Collectors from across the country come to New Kensington for the 62nd annual West Penn Coin Club show

A few small pieces of metal can send a family on a lifelong journey of adventure and accomplishment.

Such is the case for Ryan Bodick, a 2015 Burrell High School grad and Springdale resident.

Bodick grew up with his father, Joe Bodick, in Lower Burrell.

When he was about 6 years old, Ryan received a Jefferson nickle. The five-cent coin was first produced by the U.S. Mint in 1938 when it replaced the Buffalo nickel.

He became fascinate with the coin, along with other pocket change, and started gathering pieces with his dad.

“To me, it’s like holding a piece of American history,” Ryan Bodick said. “It’s been really good. We used to look through rolls of wheat cents for different dates. It was really nice. It was a good way to bond.

“It’s not just collecting coins. It’s really collecting history, itself.”

They picked up Lincoln wheat pennies and Roosevelt dimes and coins from around the country.

“I jumped in because he wanted to do it,” Joe Bodick said. “It was real exciting when we found something different that was more rare than other things. He learns and I learn with him all different things, the history of something.”

Ryan served in the Marines from 2017-2021, including a tour in Okinawa, Japan.

He said American coins feature more historical figures while Japanese coins feature historical places and cultural things.

He recently launched his own coin company, Black Cat Coins, named after his older brother, Dylan’s pet.

The rarest piece in the Bodick collection is a 1915 California gold coin from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Ryan Bodick said only 30 of them were struck, and his is valued at around $800.

Join the club

The Bodicks’ story is one of many father/son collector combinations in the West Penn Coin Club.

It meets the third Thursday of the month at 8 p.m. at American Legion Post 820 in Monroeville.

There are about 60 to 70 active members, with their ages ranging from teens to people in their late 80s.

New people are welcome, and youths can win prizes.

Its 62nd annual coin show kicked off Saturday at the Quality Inn in New Kensington.

More than 30 vendors from various states packed the hotel conference room.

Admission and parking is free. The show continues Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There are coins from the U.S. Mint, private mints, and one minted from a meteorite that landed in Russia.

Some tell American history from the 1800s and beyond, like cash from the Civil War and gold bullion, while other coins feature comic book and TV characters.

Club president Larry Ginsburg of Pine Township said the show took place at the Futules’ Harmar House for more than 50 years. The landmark banquet hall burned own in August.

Ginsburg said the fire was a tragedy, but it created an opportunity for the club to expand its show.

“The fascination of assembling a collection (inspires people), whether its pennies, nickels, dimes,” Ginsburg said. “That’s why most of them are here on the hunt.”

Greg Magee, a retired Wall Street broker from Bethel Park, showcased coins from the Bible, currency believed to have been carried in time of Jesus.

Magee began collecting coins as a young man. Things turned spiritual when he went to a coin show and bought a “widow’s mite,” a Jewish coin and smallest used in New Testament times.

His collection includes coins from the books of Matthew and Acts such as a silver Denarius of Tiberius and a shekel of Tyre.

Many of Magee’s coins are certified by the Numismatic Guaranty Co., one of the world’s largest and most trusted third-party coin grading services and considered to be the industry standard. The higher the rating the more valuable the item.

“It makes the Bible become real to people,” Magee said. “You don’t have to go to church and believe all the supernatural stuff, but this is physical evidence that the Bible is historically accurate.”

Magee is always willing to share the story of his collection and quick connections to biblical experiences.

The U.S. hub for the Numismatic Guaranty Co. is in Sarasota, Fla.

People who wish to have their coins graded locally can go to Olevian Numismatic Rarities along Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside, Pittsburgh.

Some of its employees are West Penn Coin Club members. A portion of Olevian’s multi-million dollar collection is on display at the show.

Olevian Vice President Adam Starkey said coin grading can be very expensive, and they will work with people to determine whether their coins are worth a more thorough third-party inspection.

ONR hosts monthly coin shows at the Castle Shannon Fire Hall in Pittsburgh.