Mark Avery began collecting coins when he was about 10 years old. As a reward for yard work, Avery’s father would bring back rolls of dimes from the bank. Then, he would go through each roll to look for silver and rare coins.  There are a few easy tricks to figure out if a coin qualifies. Ave ry said the first is to turn the coin on its side and look for traces of copper. If there’s any hint of the element, that means the coin is not true silver. Avery said dropping the coin on a hard surface is also an indicator. Silver has a dull sound, while copper nickel or copper silver will have a “tinier” sound.  That’s just the start of the tricks and teachings Avery has picked up in his decades of coin collecting. A perpetual history student with a deep admiration for ancient lore, Avery is also an eager teacher. It’s why he started the Wasatch Coin and History Club — for history buffs like himself who want to learn more about the world through coins. Avery is what he calls a numismatist, or classical numismatist. Basically, the classical study of coins.  “But really, the history is what comes into play,” Avery said. “You’ve got to research and study and know the history, because the coins are just little timestamps of history and they’re really good because they last a long time.” Avery’s coin collection is ever-growing. Since the Wasatch Coin and History Club is a nonprofit, Avery said he will get donations of thousands of coins all the time. By now, Avery has about 1,000 ancient coins, 500 U.S. coins and approximately 10,000 world coins.  “Which are not worth very much,” he acknowledged.  Avery said ancient coins are “obviously world coins, but they’re ancient.” That means up to the Middle Ages. Classical coins cover the Middle Ages, and then there’s the transition to more modern world coins.  Every coin ties into a history lesson for Avery, who designs and presents what he learns to his club. Some coins are more helpful than others, and Avery used Joan of Arc as an example. If he were to do a lesson on the patron saint of France, Avery would break out the world coins he collected from the town where the heroine was born or lived.  Avery said his teachings are always exciting, no matter the topic, and his coins are always the best way to tell his stories.  “The stories that they tell, like the people, the leaders, a lot of humanitarian stuff went on back there that’s kind of documented or symbolized by coins that can help you tell the story,” Avery said. “I’m basically a storyteller, and I just use the coins as a means of helping me tell the story of that part of history that I’m talking about.” With every meeting of the Wasatch Coin and History Club comes a presentation by Avery, which is then recorded and posted on his website. There are lessons on the origins and characteristics of American folklore, the history of angels in coins, history and metal detecting in England, late Roman coinage, a two-part tale of coins and history in Egypt and one presentation on Avery’s favorite topic: Alexander the Great. That includes his empire, successors, and, of course, coinage.  Avery dove into the ancient leader’s heritage, the timeline of his kingdom’s establishment and even the biblical prophecy about Alexander, noting that “a warrior king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and take action as he pleases.”  “Alexander the Great, he really hellenized the world with Greek literature. … He was quite a diplomat as well as a strategic military thinker,” Avery said.  But one of Avery’s greatest finds came while metal detecting in England. That’s when he found a small horde of coins first minted by a Saxon king. Eight went to museums in the United Kingdom. The ninth went to Avery’s personal collection.  No matter the lesson, Avery said he tries to pass coins around as examples of history. He will often give away some of the thousands of world coins in his collection. It’s a way to help students of history learn, he said.  “I really enjoy helping young people get excited about history, leadership, courage, all of that,” Avery said.  He said coin collecting has become less of a hobby and more of a passion. His club is a way for Avery to share his love of history and coin collecting with like-minded individuals. Though he said he is at the point in his life where he may have to start downsizing his collection, Avery said he doesn’t want to stop teaching.  “It’s really taught me a whole lot about history and leadership and governments, and that’s also let me meet a lot of really neat people and young people,” Avery said.  The Wasatch Coin and History Club meets on the last Tuesday of each month. This month, Avery will host a presentation titled “World War One Thru Coins, Currency and Stories of Courage.” He asks that attendees bring their World War One coins or relics — if they have them — for sharing time. The post How Mark Avery uses ancient currency to unlock the past appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less