Collectors get together for coin, stamp show/Ashland event has been going on for almost 50 years
Arizona Coin Collector
http://www.times-gazette.com/news/article/4522609
Collectors get together for coin, stamp show/Ashland event has been going on
for almost 50 years
By GINGER CHRIST
T-G Staff Writer
Preserving history can be a risky business.
But stamp and coin collectors across Ohio and neighboring
states are willing to take the chance for their hobby.
Collectors and dealers from Canton, Columbus, Cleveland
and even Rome, N.Y., took their pricey collections on
the road for Ashland Stamp and Coin Club's Mid-Winter
Stamp and Coin Show Saturday at Park Street Brethren
Church. The annual event allows hobbyists to find missing
pieces and expand their collections as well as network
with other enthusiasts.
(NEWS STORY PHOTO SHOWING DISPLAY OF COINS)
http://www.times-gazette.com/news/image_popup/1410976
"I meet the people from the area that are stamp and coin
collectors," said Ed Grindle, Ashland Stamp and Coin
Club president and event chairman.
According to Grindle, the club, which was formed in 1944,
has held the Ashland show for about 50 years. And,
throughout the years, despite the risk of being robbed
or, in some cases, even killed for rare collections,
dealers have continued to attend.
One man travels from Rome, N.Y., each year for the show
because he is an Ashland native. He wouldn't release his
name though, because he feared for his safety and wanted
to "stay below the radar."
The 2009 show ran for six hours and had 200 people in
attendance throughout the day. Grindle said stamp and
coin shows are the main source of circulation of the
collectibles.
Kaden, 7, and Josh Mendenhall, 8, of Ashland got an early
start on collecting Saturday when their great-aunt, Janet
McUne, brought them to the show.
Larry Quitter of Canal Coin in North Canton visited the
Ashland show for the first time Saturday with his
employer. The two attend about three shows a month.
"To generate sales, we have to go to shows," Quitter said.
Quitter works for Canal Coin but also collects coins. He
traces his infatuation with coins to a flight he took to
South Carolina about 10 years ago. While perusing a
magazine, Quitter came across an advertisement for an
American Silver Eagle -- a one-ounce pure silver coin that
is issued annually by the U.S. Mint.
"I love that coin," Quitter said.
The Silver Eagle's denomination is $1 but is sold for
close to $20. The price of the coin constantly changes,
based on the cost of silver.
"Right now, everything's selling at a premium over
spot," Quitter said.
Adrian van Leeuwen has been driving from Columbus for
the Ashland show since the 1990s. Now retired, van
Leeuwen first started collecting 47 years ago while he
studied history at Ohio State University.
Over the years, van Leeuwen has expanded his collection
to include stamps, sports cards, memorabilia and, his
favorite, postcards.
Patty Schag, postmaster of Hayesville Post Office,
shared information and sold items during the event.
She had Post Office stuffed animals and commemorative
stamp albums -- books released each year that feature
all the stamps released during that year -- on display
as well as available stamps.
Schag said all the new issue stamps often sell out.
"If people can't get them at their local Post Office,
they can get them here," Schag said.
Bonnie Henson of Mansfield, likes coins but not in
the same way her husband, James Henson, does. While
James Henson collects coins and has since childhood,
Bonnie Henson wears one around her neck.
"I think it was a Valentine's Day gift," Bonnie Henson
said as she touched her necklace --an 1886 $5 gold
piece embedded in a heart.
n Ginger Christ can be reached at 419-281-0581 ext.
239 or at gch...@times-gazette.com .
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