2016-03-14 Mon

The 26th Annual Coins, Cards and Collectibles Show on Sunday was all about the buffalo rounds, bits, and bullions. More than 30 vendors and hundreds of collectors gathered at the Elks Lodge for the show, organized by the Otsego Numismatic Association.

Buying and selling coins on the Internet has become popular, but many collectors still prefer to come to shows because there are so many fakes out there.

Some collectors said that a “whizzed” coin has been buffed or polished to give it the appearance of the lustre found on a mint coin. But whizzing a coin may hurt the value of it rather than help it because it causes wear to the surface of the coin.

Otsego Numismatic Association Chairman Buddy Beams said he started collecting coins in the 1960s when he was in the U.S. Navy. Years later, after retiring from banking, Beams started his coin shop in Maryland. In 1989 he founded the coin club, which now has more than 170 members.