POST FALLS — It's pretty incredible to think about all the hands through which currency has passed, especially when it's 150 years old.

"It’s pretty cool," said coin collector and dealer Kale Wetherell. "That’s what I like, the history. A lot of it is finding stuff that you feel like you’ve got a real connection with history. It’s some pretty wild stuff."

Wetherell said this while discussing the paper currency he had on display Saturday afternoon at the Coeur d'Alene Coin Club's Coin and Jewelry Holiday Gift Show.

His collection featured “fractional” paper currency — bills in an amount less than a whole dollar — which was only issued from 1862 to 1876. His display included a Confederate 50-cent bill.

“Confederate currency in some denominations is pretty rare. Fifty cents is pretty rare,” he said. “The higher denominations, $500, $100, are a little bit more rare, but there’s still quite a few $20s, $10s and $5s floating around.”

While imagining all the people who handled the currency is intriguing, sometimes the money itself seems to talk.

James Sego, president of JMS Coins in Coeur d'Alene, has a 1971 Eisenhower silver dollar error piece that comes with its own story.

“Isn’t that kind of cool?” Sego said as he pulled it out of a display case. “They’re actually pretty rare. They’re called an ‘off-center.’”

He explained that when this coin was made, its blank did not go all the way into the dies of the stamping machine. What resulted is an Eisenhower coin with a crescent-shaped blank space and the Eisenhower coin permanently eclipsing it.

The asking price for this rarity is $4,000.

“My specialty is Eisenhower dollars, so I always buy anything that’s cool with Eisenhower dollars,” Sego said. “I’m not an error specialist, but I like Ike, so I do like Ike errors.”

More than 50 tables of numismatic treasures, artwork and other collectibles lined the convention room of the Post Falls hotel as guests browsed around the show.

Shanna Torp, bourse chair of the club and show coordinator, said she estimated a few hundred people came through the two-day event, which opened Friday.

“Everybody collects something, whether it’s dolls, or cars, or coins,” she said. “It’s one of those things. It may be a little old fashioned, but I’ve been seeing a lot of young collectors come through the doors and it’s interesting they’re getting into the hobby.”

She said people are drawn to coin collecting because it's “the thrill of the chase.”

“It’s like if you’re out panning for gold or you’re rock hunting and you’ve come across a pretty garnet,” she said. “This is something you find in your pocket change... Sometimes you can find something rare.”

The show also served as a collection location for the Toys for Tots toy drive, organized by the Pappy Boyington Detachment No. 966 Marine Corps League.

“Every child needs a toy,” said Vice Commandant Terry Blessing. “We try to do our best to make sure they receive that. What I draw comfort from, personally, is that there’s some child that’s going to receive a toy that probably would not have.”

The Coeur d'Alene Coin Club meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at IHOP in Coeur d'Alene. For information about the club, visit cdacoinclub.org.

Toys for Tots info: www.toysfortots.org