LI coin collectors cash in

They come to buy, to sell, and sometimes just to look.

On a recent afternoon at the Coin Galleries of Oyster Bay, collectors are quizzing three workers about coins that range from rare to - well - not so rare. Inside clear glass casements are ancient Roman bronze coins. Crisp bills in rarely seen denominations, such as a discontinued Grover Cleveland thousand-dollar bill.

Gallery co-owner Larry Berkovits, one of the appraisers, takes out a tray of Morgan silver dollars to show a visitor. "This was spending money a hundred years ago," he says, holding up a specimen from 1887.

But it's not all silver and gold on display - there's copper, too. Lincoln pennies - the copper warhorse of coin collections - are going 10 for a dollar in a tray by the front door.

Coins of the realm

Long Island coin collectors don't just honor the memory of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson on Presidents Day. Year-round, at coin shows, coin shops and club meetings, they display, buy and sell coins bearing presidential faces.

Anthony Zito, 58, a member and past president of the Massapequa Coin Club, says coins that pay tribute to American presidents "keep their memory fresh in people's minds."

When you pick up a coin, "you are actually holding history in your hand," says Joe Abiuso, 66, of Miller Place, a coin collector and a member of the American Numismatic Association.

Coin collectors also revere the only U.S. president who had strong ties to Long Island: Theodore Roosevelt. Although Oyster Bay's Teddy hasn't yet earned his own coin, he commissioned a major redesign of U.S. coinage during his administration. "Theodore Roosevelt changed the coins from dull to beautiful," Abiuso says.

Pennies from heaven

One of Teddy's contributions was the shiny copper penny beloved by earlier generations. The Lincoln one-cent piece, introduced in 1909 to celebrate the centennial of the 16th president's birth, was the first circulating U.S. coin with a president of the United States' face on it. Some are now very valuable. A 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent can fetch $5,000 - that is, if it's in pristine condition. That rare coin would be worth about $1,000 if you found it in pocket change, says Ira Einhorn, co-owner of Coin Galleries of Oyster Bay.

So that means you could be carrying a $1,000 coin in your pocket or change purse, right?

Well, maybe not.

Nowadays, it's unusual to find a rare coin just floating around in circulation, collectors say. Better to look among the boxes in the attic, where Abiuso says they "could be in your grandfather's collection." Many of the most valuable coins were hoarded by collectors in the '50s and '60s, when the government stopped making silver coins, Einhorn says.

"People do find treasures in the attic," he says. "But it's going to be from someone who was an avid collector."

Cash in the attic

One who looked and found something valuable: Jason Maddox and his cousin, Lorenzo DiMaggio, both 22, of Glen Head. They brought part of Maddox's late grandfather's coin collection to the Coin Galleries of Oyster Bay.

"Here's what you've got," says Berkovits, going through the collection and assigning a dollar value to each coin.

The big deal of the day: an 1882 Carson City silver dollar, for which Maddox receives $125. Maddox says he'll use part of his grandfather's legacy to start his own collection.

Test your skills

Match the denomination of the coin with the correct president who is featured:

1. Nickel

2. Dime

3. Quarter

4. Half-dollar

A. George Washington

B. John F. Kennedy

C. Thomas Jefferson

D. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

BONUS QUESTION

From 1971 to 1978, the U.S. issued a circulating silver coin honoring the 34th president of the United States, who was also a five-star general in the U.S. Army. What was this coin called?

ANSWERS 1C, 2D, 3A, 4B, Bonus: The Eisenhower Dollar