Charlestown	UPDATED: Wednesday, July 18, 2007
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‘Hobby of kings' not just for royalty

Posted on Sunday, July 01, 2007

Oak Crest couple passionate about coins

By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

While it may be known as the “hobby of kings,” coin collecting has reached popularity far beyond royalty.

From emperors to warriors, from landscapes to wildlife, coins have documented history across the globe for thousands of years and have been popular collectors’ items since the 14th century. In fact, today, coin collecting is the second largest hobby worldwide after stamp collecting.

For many, a collection consists simply of a few pieces picked up from travels over the years. But for serious coin collectors John and Dorothy Callahan of Oak Crest, coins are a passion that has yielded an impressive assortment and a gratifying pastime—one that they have chosen to share with others at Oak Crest by starting the Coin Club.

How it all began
Though John Callahan has dabbled in American coins for years, when their son Tom—a long-time collector like his father—gave his mother a batch of several hundred ancient coins, her curiosity was piqued as well.

“Expecting to sell them, I cataloged the entire batch,” Dorothy Callahan says. “But once you handle a coin from the time of Jesus (a Widow’s Mite) or an ‘Athena’s Owl’ from 500 B.C., or coins of many of the Roman Emperors— from Julius Caesar to beyond Constantine—you’re in love!”

After moving to Oak Crest in November 2005, the Callahans recognized coins as a common, if often, casual hobby among their neighbors. The couple decided to start the Coin Club a year later and have been helping people catalog their collections and determine their value.

Coins: witnesses to history
Organizing a collection in albums or boxes not only catalogs coins but also tells history. “In a lot of cases, coins are basically the only [historical] record we’ve got,” says Richard Doty, curator of numismatics at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

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“Particularly in ancient times, the only witness you’ve got that a city even existed is the money it made. You can learn from that—where settlements were, what the economy was like, and so forth because coins are durable and are usually the only things that people mass-produced,” Doty says. “In collecting and cataloging those coins, you have the chance to learn their history and the history of the societies that made them.”

Dorothy Callahan recently assembled an album of coins specifically from the Roman Empire. She included a written history of each emperor, maps of the empire’s regions, and the history of money itself.

“The most interesting thing I learned about ancient [coins] is that when the Romans were traveling through Europe and preparing to go into battle, the purser would bury the army’s payroll,” she says. “If they lost that battle, the coins could still be buried where they left them, which is why they are being found all over Europe when new construction is excavated.”

While monetary and educational benefits are a part of coin collecting, most collectors say it’s more for the social interaction with others who have a common interest.

Collecting for social pleasure
“I think it’s a connection with people—different people, different places, different times—as opposed to making a buck,” Doty says.

And the Callahans agree. “We just do it for our pleasure, not to sell or compete. We started the Coin Club to help people here in getting their little stashes organized,” Dorothy Callahan says. “A good time is had by all, they know what their collection is worth, and they have a nicer display or gift to pass on to someone.”

Whether you are an avid coin collector or a history buff, check out the exhibition of Legendary Coins and Currency on view until September 3, 2007, at the Smithsonian Castle, 1000 Jefferson Drive, S.W. Washington, D.C..

The special exhibit explores 56 rare and historically significant coins from the museum’s National Numismatic Collection, many of which have never been displayed.

For more information or to experience the online exhibition, log on to americanhistory.si.edu. Click on “Exhibitions,” then “On View” in the left-hand column.