Big Bear Coin & Collectible has opened at Stony Point Fashion Park in the former T-Mobile storefront. (Photo courtesy of Big Bear Coin & Collectible)
A Wisconsin-born business has taken a shine to Stony Point Fashion Park.
Big Bear Coin & Collectible opened last month in a storefront on the southern end of the South Richmond mall, near the Eggspectation restaurant and empty anchor space once home to Dick’s Sporting Goods.
The store buys and sells gold and silver as well as jewelry, sports cards, comic books and other collectibles.
Big Bear relocated from Mukwonago, Wisconsin, a small town that’s a roughly two-hour drive north of Chicago. Mukwonago means “place of the bear” in the language of the Potawatomi Native American tribe, and the word is the inspiration for the store’s name.
Owner Robert Du Charme said he moved the business to the Old Dominion to avoid the sales tax that Wisconsin levies on purchases of gold and silver, as well as for personal reasons. Virginia, like most states, exempts purchases of gold and silver bullion and legal-tender coins from sales taxes.
Robert Du Charme
Du Charme, who is in his mid-30s, said he was introduced to the world of collectibles as a kid.
“It was really a longtime passion of mine with different collectibles growing up. A (childhood) friend showed me some of his cards and coins and I was hooked,” he said.
He started to get into the business of buying and selling coins more than a decade ago while still in college.
“I realized my collection of coins was so big I need to sell coins to buy more coins,” he said.
He opened the original location of Big Bear in Mukwonago in 2019. Its new Stony Point space, suite 158, was formerly occupied by a T-Mobile store, which shuttered in late 2020.
Big Bear opens at Stony Point amid the mall’s ongoing effort to secure an ABC permit to allow visitors to drink alcoholic beverages while they shop. Women’s fashion store Travian Vann also recently opened at the mall.
Dillard’s and Saks Fifth Avenue are anchor tenants at Stony Point. Other tenants include Crossroads Records, Verseau Bistro, ax-throwing range Stumpy’s Hatchet House and escape room Gnome and Raven.
Big Bear Coin & Collectible has opened at Stony Point Fashion Park in the former T-Mobile storefront. (Photo courtesy of Big Bear Coin & Collectible)
A Wisconsin-born business has taken a shine to Stony Point Fashion Park.
Big Bear Coin & Collectible opened last month in a storefront on the southern end of the South Richmond mall, near the Eggspectation restaurant and empty anchor space once home to Dick’s Sporting Goods.
The store buys and sells gold and silver as well as jewelry, sports cards, comic books and other collectibles.
Big Bear relocated from Mukwonago, Wisconsin, a small town that’s a roughly two-hour drive north of Chicago. Mukwonago means “place of the bear” in the language of the Potawatomi Native American tribe, and the word is the inspiration for the store’s name.
Owner Robert Du Charme said he moved the business to the Old Dominion to avoid the sales tax that Wisconsin levies on purchases of gold and silver, as well as for personal reasons. Virginia, like most states, exempts purchases of gold and silver bullion and legal-tender coins from sales taxes.
Robert Du Charme
Du Charme, who is in his mid-30s, said he was introduced to the world of collectibles as a kid.
“It was really a longtime passion of mine with different collectibles growing up. A (childhood) friend showed me some of his cards and coins and I was hooked,” he said.
He started to get into the business of buying and selling coins more than a decade ago while still in college.
“I realized my collection of coins was so big I need to sell coins to buy more coins,” he said.
He opened the original location of Big Bear in Mukwonago in 2019. Its new Stony Point space, suite 158, was formerly occupied by a T-Mobile store, which shuttered in late 2020.
Big Bear opens at Stony Point amid the mall’s ongoing effort to secure an ABC permit to allow visitors to drink alcoholic beverages while they shop. Women’s fashion store Travian Vann also recently opened at the mall.
Dillard’s and Saks Fifth Avenue are anchor tenants at Stony Point. Other tenants include Crossroads Records, Verseau Bistro, ax-throwing range Stumpy’s Hatchet House and escape room Gnome and Raven.
Well, THAT is interesting. I know people still collect “Stamps and Coins” — but I have started remarking how this pasttime has mostly disappeared. It used to be that there was a Stamp and Coin shop in every population center, owned not by “Comic Book Guy” but Old Guy reading a newspaper. It was not merely a nerdy pasttime — FDR was an AVID stamp collector, and so was I in elementary school. Every so often, my father would drop me off at the stamp and coin and I would spend hours pawing through the stamps, trying to balance my… Read more »
I stopped in to Big Bear a few days ago. It was a pleasant experience. Robert knows his stuff and he was easy to work with. Glad to see him mentioned here