For the past two years, I (Cara) have been apart of the Southgate Coins family. Sadly though, the time has come for me to leave the store, and concentrate on my future career. This past May, I graduated from UNR with a degree in Secondary Education. This month, I will be starting my student teaching internship at a local middle school. Saturday, August 14, 2010 will be my last day as a Southgate Coins employee.

I have had many great experiences here, and have learned more than I ever thought I would while working here. Read on to learn more about my experiences as a Southgate Coins employee.

July 2nd is not only a start to a fantastic holiday weekend, but it also marks the day our beloved Cara was born. Today, July 2, 2010 Cara turned twenty-two!

The past two weeks have been filled with numerous celebrations, but there was still one May birthday to go. Nicole finally moved out of her teen years and turned twenty on May 31. Since her birthday fell on Memorial Day, the crew surprised her with a birthday party on Saturday, May 29.

Read more to see how we celebrated Nicole’s 20th birthday.

In spite of an obnoxiously busy day with tons of customers, the Southgate Coins crew has successfully pulled off yet another birthday. This time, it was for our “kingly” boss, Rusty Goe.

As always, pulling off a birthday celebration requires a certain sort of “undercover finesse” around the workplace. This year was no exception. With a fairly large birthday cake, and a really big birthday present, we all had our day cut out trying to hide everything from Rusty. Not to mention preparing this weblog (pictures and all) behind the scenes. Read on for more details on Rusty’s birthday gala.

Maya, our most experienced veteran here at Southgate Coins, just celebrated another birthday. This amazingly marks the fourth birthday for Maya since she started working at Southgate Coins.

Wow! Maya’s birthday kicks off a busy two weeks of birthday celebrations around here. After Maya’s comes Rusty’s, on the 21st, followed by Nicole’s on the 31st.

Read on for more of Maya’s 22nd birthday celebration.

By Maya Roberts

A long way from Louisville, Southgate Coins once again brought the spirit of the Kentucky Derby to Reno. Each year, the store celebrates this classic horseracing event with much enthusiasm, and as the tradition progresses, the odds get more and more overwhelming that no Southgate girl will bet the winning horse!

In three years of working at Southgate Coins in Reno, NV, I have witnessed many instances where customers in the store, through email, or on the phone have not exercised proper “coin shop etiquette.” These offenses can be minor or grievous, and they can show that even if the person considers himself a “seasoned” collector, there are times when he just doesn’t follow the unspoken rules.

We hope everyone had a wonderful 2010 St. Patrick’s Day. All of us Southgate Coins girls celebrated in our festive green polos, while Rusty wore his dashing green dress-shirt. The customers were cheery and, of course, some were a little gold-hungry.

For all of you gold coin fans out there, did you have a little bit of “luck-‘o-the-Irish” and found your pot of gold? If not, might I suggest looking into getting a "CC" gold coin. Now that is a REAL “pot of gold.”

Stay Green,

Southgate Crew

By Marie and Rusty Goe

When Maya joined us three years ago, she was a young girl who worked hard to learn the basics. I noticed at the end of her shift that she was never a clock-watcher. If she had something to finish she didn’t consider the shift over until she had completed the job, and she holds that trait to this day.

A Must-Read Article in The Numistmatist!

The March 2010 issue of The Numismatist is hot off the press, and Southgate Coins’ very own Rusty Goe contributed an outstanding article about the esteemed Eliasberg collection. The article is a great read for any Carson City coin enthusiast wanting to know some history about the collection. It even offers a price comparison for coin values in 1982 and 2009.

If you subscribe to The Numismatist, make sure to get out your March 2010 issue and flip to Rusty Goe’s article, Eliasberg #1 Revisited on page 44! You won’t want to miss this front-cover article.

Back in January 2010, like many people do at the start of the year, the owners of Southgate Coins made a few New Year’s resolutions. One of their resolutions was to undergo a few store improvements and renovations that were long overdue.

By Rusty Goe

On Sunday evening January 31, 2010, at 9:45, Mikey, Marie's and my beloved Teacup Yorkshire Terrier, died of heart failure while he choked on a piece of food. Mikey’s brother, Sonny, died four months earlier (in October 2009) after other dogs attacked him at a pet care center in Reno. Mikey and Sonny were born on March 25, 1999 in Las Vegas, NV. The deaths of these two Yorkie brothers have understandably brought much grief to Marie and me.

Being with Southgate Coins for over a year now, I (Nicole) have been able to experience many celebrations and fun events. Some of the most enjoyable of all events are the birthdays. It’s a time full of surprises, devious planning, decorations, and some killer cakes and gifts. February 1st arrived again, which meant it was time for Crystal to celebrate her second birthday as a Southgate Coins employee. This was my second time to enjoy her big day with her. Read on to hear more about Crystal’s special day and Southgate’s surprise guest!

All of us at Southgate Coins wish to give a big shout out to our assistant manager Maya Roberts for delivering her new baby daughter.

Maya’s little baby Embry entered the world at 4:20 Monday afternoon on January 18.

This is Maya’s first child. We wish her and her little girl all the best.
Congratulations to Maya and Matt on this special addition to their family!

Marie, Rusty, Crystal, Cara, Nicole, Dixie and Shayna

I (Marie) was out of the office when Nicole came in for her first interview at Southgate Coins, but both Rusty and Maya told me how impressed they were with her. It became evident to me on Nicole’s first day at work that she was serious about the job and was giving an all-out effort to learn her basic responsibilities. I could see that she was smart and that she tried to catch on quickly to everything we taught her.