NEWS

UNC coin collecting conference to focus on historical value of hobby

By BRIAN BEDSWORTH
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- Hidden deep in the recesses of your sofa there may be valuable artifacts from another time. Or just some lint covered nickels. But on May 4, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, you’ll have the opportunity to find out if that mysterious coin from under the cushion is an old doubloon or a State Fair token.

The North Carolina Collection Gallery will host "Collecting History: How to Explore the Past Through Paper Money, Coins, Tokens and other Spendables," in Wilson Library from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The free public conference will feature discussions on the history of currency and tips on coin collecting, including a speech by Beth Deisher, editor of Coin World magazine.

"People are drawn to money because everybody relates to it," said Neil Fulghum, the gallery’s curator and organizer of the currency conference. "Currency has widespread and constant human connection. That colonial currency in your hand could have been held by George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. It has that kind of direct link to the past that people find fascinating."

And those who aren’t fascinated by coin collecting may be interested to find out from the experts at the conference if their old coins are worth anything, Fulghum said.

"When people do spring cleaning they can find all kinds of coins or paper currencies. This is a great opportunity for them to get both historical and monetary evaluations" he said.

This is the third year the gallery has hosted the currency conference. The idea for the tradition was born when Fulghum began reorganizing the N.C. Collection several years ago. More than half of the collection’s 17,000 museum artifacts are in currency. Fulghum began meeting with currency organizations and private collectors to help with efforts to preserve, exhibit and promote North Carolina’s monetary past. The first such joint conference at UNC was held in 1999.

This year’s event is a another combined effort. While hosted by the collection, it is sponsored by The Blue Ridge Numismatic Association, the North Carolina Numismatic Association, the Raleigh Coin Club and the Society of Paper Money Collectors. Numismatics is the study of the history of money, including the collection of coins, tokens, bank notes and other money-related items.

A schedule follows:

10 - 10:10 a.m. Welcome and Introductions by R. Neil Fulghum, N.C. Collection Gallery, Keeper, and Judith Murphy from the Blue Ridge Numismatic Association.

10:10 - 10:30 a.m. "History in the Palm of Your Hand: The Lure and Value of Collecting" by Beth Deisher, editor of Coin World magazine. Deisher will comment about the work of her publication and about the lure of collecting money of all types.

10:30 - 11:15 a.m. "Civil War Currency: North Carolina State Issues" by R. Neil Fulghum, gallery keeper. Fulghum will review the design and production of paper moneys issued by North Carolina's state government between 1861 and 1865.

11:30 - 12:15 p.m. "Caring For Collections" by Dave Provost, President, Raleigh Coin Club. Provost will review the basic needs for properly caring for a variety of collections, along with some tricks of the trade on detecting counterfeits and determining the composition and other characteristics of various specimens. Proper storage and handling will be addressed as well.

12:15 - 12:45 p.m. Free verbal appraisals. Local experts will be on hand to evaluate specimens that participants may bring to the conference.

1:30 - 2:15 p.m. "Starting a Collection" with Harry Corrigan, Kent Woodson and Halbert Carmichael, private collectors and members of the Raleigh Coin Club. These speakers will provide a step-by-step how-to in establishing and building a numismatic collection in paper money, ancient coinage and other coinage. Collectors' terminology, organizational processes and available resources will be discussed.

2:30 - 3:15 p.m. "Where Can I Go to Get More Help with My Collection?" A panel discussion about state, local and national organizations available to the collector for support and advice. Participants will be Beth Deisher of Coin World, Bob Schreiner from the North Carolina Numismatic Association and Dave Provost from the Raleigh Coin Club.

3:15 - 4:30 p.m. North Carolina Collection Gallery Tours. Presented by R. Neil Fulghum, Keeper, and Laura Baxley, Assistant Keeper, respectively of the N.C. Collection Gallery. These tours will feature exhibitions in the collections gallery, including historic rooms; the North Carolina Gold Rush; Chang and Eng, the (original) Siamese twins, and North Carolina children's literature. In addition, special exhibition cases featuring items from the gallery's large currency and numismatic holdings will be on display.

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(Bedsworth is a senior Spanish and Journalism and Mass Communication major from Winston-Salem.)

Contact: Neil Fulghum at 962-1172

News Services Contact: L.J. Toler, 919-962-8589