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Coin Club Hopes To Gain Interest

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 17, 2008

BRANDON - Mark Palermo was curious about coins as young as age 8.

"By the time I turned 10, I was mugging my old man at the door for his coins," he recalls.

Today, Palermo serves as president of the budding Brandon Coin Club, and he's hoping to attract others - including curious kids - to join in the fun.

He and fellow club members Doc Houston, the club's secretary, and Louis Taylor, who recently resurrected his old interest in coin collecting, gush when they talk about their fascination with coins and currency.

Houston said the club has members who hone in on certain U.S. coins.

"We have one guy who is working to collect a complete set of coins from every country in the world," he said.

Among the hobbyists are "eye candy collectors," who buy anything that catches their fancy, and there are serious collectors who seek out very specific coins, such as those minted during World War II.

For Taylor, getting involved in the club took little coercion, he said. A coin collector when he was younger, Taylor gave up the hobby for years. After meeting Houston, he rekindled his interest, joined the club about a year ago and now advertises regularly for new additions to his coin collection.

Houston said he got into the hobby as a teen after his Russian grandfather gave him several dozen foreign coins.

Some members haven't gotten much further than collecting the quarters with insignias of U.S. states.

Everyone is welcome to join the club, no matter the level of expertise or interest, Palermo said. Members meet the third Tuesday of each month at Books-A-Million in the Westfield Brandon mall's new wing.

"We've got about 50 members now, and we're shooting for 100 by the end of the year," Palermo said.
Club membership swelled when the group started meeting at the mall, Houston said. "We meet out in the open, so we get a lot of exposure, and the staff at Books-A-Million has been very accommodating."

That includes offering books on coins and coin collecting.

The coin collectors also offer free educational programs, meeting with Boy Scout troops and at retirement centers and schools to turn on others to their hobby.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

•The Brandon Coin Club's next show will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 24 at the Brandon Elks Lodge, 800 Centennial Lodge Drive, off State Road 60 behind the RaceTrac gas station east of Kingsway Road. Admission is free.

•For information on the Brandon Coin Club, call Mark Palermo at (813) 361-0740.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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