Rows of tables are covered with glass cases housing rare bills and coins from around the world and through centuries of time. Visitors walking past will find money from Zaire, Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan and more. Some vendors diversify and sell coin collecting books, jewelry, postcards and metal pieces other than coins.
The South Florida Coin Club’s monthly show is at the Volunteer Park Center every third Sunday, having recently moved to find a space that could accommodate its 65 dealers, said Bourse Chairman Joe Marshall. Since Plantation is easily accessible from I-75, more dealers from Miami have been showing up as well.
According to Marshall, two reasons that people get into collecting and dealing coins is either for the love of the history behind it or the love of the business. With the price of gold at $1,130 per ounce, many are buying up gold coins to melt down and resell.
“There’s a lot of interest because of the cost of gold and silver,” Marshall said.
Down the aisle is William Golden’s booth, where he displays mostly paper money. He got into the business four years ago and showcases money ranging from colonial to modern times. In his collection, Golden has a German depression-era script, military certificates for soldiers traveling overseas, a 15 shilling New Jersey bill from 1776 going for $450 and most valuable, a 1908 silver certificate for $1,400.
Another collector comes by to take a second look at a half-ounce gold coin that Golden has in his case. It’s in a box, within another box and covered with a light cloth protecting the face of Abigail Adams. She is a part of a coin collection of First Spouse coins. The two go back and forth about the price, bringing up again the cost of gold. The collector decides he doesn’t want it.
Golden reiterates that not everyone wants the coin for what it is, but rather for how much it is worth melted down. Does he get sad when someone buys one of his more rare pieces?
“It’s all product baby, it’s all product,” he says, putting the coin back in its case. “I’m not a collector.”
Then there are the collectors. At Tom and Leah Saputo’s table, the couple displays historic coins, including ones from the Civil War era and foreign coins from more than 50 different countries. The most valuable one for sale is a Carson City silver dollar from 1885, going for $675. However, there are also coins that one can buy for a quarter.
“I try to have something anybody can buy,” Tom said.
His interest in money started as a child, and together the couple has been collecting coins for the past decade and going to shows for the past two years. Tom said he prefers to get his merchandise from people who may have found a shoebox of coins in their home or ones that were passed down. As a security guard at Ross, he often gets coins from shoppers who are visiting from out of the country and have no problem sharing a piece of their country’s culture.
“I feel like we’re preserving history,” he said.
The next Fort Lauderdale Coin Club Show is Feb. 14 at the Volunteer Park Center, 12050 W. Sunrise Blvd in Plantation. Meetings are the second and fourth Thursday at the same location at 7:15 p.m. Visit ftlauderdalecoinclub.com or call Bourse Chair Joe Marshall at 954-802-4967.
