GREENVILLE—The 56th annual Darke County Coin Club Show is set to get underway March 13 at Paws Bingo Hall, 848 Martin St., Greenville.
To be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the show will feature coins, currency, sports cards, collectibles, antiques, stamps and postcards.
Dealers set up to buy, sell or trade with those interested. Some are looking to find coins for a series they have in their possession, according to John Magoteaux, one of the organizers of the event.
“Sometimes, people bring their things to see how much they’re worth,” Magoteaux said. “Widows have been known to come to the show to get rid of the coins that were left to them.”
There will be drawings for door prizes all day long and a raffle is slated with tickets at $1 each or six for $5. The top prizes include a 1/10 oz. gold coin for first; American Silver Eagle, second; a Morgan Silver Dollar, third; a Silver Half Dollar, fourth; and a proof set, fifth.
The club’s shows attract people from such areas as Dayton, Cincinnati, Celina, St. Mary’s, Sidney, Lima and Delphos in Ohio and Richmond in neighboring Indiana.
He said one fellow brought in silver to trade for a coin.
“People coming to these events are looking for Morgan dollars, peace dollars, and Ben Franklin halves and dimes,” he said. “Silver is valued at around $24 an ounce. Gold coins and silver are what most people collect.”
Those who plan to attend usually bring with them a jeweler’s loupe to look through and it gives them 10 times the magnification.
“Error coins are hot now,” it was noted at a recent meeting of the local club members.
When asked how members got started in the coin club, one man said he got started when he went to the late Leroy Murphy Sr.’s shop (Murph’s Coins on Sycamore Street) one day in the 1980s.
“My dad had rolls of wheat pennies,” said the man, who attained most of his coins when he had a newspaper route as a youth.
The club, which is always looking for new members, went through a transition, when they lost their secretary-treasurer.
“Those interested can contact any of the current members to do so,” Magoteaux said. “We probably have more men than women in the membership, and all have their own particular interests.”
Meetings are open to the public and held to talk about such things as coin show preparedness and getting sponsors.
Coin auctions are held at each meeting, which are always held at the Spirit Medical Transport building on State Route 49-South and Eidson Road. Potential members can bid on coins at the first meeting, but after that, have to join the club. Cost to join is $10 a year.
“We have a Christmas meal at Asian Buffet and a carry-in in the fall,” Magoteaux said.
Admission to the coin show is free, and there will be free parking for vendors available. The public is invited.
For more information, contact John at 937-417-6728 or Robert at 937-621-0661.
