MCALLEN – It’s evident in the Rio Grande Valley that coin collecting is the fastest growing hobby. So much, that the Hidalgo Coin Club has had to move to a bigger location for its monthly coin shows.

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the club’s new show place in the conference room of the McAllen Chamber. Everyone was in good spirit.

“This is going to be a wonderful experience for our coin club,” said club president, Raul Gonzalez. “We’re holding our very first Friday night show. We’ll be here once a month. We’ve been getting so many more customers. So many more dealers that want to be a part of it, that we decided to move to a bigger location.”

Gonzalez said that they are the only coin club in the entire Valley. There’s just something about older coins that attracts people.

Gonzalez showcased CHANNEL 5 NEWS some of his collection, “These coins are the American Silver Eagles. They are the most popular collected coins right now in the United States.”

“This is the king of hobbies!” he added.

Gonzalez was so fascinated when he became interested in coins; he began to dig into the history of coins.

“In 2014, I created a DVD that is called, ‘The History of the Americas: Through Numismatic Eyes’. That means through a coin collector’s eyes,” he said.

It was traced back to the Spaniards as they discovered the new world, plus silver and gold mines.

“It’s how they created coins. The methods they used to create these coins,” he said.

Rene de la Garza, the club secretary plus district governor for their association, inspects a customer’s coin as we spoke with him, “Doesn’t look like it’s been cleaned. So, it looks good.”

“It’s fun. It’s obsessive. It’s expensive, but it’s great joy. You meet a lot of people. There are so many people in this club,” said de la Garza.

As we walked around the floor of the coin show, we encountered the enthusiasts, the experts and those just getting into the hobby. So we had to ask them, which was their oldest and most unique coin?

“It is a Liberty large cent from the year 1845,” one collector said.

“It’s a 1956 proof quarter. Very rare coin,” said another.

We asked Gonzalez about the loose change in your car or at home. Are they worth more than you think?

“If you have coins at home and you’re not sure of their value, it’s always good to join the coin club or ask a coin dealer at a coin show,” stated Gonzalez.