Richard Schmetisch’s fascination with coins began when he was about 8 years old.
His dad took him to a flea market, and as they browsed through tools and lawn mowers, Schmetisch spied a coin dealer. And so his passion began.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
“I just went, ‘Wow!’” the now 51-year-old Land O’ Lakes man said. “I think coins interest a lot more kids than adults.”
Schmetisch began by collecting wheat pennies, buffalo nickels and Mercury dimes, but has branched into more sophisticated collecting since then.
“You could still get buffalo nickels in your change back then, and Mercury dimes in your change,” he said.
Schmetisch remembers the weekend ritual he shared with his dad.
“Every Saturday when I would go to the flea market, my dad would let me buy one coin,” Schmetisch said.
He passed his love for coin collecting along to his son, Kyle, who began coming with him to coin club meetings when he was 7. Now 25, Kyle and his dad were both at a recent meeting of The Tampa Bay Coin Club, which draws members from throughout Tampa Bay.
The coin club meetings are useful, both men said.
“They have guest speakers who teach you about coins and collecting and what to look for, what to be careful of,” Richard said. “A lot of the interest in coins is going to be the history. If you start collecting a certain coin, you start finding out about that time in history and why were certain dates rare and other ones not. What was going on? Was there a war? Was there a Depression?”
There are even coins from countries that no longer exist.
“You learn a lot about geography and history from foreign coins,” the older Schmetisch added.
Collecting coins and currency also is a great way to learn about politics and the economy, he said.
“There’s no end to it. And, I love that about coins. It keeps you learning.”
His son, Kyle, said coin collecting has been a fun hobby, and “extremely profitable.”
“There are a lot of coins I got when I was a kid for $5 and $10 that are easily worth $50 now,” said Kyle, a New Tampa resident. In less than 20 years, he’s made a return that’s tenfold the investment.
Kyle said his dad loves learning as much as he can about coins.
As for him?
“I love trading things back and forth. I like trading up,” Kyle said. “I like getting this bag of coins for $10 and trading that for a coin that’s worth $15 and selling that coin for $20.”
Attending the Tampa Bay Coin Club meetings is very informative, Kyle said.
“There’s more knowledge in these meetings than you can possibly imagine,” he said, noting some club members have been collecting coins for more than a half-century. The knowledge they have is phenomenal.”
Anyone interested in coin collecting should feel free to attend a club meeting because members are welcoming and enjoy sharing their knowledge, Kyle said.
Many people who inherit a coin collection have no idea what it is worth, he said. So, it’s a good idea to show it to members of the coin club to help assess its value.
“A coin club like this one, you can get 20 second opinions in 20 seconds,” Kyle said. “Lots of times they’ll put you in touch with a collector.”
Rudy Valentin is one of those people who has stored up decades of knowledge about coins and currency. The Land O’ Lakes resident was 8 when he bought his first coin, and that was 61 years ago.
“A friend of mine found this Spanish coin, of Isabella II. I bought it from him for eight cents. I still have that coin,” he said.
Initially, it was a mild interest, Valentin said, but he became more serous about it during the 1960s. He’s collected coins from the United States, Spain, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Germany.
“I have a beautiful German coin collection,” said Valentin, who has published articles in Numismatist, the magazine of the American Numismatist Association.
Valentin is humble about his knowledge. “You stay along long enough, you’re going to be an expert.”
The coin club aims to be a fun place for coin and currency lovers to gather, said Joseph Crespo, the club’s president. Crespo, who lives in Wesley Chapel, said he began collecting coins when he was 8.
His interest began when his mother gave him some coins she had saved from his grandmother’s store. That sparked his interest, so he went to the bookstore and bought a catalog.
The 40-year-old said he’s most interested in U.S. coins, especially between 1850 and 1899. He favors coins that were minted in San Francisco and New Orleans.
For those who are interested in learning the values of coins, Crespo recommends they join coin clubs, read publications, attend coin shows and surf the Internet.
It’s important to know what coins are worth before buying or trading, he said. If people realize you lack knowledge, they’ll charge you too much or pay you too little, Crespo said. “Learning is power.”
Coin collectors can invest substantial amounts of money, but they don’t have to, Crespo said. It’s possible to enjoy the hobby without spending a fortune.
“You don’t have to be Donald Trump,” he said.
If you go
WHAT: Tampa Bay Coin Club
WHERE: Forest Hills Park Community Center, 724 W. 109th Ave., Tampa
WHEN: Second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.
COST: $10 annual dues
INFO: TampaBayCoinClub.org
Published July 23, 2014
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