Coin collecting: YNs get serious, have fun

Young Numismatists programs are a staple of many coin shows.

The latest report comes from Richard Hand and his Nov. 10 program at the New Hampshire Coin & Currency Expo In Manchester.

What better way is there to learn than with a hands-on presentation at a coin show with gifts from clubs, dealers, and businesses?

Two photos supplied by Hand tell the story. Names were not provided.

The first girl could be absorbed in thought and perhaps even a bit overwhelmed by the information coming at her.

All the kids were given a $5 billion bank note dated 2008 from Zimbabwe, a 2004 Russian 10 rubles note, a silver Roosevelt dime, 2018-PDS Cumberland Island America the Beautiful quarters, and a set of 2010 ATB quarters in a holder.

That’s not all; there’s more.

Hand said each YN received a nine-inch red storage box with five elongated coins. Four were supplied by The Elongated Collectors President Cindy Calhoun of Cindy Cents.

Other gifts included 2018-PDS Apostle Islands quarters, 2018-PDS Voyageurs quarters, 2018-P&D Kennedy half dollars, 1943 steel cent, 2018-P Jefferson Nickel, and two coins from Great Britain to teach about coin and medal turn.

All coins were identified and housed in 2x2s.

World bank notes were put in sleeves and identified.

They were a 2014 Venezuelan 20 bolivares and 2017 500 bolivares.

The U.S. Mint donated a Mylar holder containing a planchet and 2018-D cent.

ANACS made the YNs a slab to celebrate their adventure in collecting.

The photograph of the second girl holding a Standard Catalog that seems to be almost as big as she is demonstrates how much fun it was to be in Hand’s program.

The two girls were not alone.

Hand said there were over 50 YNs present and participating.

He had a team of volunteers to help teach and the support of Stanley Chu, the American Numismatic Association District Representative of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire.

The program alternated with both serious and fun elements.

YNs were asked to grade three Mercury dimes.

“After helping and checking their grading,” Hand said, “we moved on to stacking-the-cents game. Each winner got to pick a prize out of a coffee can, such as two-cent and three-cent pieces and other silver coins, 1909 VDB cents and many other awesome prizes all in 2x2s.

"If you lost the stacking of the cent game, you got back in line ’til you won," he said.

Another educational project was when each YN was given a world coin.

The goal was to write something about its country of origin to bring back along with a one-year state quarter holder to try to fill and present the next time the YN attends one of Hand’s programs.

The New England Numismatic Association was the lead sponsor, but Hand thanked Boston Numismatic Society, Collectors Club of Boston, and the Currency Club of New England.

With such support, it is no wonder that Hand has successfully conducted programs of this kind for years and looks set to continue them for many years to come.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog for the third time in 2017. He is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."