Many homeowners have a drawer, box, safe, or basement shelf filled with items they've inherited, collected, or held onto over the years.

Old coins. Jewelry. Pocket watches. Gold and silver. Baseball cards. Comic books. Military memorabilia. Stamps. Family heirlooms.

The challenge is knowing what any of it is actually worth.

That's where Peter Kappa, owner of GDK Coin & Jewelry Dealers, comes in.

Located on French Road in Depew, GDK has been serving Western New York collectors and sellers since 1964. Peter purchased the business in 2014, turning a lifelong passion for collecting into a full-time career.

"I've been collecting since I was a kid," Peter says. "Coins, paper money, pretty much everything."

Today, that passion and decades of experience allow him to help residents evaluate, buy, sell, trade, and locate a wide variety of items.

GDK specializes in coins, gold, silver, jewelry, pocket watches, diamonds, antiques, comic books, sports collectibles, political memorabilia, military items, and much more.

One of the most common misconceptions Peter encounters is that people assume their items either have tremendous value or no value at all.

The reality is often somewhere in between.

That's why he encourages residents to stop in before making assumptions.

"Get an idea of what you have," Peter says. "You might be surprised."

Some visitors bring in a few old coins they discovered while cleaning out a family member's home. Others arrive with inherited collections they've never had evaluated. Occasionally, rare pieces worth thousands of dollars walk through the door.

Over the years, Peter has seen everything from antique currency and rare coins to gold nuggets from Alaska and large estate collections.

What sets GDK apart, according to Peter, is simple: fairness.

"We try to give people a fair value for what they have," he says.

Whether someone is looking to sell old jewelry, convert unused gold or silver into cash, build a collection, or track down a hard-to-find collectible, Peter is always willing to point them in the right direction.

And if GDK doesn't have exactly what you're looking for?

Peter's extensive network within the hobby often allows him to help locate it.

For residents who have been meaning to clean out a drawer, evaluate an inherited collection, or simply satisfy their curiosity, Peter's advice is straightforward:

Bring it in and ask.

You never know what treasure might be hiding in plain sight.