ENID, Okla. — Currency provides a glimpse into a country’s history through commerce or other important historical events, said Frederick Pepe, president of Enid Coin Club.
The 45th annual Coin, Token and Paper Money Show is happening this weekend at Garfield County Fairgrounds in the Hoover Building, 316 E. Oxford. The event is hosted by Enid Coin Club.
The show runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
“We have people that collect everything from paper money, tokens, old coins, new coins — foreign or American,” Pepe said. “There are a variety of people that visit. Some come in to sell stuff or people are looking for appraisals.”
The coin show has between 25 to 30 dealers, so sellers and collectors can get multiple opinions on their pieces. Saturday usually is the show’s biggest day, Pepe said.
“There is so much to know,” Pepe said. “It’s history, coins are like history. They are a reflection of history. A lot of times coins have been made because of historical events or competition with foreign currencies.”
Clifford Cooper, owner of CC Coins in Enid, said there are dozens of coin shows annually across Oklahoma, but he thinks Enid’s is the best.
Rod Heitfeld was working on buying some golden and silver Australian dollar coins from Cooper. There are only 500 of the golden coins in circulation and 5,000 of the silver dollar coins from the Royal Australian Mint, Cooper said.
“He (Cooper) has offered to sell me one set, the gold and silver together, for $2,800,” Heitfeld said.
“I saw a set on eBay selling for $3,900,” Cooper said.
Cooper has been in the coin selling business for 12 years, but has been collecting coins since he was a kid.
“My mom was a waitress, so I started collecting coins from her tips,” Cooper said.