Albany club hosts weekend coin show

ALBANY — Coin dealers and collectors from several states gathered at the Knights of Columbus Hall on on Friday for the Southwest Georgia Coin Club of Albany’s eight annual coin show.

Inside, numismatists (that’s coin collectors for most of us) were busy buying, selling or swapping mostly U.S. metal currency, but also paper notes and coins of foreign countries. Novice collectors or those who may have inherited valuable coins were able to receive free identification and appraisals of their coins.

“Every year someone brings something in that’s really rare and new to the hobby,” said Bill Lane, 71, a coin dealer and member of the Albany club. “It just shocks the daylight out of them when they find out what the value is. It happens, and it’s exciting.”

Jimmy Jackson and Jerry Farmer of Macon took the day off from their “solid retirement” to attend the show and try to find some treasure. At noon on Friday the pair were scrounging through Bill Lane’s half-price bins of assorted U.S. coins.

“Bill said he hasn’t looked at these coins for at least 10 years,” Jackson said, “so half the price of 10 years back could be a pretty good deal.”

Jackson declared himself in the market for just about anything exciting, including Indian head and Lincoln pennies, “V” nickels, mercury dimes and walking liberty half dollars. The oldest coin in his possession, Jackson said, bears a date of 1794 — just a year after the first U.S. mint was established.

Mark Thompson, 47, from Marietta, who began his first coin business at age 14 and can’t remember when he first collected coins, is drawn to hobby not only by the precious metals used to form the coins, but by their relationship to geography and history.

“Every bit of currency has its own story,” Thompson said. “With some of the older coins you don’t know if George Washington may have held it, or Lincoln, or in some cases even Jesus. There are ancient coins from the time of Jesus that are priced as low as ten to 20 dollars.”

Thompson advises those beginning in the hobby to “start simple and don’t go out and spend a lot of money.”

“Buy what you like and go slow until you find out what really interests you,” Thompson said. “That’s all that matters. Join a local club if you can. That’s free information from people who are willing to just sit around and talk with you about coins.”

Thompson also advised purchasing a standard price guide such as a “red book,” a grading guide for coins, a magnifying glass and a “cherry picker’s guide.

“A cherry picker’s guide can help find real value in your pocket change,” Thompson said. “It’s still possible to find a penny that’s worth a hundred bucks.”

According to Thompson, though, and some other old-time collectors, the hobby suffers from a severe lack of interest by the younger generation and may be fading fast.

“Younger people today don’t save anything,” Thompson said. “Everything is disposable — just use it and throw it in the trash. I think that when they get a little older and have more disposable income, there could be a comeback.”

Bill Lane disagrees with Thompson’s assessment, saying interest in coins is growing every year.

“Coin collecting will be here forever,” Lane said. “I have have kids coming to me all the time with interest. It’s not a hobby you have to feed or take to the vet. You can just put your collection on the closet shelf and come back when you want to.”

The Albany coin show will continue from 9 a.m. through 6 p.m. on Saturday. Admission $1 per person.