Clarkstown Coin & Jewelry showcases precious treasures

Over its 51 years of existence, Clarkstown Coin & Jewelry has proven that it is possible for small businesses not just to survive, but thrive.

Founded in 1973 by former publishing professional and avid coin collector Maurice B. Spivak due in part to the rising prices of gold and silver, the business began by selling coins in a small location in Nanuet, New York next to what is now Verizon Wireless. A neighboring shop that sold stamps quickly teamed up with Spivak, leading the business to do well enough to expand to its current location on South Middletown Road in 1976.

After the partnering stamp collector left the business 20 years later—along with gold “going on a tear” in the early 1980s due to international political and economic shifts—Clarkstown Coin & Jewelry became the family-owned and operated dealership in rare coins, precious metals, diamonds, and fine jewelry that is known by locals today.

“The rest is history, pretty much,” said Peter Mañana, who serves as an appraiser at Clarkstown Coin & Jewelry. “Every fifteen or so years, gold will go on a huge run for some reason. We’ve been able to keep up with the times, so to speak. A lot of small businesses will usually close within four to five years, but somehow we’ve defeated the odds.”

Today, Clarkstown Coin & Jewelry is owned by Seth Spivak, Maurice’s son, who originally brought the jewelry-expertise element to the business by attending the Gemological Institute of America in NYC in order to become skilled in the appraisal of stones. In addition to selling and trading rare coins (some as old as the Roman Empire), the shop now buys and sells gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and diamonds in all formats, liquidating unwanted jewelry into immediate payments.

When asked his favorite part of the gig, Mañana explained that when the counter opens each day at 9 a.m., he never knows what kind of rare, beautiful items he may encounter—or who may bring them in.

“Let’s say the local junk man is cleaning out a house that was foreclosed by the bank or something,” Mañana explained. “A banker will usually say, ‘Hey, we need this house cleaned out because we’re going to put it on the market for sale, so anything you want, you can keep.’ Every once in a while, we hear that the guy finds a little lockbox and pries it open, and inside there’s gold jewelry or something like that. So he might be getting paid $100 for the day, and then he finds a little box and it’s three grand in his pocket! You never know what you’re going to find.”