liked it.  From a country boy to this gentleman, with the top hat, he looked on the outside in balance to the panache on the inside.

Starting to hide treasures in 2018 to enrich people’s lives, his community-driven reputation was encouraging adult hunts of many types because according to RBW “everyone deserves a happy inner child. The thrill of a hunt is as exciting as donning a top hat.”