A sense of cents

COEUR d’ALENE — Larry Hoefer said every coin has a story behind it.

"Coin collecting is basically designed out of a history book — you want history, this is history," Hoefer said with a wave of his arm, indicating the cases of coins displayed across the tables.

Hoefer is the owner of Pacific Coin Exchange and brought many coins all the way from California to exhibit them at the 56th annual Coeur d'Alene Coin Show, held over the weekend at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

Hoefer said he could tell a story for each coin there, but the history behind the Liberty Head "V" nickel was the most interesting coin he had — though it wasn't his most valuable coin. The story of the "V" coin was a common theme among the exhibitors as Walt Ostromecki from the American Numismatic Association also told stories.

"It's the first U.S. coin that the merchants required the government to change the design," Hoefer said.

When the coin came out in 1883 it was meant to be worth 5 cents, but the roman numeral for five was used and the word "cents" was left off the coin. The nickels looked similar to a $5 Liberty gold piece, and Ostomecki said there were some "shady characters" who took advantage.

Ostomecki said the term "Joshing" with someone came from the legend of the "V" coin. The legend says a man named Josh Tatum would gold-plate the coins, walk into a store and buy two cigars, worth 5 cents or less, and without saying a word he would wait for the cashier to return his change — he typically received $4.95 in return.

"Eventually he was arrested by the government," Ostomecki said. "He got a great defense attorney at the time who said, 'Well, it's the government’s fault for not labeling its coins.'"

Also, Tatum had never actually asked for change, so the charges were dropped. The coin was only in circulation for about six months.

Shanna Torp, Bourse chairman for the coin show, said they had 25 coin dealers running 47 tables this year. On Saturday, 187 people came through the building to look at the thousands of coins and other collectibles displayed throughout the building. The show is sponsored by the Coeur d'Alene Coin Club.

Ostomecki had set up a treasure hunt for the kids as well. The kids would get a list and have to go around to the tables and find different items and answer questions.

"The idea behind the treasure hunt is to get kids interested in what there is out there," Otomecki said. "You don't want to get into it for profit, but look at the history. That's what we hope to do with the youngsters is get them excited by finding something out there."