A PRETTY PENNY
Front Range Coin Club hosts show for enthusiasts, collectors
Dozens of coin collectors from across the state gathered in Longmont over the weekend to connect with others and to share their pieces during the Front Range Coin Club’s semiannual Coins, Currency and Fine Collectables Show at the Boulder County Fairgrounds.
The club’s show chairman Kenneth Davis said the event offered a place for people to learn about coin collecting and it served as a fundraiser for the club.
Many of the collectors in attendance said coin collecting is a hobby that brings together a mix of history, culture and art.
Attendees Grant Dickson and his son Wilson Leech-dickson are long-time coin collectors but are new to the coin-dealing world. Grant Dickson grew up near the American Numismatic Association’s main office in Colorado Springs. His passion for numismatics (the study of currency) grew, then his son’s interest piqued, too.
Wilson Leech-dickson said that, for him, collecting coins is a way to find order in chaos. He explained that there are multiple ways people can collect — from various coins to one specific coin or paper currency, to name a few.
Grant Dickson said that coins are a tangible reminder of history, and each coin holds the story of how it came into existence.
Dalton Jenkins, secretary of the Front Range Coin Club, has been collecting coins for 18 years. He said he was interested in history when he was young, and numismatics became a way for him to learn more about history, art and culture.
He said that the value of collectible currency depends on market value, demand, availability and condition. He said a certain coin can be in bad condition, but still more valuable than a rarer coin that’s in great condition.
Jenkins said that mercury dimes — a 10-cent coin produced by the United States Mint from 1916 to 1945 — are some of his favorite coins.
They were produced after President Theodore Roosevelt started an initiative to beautify American coins.
“All of the mint masters and designers at the time went to work on making what are largely considered to be some of the most beautiful coins in the world at the time — and today, frankly,” Jenkins said.
For Jenkins and many other collectors, it is not about the possession or value of coins that drew them to numismatics, but rather the stories told between dealers of how they inherited, found or bought the coin.
Jenkins encouraged others to take advantage of the free online resources provided by the American Numismatic Association on its website at money.org. Enthusiasts can also learn more at the National Money Show that runs Thursday through Saturday at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs.
The next Front Range Coin Club’s show is slated for Sept. 21-22 at the Boulder County Fairgrounds.
More information about the Front Range Coin Club is available at frontrangecoinclub.org and inquiries can be directed to frcc.org@gmail.com