The couple seated before Brian Richter’s desk had a plastic resealable bag of jewelry, a few coins and a lot of hope they’d find enough precious metals in the lot to pay for a truck repair.

In the end, they got about $180.

Some people who stop by Richter’s new Brainerd Gold and Silver business may stay for hours sorting through a large volume of jewelry pieces or come in with a few gold chains and leave with a $1,000 check in a matter of minutes.

Since opening in January, Richter’s looked at a little bit of everything. Necklaces, rings, tea pots, serving trays, forks, rings, cuff links, pendants, watches, coins and teeth.

“A lot of people need money right now,” Richter said. “It gives me a job, too, so we help each other, that’s why I wanted to get into this business.”

Besides the desk space with the tools of his new trade, the store on Washington Street in West Brainerd has display cases of coins. Richter is still in the process of filling them. The 41-year-old California native has been a coin collector for 19 years and bought and sold metals off and on. But he is probably best known in the lakes area for his 15-year-career as a chain saw sculptor. The Richter Sculpture Gallery was a staple on Highway 371 for years with its orange pumpkins and massive moose. But sculpture business was seasonal and sales had declined in the last few years. The work itself was taking a physical toll on Richter and his wife, Justina, did the finish work in a face mask because of the fumes. It was all adding up to a change. A career change can be a hard decision and one that may be easier not to make unless there is a push.

Richter first felt the nudge.

He was forced to relocate his gallery to a shop across from Brainerd International Raceway after a severe thunderstorm in the summer of 2007 destroyed the building housing his chain saw business and two other shops. As the economic fortunes changed with the Great Recession and Richter’s back became more painful, the nudge became more pronounced.

“I knew it was time for a change,” Richter said.

Richter decided to get out of the chain saw sculpting business and try the other business he’d been thinking about for many years — selling, buying and trading gold and silver. To learn more about scrap gold, he took an online course and became part of the Honest Gold Guy franchise. Richter said he liked the franchise because it had higher payouts.

“In the long run you are going to get that many more customers,” he said.

Thursday afternoon, customers who stopped in said they’d be coming back. Richter leased the space from Close-Converse Commercial and Preferred Properties in December and said since he opened the door last month, business picked up quickly. Richter uses a special stone to get a rubbing from the metal item, like a jewelry chain, then uses chemicals to confirm its precious metal status and content. Other tools include a magnet, a gold tester, a loop and a couple of scales. He triple checks results so he won’t be fooled by heavy plating.

Since he opened, Richter said people have stopped in attracted by the gold lettering across the front windows. David Nelson, Pine River, saw the shop when he was across the street at Tanner Motors. Nelson was curious if the commemorative coins he bought 30 years ago had value today. With silver at $34 an ounce and gold selling for $1,759 an ounce as of Thursday afternoon, it’s a common question.

“It is a career change, but I think it was a change for the better,” Richter said. “I love this. I get to be around coins and I love gold and silver.”

And Richter said one of the benefits, besides being a people person, is never knowing what interesting items may come through the door next. “I had to get pushed out of my comfort zone to get me to do this,” Richter said. “And this is awesome. I love my job.”

A few old customers have asked him to make a few chain saw pieces. After 15 years of that, Richter made thousands. For now, he said it was time for a break.

“This is where my passion is right now,” he said of the new store. “So I have to go where my heart is.”

RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at 855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com.