Rain not complete washout

You know what? You can run into coin collectors even in a downpour at the Iola Old Car Show. And I don’t mean fellow Krause Publications staff members.

I was about an hour into my volunteer shift yesterday afternoon selling Old Cars subscriptions and CD’s when the heavens decided to open up on us. The nearby Duesenberg had already been driven to cover, heading for the Krause garage in the early sprinkle stage of the inclement weather because hail was possible and with a $1 million car, you don’t want hail damage. The car’s normal location was an open-sided tent near an outside table at which I was working.

When the rain hit, there were seven or eight of us taking shelter in the Ultimate Garage Giveaway garage when we were joined by a another drenched passerby.

He was a recent high school grad down with his father, uncle and brother from the nearby city of Wausau. They had a car in the Car Corral.

The grad, it turns out, was a coin collector. He had collected Wheat cents, Canadian coins, state quarters, some euro coinage and a number of pieces from Guatemala. It was the kind of material that many a hobbyist has started out with. Alas, the state quarters were no more. He, like many young collectors, ended up spending them when he needed money. But the collecting bug has bitten him and it likely will be back more virulent than ever someday as is the pattern with many a collector who started in childhood.

He also has an interest in stamps, postcards and some items that I will lump under the heading of bric-a-brac.

With his interests in history and graphic arts, perhaps he has a future in numismatic publishing.

In 10 minutes or so the rain let up and he was on his way. Unfortunately, I didn’t sign him up for the Ultimate Garage Giveaway.