San Jose starts year with a bang

The weather held out for the San Jose, Calif., Coin Club’s 50th Annual Coin Show. It was held Jan. 26-28, 2018, and no rain nor anything else that has troubled California lately interfered, or disrupted the three-day show, report Michael S. “Stan” Turrini.

Attendance was steady and bourse dealers reported satisfaction with their results. Much of the effort to coordinate this annual show was credited to the husband and wife team of Ray and Sally Johnson.

Assisting at the registration desk and parking were the husband and wife teams of Fred “King Fredrick” Davis and Martha Davis and Don and Briita Ehlers.

Staffing the combination table: seated Michael S. Turrini and James H. Laird with Donald L. Hill, standing. They display information and items available at the table.

The highlights of this year’s show were the combination American Numismatic Association/California State Numismatic Association youth information table staffed by Turrini, Donald L. Hill, James H. Laird and “Doctor” Lloyd G. Chan.

An special highlight was the Saturday, Jan. 27, Joint Educational Forum, which had speakers on the topic, “Having Fun With Coins.”

Left To Right, James H. Laird, Michael S. Turrini, Donald L. Hill, Lloyd G. Chan and Herbert Miles, all smiles holding their thank you engraved marble coasters, presented for their contributions toward the Educational Forum at the San Jose, Calif., Coin Club’s January 2018 show.

The three shared their passions and generated chuckles from enthralled attendees with their different approaches to collecting. The speakers were Chan, with “Sixpences,” Herbert Miles, “Chopmarked Coins,” and Hill, “Collecting What I Like.”

The combination table prominently located at the show’s entry featured something for both young and novice hobbyists as well as experienced collectors.

For the kids there were free magnifiers and coin wallets, courtesy of the newly begun Jon-Maria Marish/O.L. Wallis Legacy Fund.

Added was something called a Treasure Box Dig. This allowed young visitors to dig for foreign coins, provided they could identify the nation.

Complimentary copies of The Numismatist and The California Numismatist and were given out. Handouts and the Northern California Numismatic Association’s much appreciated Coin Show Schedule were available.

While the kids had fun, adult attendees would pause and make inquiries or seek answers to questions.

“Our intention is not to separate tables, youth here and American Numismatic Association there, but to combine these and promote the hobby in a collaborative effort. My philosophy is that we rise and fall together so let’s coordinate together. An old adage is a rising tide lifts all boats. Our objective is to combine staffing and be positioned at the entry for not just for one organization, as the ANA, but the hobby as a whole,” said Turrini. He had coordinated both the combination table and the educational forum, which was a joint effort of the San Jose Coin Club and the Northern California Numismatic Association.

Generous support from the Jon-Maria Marish/ O.L. Wallis Legacy Fund and Benefactors Alexander B. “Xan” Chamberlain and James H. Laird made both activities a success. For additional information, contact csnalibrary@gmail.com, or email sanjosecoins47@aol.com.