What's Your Change Worth?

Lou Cialdella is so money and he knows it. 

At 81 and retired, Mr. Cialdella doesn't believe in down time. At night, the Farmingville resident keeps busy by building birdhouses which he donates to Stony Brook University Medical Center. During the day, Mr. Cialdella spends his time helping others by conducting informal classes across 12 libraries in Suffolk County. 

A master electrician for over 50 years, and general handyman for even longer, Mr. Cialdella holds classes that teach homeowners new and interesting tips to help maintain their homes. His other class, though, is his passion class, a seminar focused on coins and paper money. 

"It's interesting, at least it's interesting to me," Mr. Cialdella said. "People don't really know what it's all about. The average person has no idea what we had years ago; we had a three dollar bill, we had a four, people don't know."

For the past 12 years, Mr. Cialdella has made it a point to inform the public about coins and paper money. Since moving to Suffolk County from Brooklyn 15 years ago, Mr. Cialdella has been the leading expert on coins and paper money in the county. This Saturday, September 4, at noon, Mr. Cialdella will hold his latest class on coins and paper money at the place where he got his start conducting classes: the Sachem Public Library. 

Originally, Mr. Cialdella's interest in coins and paper money started by chance. As a child he was often his father's right hand man when it came to chores around the house. One day his mother insisted he help her around the house. That day, while helping his mother, Mr. Cialdella found a penny stuck in the family's vacuum. He couldn't know it then, but a life-long hobby was sparked that day. 

He tells a similar story about how he became interested in electricity. In 1946, while working with his father building homes in Massapequa that sold for $14,000, Mr. Cialdella was introduced to the electrical working of buildings. Like the coin in the vacuum, he was hooked. 

"I said to my father right there, 'this is it,'" Mr. Cialdella said about knowing his life's calling. "I knew then electricity was it." 

In 1951 Mr. Cialdella became a master electrician in the city and in 1955 obtained his master electrician certificate to work outside the five boroughs. Not long after he became a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), the leading coins and paper money organization in the country. 

Taking classes at night, Mr. Cialdella attended St. John's University during the 1970's where he furthered his study of coins and paper money through continued education classes. In 1975, at its inception, Mr. Cialdella became the president of the Parkway Coin Club, a position he holds to this day. 

While Mr. Cialdella enjoys learning all he can about coins and paper money – he is three books shy of having the entire, and elusive, collection of the U.S. Coins "Red Books," – he also loves sharing his wisdom on the subject. In addition to the classes he conducts at libraries, Mr. Cialdella has also offered his expertise to local elementary schools and various organizations. One of his favorite things, though, is helping others realize the value of their coins and paper money like the time he let his dentist know the 1893 Morgan Silver dollar he had was worth over $50,000. 

"When I told him he said he wanted to sell it," Mr. Cialdella said with a smile. "'Sell it,' I said. That's the easy part."