The Ground Floor: All American Bullion & Coins serving collectors, investors in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - An unexpected inheritance led to a new Cedar Rapids business.

Alex Ralston didn't know his maternal grandfather while growing up in Eastern Iowa. It was only after he joined the military and his mother moved to Florida, where she rekindled a relationship with her father, that Ralston became acquainted with the man.

'I only met him a handful of times,” Ralston said.

Yet, when his grandfather died in 2014, Ralston inherited his coin collection.

'It was a typical collection,” Ralston said, noting that he had maintained his own small coin collection when he was young. 'Nothing in it was extremely valuable, but what it did was get me looking at coins again and learning about them.”

Ralston started visiting coin stores and attending coin shows. In 2015, he and his father went to a show in Nevada, Iowa, where his father purchased a 10-ounce silver bar.

'I was confused as to why,” Ralston admitted. 'He had no interest in metals prior to the show, but it got me looking into gold and silver bullion. It appealed to me as an investment because it's something you can physically have; it's not just numbers on the screen like the stock market.”

Ralston started buying and selling silver and gold, along with coins.

'My interest and knowledge kept growing,” he said.

He went to work for an area dealer, where he met Tyler Walker. Walker had been working there for some time while also working as a substitute teacher. The two men became friends over their shared hobby.

Ralston said when they decided to go into business together, it was a pretty fast process.

'We thought it would be possible to have a store, but we wanted it to be near downtown, on a busy street, and have off-street parking so customers would be comfortable bringing in their collections,” he said. 'We had a fairly ambitious wish list when we started looking for a location, and we didn't think it would be easy to find a place that met our needs.”

But their First Avenue location was the first listing they saw.

All American Bullion and Coins opened on Oct. 3, 2016, its name and logo a nod to the Army's 82nd Airborne Division - also known as the All American Division - with which Ralston served until 2014.

The business sells U.S. collector coins and currency, foreign coins, gold, silver and platinum bullion, and supplies for collectors. It also buys coins, currency and old jewelry and offers free appraisals.

Ralston said the store has several types of customers, including those buying metals as an investment, either to diversify their portfolios or because they don't trust currency to maintain its value, and collectors who appreciate the history or design of old and rare coins and currency.

And some customers are like he once was - trying to learn more about collections they have inherited.

- Know a business in operation for less than a year that would make a good 'Ground Floor?” contact michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com.

At a Glance

Business: All American Bullion and Coins

Owners: Alex Ralston and Tyler Walker

Address: 625 First Ave. SE, Suite A, Cedar Rapids

Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Telephone: (319) 409-5014

Website: allamericanbullionandcoins.com