The Boaz Lions Club was packed on Saturday afternoon for the annual summer coin show hosted by the Parkersburg Coin Club. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

BOAZ — The Parkersburg Coin Club held its annual summer coin show Saturday at the Boaz Lions Club, bringing together coin enthusiasts, dealers and curious visitors from the Mid-Ohio Valley and beyond.

The event featured more than a dozen dealers with tables filled with rare American coins, world currencies, tokens and bullion.

For some, it was a chance to hunt for a long-sought collectible. For others, it was an opportunity to share knowledge, stories and history etched in metal.

“Our club meets once a month, and we all share a love for coin collecting,” said Myles Danver, president of the Parkersburg Coin Club. “Today’s show brings in dealers from all over West Virginia and Ohio. People can browse, buy, sell or just talk coins.”

The show catered to a wide age range, with young collectors exploring Lincoln pennies while seasoned hobbyists flipped through trays of century-old silver dollars and copper pieces.

From left, Adalyn Allen and Tricia Allen peruse coins during Saturday’s Parkersburg Coin Club Annual Summer Coin Show at the Boaz Lions Club. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

“It’s the search that keeps people coming back,” Danver said. “Whether someone’s collecting every Lincoln penny since the early 1900s or looking for that one rare gold coin, everyone has their own way of doing it.”

Dan Carroll, a long-time collector, said his interest began when he was 10 years old.

“My mom took me to the doctor, and he handed me some stamps, coins and slides,” Carroll said, laughing. “The coins stuck.”

Carroll specializes in British copper coins and foreign currency.

“The British Empire was everywhere, Africa, India, the Bahamas, so there are all kinds of coins minted for different colonies,” he said. “I collect the cheap stuff, but it’s got stories.”

The Parkersburg Coin Club meets 7 p.m. first Thursday of the month at the Boaz Lions Club. New members are welcome and Danver said the meetings are open to anyone interested in the hobby regardless of experience level. For more information on the Parkersburg Coin Club or upcoming shows, interested individuals are encouraged to attend a monthly meeting.

“Every coin has its own story,” Danver said. “That’s what makes this such a great community, we’re all learning, all the time.”

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com.