Collectors Corner^SM: The Collectibles Marketplace

Numismatics is a hobby often passed on down from one generation to the next, and sometimes it’s a pursuit shared by two generations – frequently parent and child. As calendars herald the arrival of Mother’s Day in May and Father’s Day in June, it’s a timely occasion to profile a few collectors who share just such family ties.

These collectors have turned their intergenerational love of numismatics to successful heights, an achievement that each could posit happened in large part because of the love, support, and guidance they receive from their family. Surely, each of the people featured in this article have the skill, passion, and talent to achieve great things in the hobby on their own. However, it’s clear that – at least for these parent-child numismatists – the hobby is something best enjoyed when it’s all in the family.

Long before Stack’s Bowers Galleries Director of Numismatic Americana John Kraljevich made a name for himself as a premier numismatic writer and researcher, he was a young kid mesmerized by many things vintage. “My dad had the usual stash of a sock-full of silver coins and red seal bills that he had put aside in the 1960s, and our frequent visits to local country auctions often resulted in me staring through glass display cases at old coins sold alongside model trains and rusty tools,” recalls John.

“My maternal grandmother, who had been a very serious collector of seashells along with my granddad, recognized my interest early and brought me Wheat Cents she spotted in the till of her job at a hospital gift shop. A Civil War token found in one of her penny jars fascinated me early on.” But he says it was his mom, Gail Baker, who really spurred his transformation into a young numismatist. “From the time I was 10 until I was out of high school, she was my constant companion at numismatic events of all kinds.”

He said when he joined the American Numismatic Association (ANA) at the age of 10 in 1988, he asked his mom if they could go to the organization’s big convention in Cincinnati that summer. “My mom declined but said if it ever came to our home state of Pennsylvania, she’d be happy to drive me there.” As serendipity had it, the 1989 ANA Convention would be held in Pittsburgh – a six-hour drive down the Pennsylvania Turnpike. “The promise had been made, Mom was on the hook, and I set my eyes on Pittsburgh the next year.” John recalls his mom brought books to read by the pool during their foray to the 1989 ANA Convention, but the numismatic bug bit his mom, too. “I made reservations at the host hotel and packed lots of books to keep me busy while he was on the bourse floor,” Gail recounts.

John Kraljevich and his mom, Gail Baker / Courtesy of John Kraljevich Click image to enlarge.

“John had signed up to be a page. On the first day of the show, I went with John to the convention center and asked to see the bourse where John would be the rest of the day. Just inside the door were the club tables. The Hobo Nickels and Love Tokens caught my eye. I met [numismatic author and variety expert] Bill Fivaz, who captivated me with his stories for over an hour, and I decided this was a pretty interesting place. I never did read my books that week as I met and talked to many, many people – all of them kind and willing to answer my many questions. It became important for me to learn the language of numismatics and be involved but in a different way than John.”

Gail became a chaperone at the ANA Summer Seminar for many years. “I got to know so many of the young and upcoming numismatists – too many to count!” she says. “John’s hobby buddies often hitched rides and, at conventions, several of the YNs stayed with us.”

John says his mom knew his friends and adult mentors. “The world of coins was a safe place to see me blossom intellectually, and I’m certain my attraction to research reminded her a lot of her own parents’ collecting paths,” he remarks, noting that his maternal grandfather was the one of the most respected zoologists and shell collectors of his generation. “As a collector in a working-class family – my dad worked as a welder and my mom worked as a dental hygienist – my mom knew the financial investment of a coin collection could be a good learning experience. But she also had to make sure it was a sound financial decision.” The agreement was any money John spent on buying coins had to be recouped when it came time to pay for college tuition. “So I built a collection, consigned it to auction, and learned a great deal while raising my first year’s tuition. I’d recommend that kind of partnership for any parents and their collecting children. The support and encouragement I felt as a young person has been instrumental in becoming a confident and well rounded adult, and coins were at the root of all of it,” John concludes.

“Collecting coins can be a solitary activity, but my mom realized early on that the social aspect was as important as any part of it,” says John. “I met lifelong friends (including my current Stack’s Bowers Galleries colleague Vicken Yegparian, who’s been a constant in my life since we were 13), gained confidence in talking with adults, and experienced the lessons of travel by attending conventions and coin club meetings. While I was happy to read every coin magazine and book I could get my hands on (and my mom never said no to a book), my real learning experiences came face to face with many of the industry leaders I count as colleagues today.”

Gail adds, “Spending quality time and supporting your children’s interests is magical in a parent-child relationship. We had a great time traveling the numismatic highway together. The experience kept us close through his important teen years and beyond. I learned to speak numismatics so I could communicate with my son; but I gained as much and probably more from our relationship with each other and the hobby we both love.”

John and Alexandrea Zieman / Courtesy of John Zieman Click image to enlarge.

John Zieman was 10 or 12 years old when his grandfather introduced him to numismatics. “My mother would also look through pocket change with us and set aside one of each coin, John recalls. “Back then, silver coins, Buffalo Nickels, and Indian Cents were pretty common. My mother and grandfather both encouraged me to have a hobby, and it was fun to go through pocket change.”

Life got busier for John as he grew up, served in the United States Army, and started a family. In 2004, after John moved to Florida with his wife and his daughter, Alexandrea, he received a flyer in the mail advertising a coin show in Tampa. “I showed it to Alexandrea and asked her if she wanted to go to see what I did with my grandfather as a kid. She wasn’t sure why, but I offered to buy lunch after the show, so she said ‘OK.’”

Alexandrea was eight years old when her dad brought her to that first coin show. John continues, “I think at the very beginning, Alexandrea was unsure – she told me that day we decided to go to our first coin show ‘doesn’t everyone collect money?’” But he also remembers how much fun he and his daughter had spending every last cent of the $100 they allocated for buying items from bargain bins at that show. “Alexandrea was going dealer to dealer looking and amazed seeing so many coins and the prices some were. She loved the hunt, the beauty, and – most importantly – the history.”

Before long, John and Alexandrea were bonding over coins – and food. “Alexandrea was pretty much hooked from day one,” says John, who has made it an annual tradition to attend every Florida United Numismatists Show with Alexandrea since 2007. “We even have a tradition to go out to eat sushi after each show we attend – we plan our dinner in advance and love hanging out.” In 2008, John began his career as a coin dealer at Howard’s Flea Market in Homosassa Springs, Florida, and a teenaged Alexandrea joined him as his business partner.

“Probably the most fond memory was my father quizzing me on coins, usually on our way to shows,” Alexandrea recalls. “I always loved being quizzed and learning that way. We also had the most joy in the coin club we helped start, the West Hernando Coin Club. My father would be the auctioneer for the coin club, and he always made auctions fun and enjoyable.”

Alexandrea says one of her favorite moments was when she and her dad gave an educational seminar about father-son United States Mint Directors Robert Patterson and Robert Maskell Patterson, who served as the Mint’s fourth and sixth directors, respectively. “We had an incredible display of artifacts from the 1700s and 1800s involving U.S. Mint history. That educational seminar we gave was so impressionable that we still get members from that club talking about it to this day. The club covered our expenses as well as gifted us a Silver Eagle, which is still in our collection as a memento.”

As much as John helped Alexandrea navigate the numismatic waters during her teenage years and early 20s, he implored her to chart her own way. “My father always encouraged me to follow my own path and to never let anyone or anything distract me. So many people throughout my upbringing didn’t have faith in my career choice as a numismatist. My father always would say that with enough talent and hard work that anything was possible.” Alexandrea eventually started running her own flea market booth and was hired as a grader for a third-party grading firm. She soon moved into a role as a numismatist for Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas. “He called me everyday and loved learning about my experiences.”

The COVID-19 pandemic changed plans for many, including Alexandrea, who left Heritage Auctions and returned home to Florida. But she never lost sight of her numismatic ambitions. “We drove to Saint Augustine, Florida, and found a shop within 15 minutes after parking,” John says. Soon, Alexandrea opened the door on the next chapter of her numismatic career, where she serves residents and tourists alike who traipse through the scenic seaside town. John adds, “It was meant to be.”

John says, “Life is short, do something you love.” For him, that love is lived through building a career in coins with his daughter. “My life is what I never could have imagined – family having fun together while making a living. It doesn’t get better than that.” Alexandrea agrees, advising parents to make the numismatic journey with their children fun and engaging. “I was always interested in learning because my father was engaged in conversation and in what I was learning. This is something that stuck with me and has made me more passionate about coins as I grew up. Coins will always be fun, and we enjoy it together.”

The Eiler family, from left to right, Carrie, Noah, Zoe, and Jordan, as seen circa 2023 / Courtesy of the Eiler family Click image to enlarge.

For the Eiler family of Orange County, California, coins and bullion are more than just collectibles and investment vehicles – they help bring people together. Just ask Jordan Eiler, who with his wife, Carrie, and two homeschooled children, 16-year old Noah and 15-year-old Zoe, built Viking Family Foundry, a business where they buy, sell, and trade precious metals.

Jordan and Carrie recall the financial devastation of families who lost nearly everything during the dot-com bust – and subsequent 401k and 403b collapse – of the early 2000s and later the Great Recession of the late 2000s and early 2010s. So they wanted to invest in tangible assets, but they were dismayed by months-long turnaround times when buying tubes of American Silver Eagles and other bullion purchases.

The Eilers began shopping around for other sources of precious metals. Eventually, they sold their own inventory of bullion to family, then friends, and eventually a network of customers that is growing mainly through word of mouth.

“Our first time ever visiting a coin store, the gentleman had been in business for 60-plus years, and one of his customers was there and was interested that a young boy (Noah) was in his shop,” recalls Jordan. “The customer said it reminded him of when he was a young collector, and he bought him a ‘Red Book’ [A Guide Book of United States Coins].”

“Noah kept the ‘Red Book’ in the car, and everywhere we drove he would just read the ‘Red Book’ and he just became an expert,” Carrie says. “And, so, we would ask him, ‘what’s this worth, Noah? What’s that worth, Noah?’”

Noah, who is already working on his biomedical engineering degree, has a penchant for detail. “The thing that was really interesting to me was the variation,” Noah recalled of his “Red Book” read. “Even if it was the same type of coin, all the changes that can happen within a certain period of time,” notes Noah, adding, “there is also all the alterations and different ways [the Mint] would proof coins against fraud, such as adding a reeded edge to protect against shaving of the edges.”

“He’s the eyeballs for us when it comes to aesthetics on the coins,” said Jordan. “Though we’re a house divided on toned coins.”

“I personally dislike the toned [coins] and prefer something bright and shiny,” Noah opines.

“It depends on the tone and the coin,” Jordan clarifies of his own stance on the matter. “If the toning goes over the face of Miss Liberty and gives her a moustache, then maybe not,” he laughs.

Zoe appreciates coins herself, and she has an affinity for French coinage. Yet, for her, the most exciting part about being involved in her family’s business is creating designs and helping people. “Helping design stuff and being a part of it is really a big thing for me,” says Zoe, academically many years ahead of most of her peers. “I like having a say.” Zoe is also highly creative, and she combines her love of design and building connections with others by offering world coins to other young children who happen to be at events where her family sets up shop to buy, sell, and trade bullion.

Both of the kids help drive the direction of their family’s bullion cottage industry, Zoe on the creative and outreach side, and Noah with numismatics. “Noah is driving the family business more toward collectibles,” Carrie says. “We have to because of Noah’s talent for grading – Noah’s just really good. And we see the huge upside potential financially with numismatics. It’s far and away better than bullion by itself.”

The family continues learning more about numismatics while they expand their bullion enterprise. “Pretty much everywhere we go we stop at the local coin shops,” notes Jordan. “Wherever we go, it seems people want to invest in the kids. Coin shops, shows, wherever. It seems people are really happy to see the kids there. It’s really cool.”

As Jordan and Carrie continue curating their business, Noah and Zoe clearly have their eyes on building their futures around the world of coins and bullion.

“I want to have a homestead and fill a safe with coins for the generations to come,” Zoe says.

Noah, who hopes to one day acquire a Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, also looks ahead. “I’m hoping to share my love of coins with my future family, continue the business, and continue getting people interested.”