Buying and selling coins and cards is in Tim Hadley’s genes.
Hadley’s late father operated a coin shop in Peoria for many years, and Hadley is now carrying on the family tradition, opening up Hadley’s Cards and Coins in Springfield.
The shop at 1051 Wabash Ave. carries U.S. and foreign coins and currency, basketball, baseball and football cards, and Pokemon cards.
“We carry the largest selection of Pokemon cards, sealed as well as singles, that you’ll probably find in Springfield,” said Hadley, who co-owns the shop along with his wife, Brittany.
Hadley’s father started collecting coins in the ‘60s and went on to open the Peoria coin shop, which closed in 2012. Hadley said after his father passed away in 2017 and Hadley started sorting through the coins and other collector items that were among his father’s belongings, his own interest in coins and cards was rekindled.
“I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the coin collecting,” he said.
Hadley, who works full-time for Blue Cross Blue Shield, started selling coins online. Then one day, as he and his wife were driving down Wabash Avenue, he saw the available storefront at 1051 and mentioned to Brittany that it would be a good location for a coin shop. For Hadley, it was just a passing comment, but his wife pushed him to make it a reality.
The shop currently is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., although Hadley said they are considering expanding operating hours. The business is a family affair, with Hadley and his wife running day-to-day operations, their daughter Amberlyn, who is a student at Lincoln Land Community College, serving as the Pokemon “subject expert” and helping with graphic design, and their daughter, Ali, who lives in St. Louis, providing marketing support.
Hadley said they have been pleased with the response they’ve received from the community since opening.
“It’s probably exceeded what our expectations were,” he said. “There are a lot of great people involved in the coin hobby in this community, collectors and dealers as well. With Pokemon, you can’t get hotter than it is right now. And obviously, this is a sports town, so there’s always interest in the sports cards.”