This Idaho group just released rare, unique coins into circulation. Some are 130 years old

Ken Freeze’s journey into the world of coin collecting began at the age of 9. He’d spend countless hours sifting through jars of spare change full of fascination, searching for coins with a unique stamping or those dating back to the 1800s.

Sixty years later, his passion for coin collecting is stronger than ever — even now, he’ll constantly be on the lookout for silver dimes and old Lincoln wheat back pennies or attending coin shows on the lookout for rare coins that can be valued in the five-figures.

“I just remember the days of going through jars of change and how much fun that was to discover an old penny,” Freeze, a Meridian resident, told the Idaho Statesman in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Now, he wants to help create a new generation of coin collectors.

Starting this week, Freeze and his fellow Southern Idaho Coin Club members embarked on a unique endeavor. They began releasing a collection of nearly 550 old and rare coins into circulation. The youngest of these coins are at least 60 years old, while the oldest date back to the 1880s, making each find a potential treasure.

“It’ll be fun,” Freeze said. “Maybe somebody will start deciding to be a coin collector because of the coins that they find. It’s sort of a little bit of an Easter egg hunt.”

Releasing rare coins into the Treasure Valley

The decision to release old and rare coins into circulation came to Freeze and his fellow coin club members to promote not only the hobby but also the group’s annual coin show later this month.

“What better way to get people interested in coin collecting than to let them look for and perhaps find some very old coins in their pocket change?” Greg Barnett, president of the Southern Idaho Coin Club, stated in a news release.

Initially, the club only expected to release about 250 coins into circulation around the Treasure Valley, from Boise all the way to Ontario, Oregon. But through the generosity of local coin collectors, nearly 550 rare and old coins were gathered and started re-entering circulation on Wednesday.

Treasure Valley residents now have a chance to find rare coins such as Indian Head pennies, Buffalo nickels, silver nickels, and dimes.

Freeze said that none of the coins released into circulation will let you retire tomorrow, but some may be worth $30 to $40. The primary purpose is to get people interested in coin collecting; for example, some of the released nickels were made before World War 2 and contain nickel rather than after the war, when the U.S. government began making nickels with silver.

There’s no rhyme or reason to where the coins are being released.

Freeze said he picked up a handful of donated coins at random, put them into a zip-lock bag, and handed them to club members. Members will spend them at random across the Treasure Valley. One member, Freeze said, is a cashier at a store and will just drop her coins into the cash register and use them as spare change.

Of course, it’s not just the coin club’s rare coins in circulation. Freeze said he still finds rare and old coins in circulation by pure luck, such as silver dimes or wheat back pennies, which haven’t been made since 1958.

“I’m sure there are people out there right now who will read this article and possibly have some of those pennies in their pocket,” Freeze said. “You just never know.”

Southern Idaho Coin Club annual show

The Southern Idaho Coin Club will host its annual show at the Hilton Garden Inn at 7699 W. Spectrum St. in Boise on May 24-25. The show will run from 2 to 7 p.m. on May 24 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 25.

Freeze said over 20 coin dealers are expected to attend the show. The show will give coin collectors and rookies alike a chance to view some incredibly rare coins and even get into the coin-collecting business themselves.

For coin collectors, it’s a chance to meet with dealers and expand their collection — Freeze recently went to a coin show in Las Vegas and saw a near-pristine Eisenhower dollar coin worth $14,000.

Can’t afford a $14,000 coin? There’s also something called junk silver: Tupperware tubs filled with circulated coins, from pennies to dollar coins, that you can purchase in bulk for cheap and sift through.

Many of the coins may just be regular, recently minted coins that aren’t worth much, but there’s always the chance to find something rare. It’s also an excellent opportunity for people to fill out other collections they have going, such as collecting quarters from every state.

“I actually have loved going through those because I’ve put together nearly a complete Mercury head dime book and a Walking Liberty Half-Dollar book, just going through junk silver,” Freeze said. “And for me, it takes me back to when I was a kid going through the change and finding something.”

The show’s attendees will also be able to enter raffles for rare gold coins and highly-graded silver dollars.

“The neat thing about coin collecting is there’s something for every budget,” Freeze said. “If you’re rich and want to spend 1000s of dollars on coins, you can. If you’re not rich, and you just want to put together a collection that you get just out of pocket change, you can, and it’s fun.”