PEORIA, Ill. — A 13-year-old’s passion for collecting coins and cloisonné led him to the 47-year-old, three-day Mid-America Antiques Show the first weekend of 2012.

“My mom worked at a bank for 25 years, and my dad found a big cloisonné vase one day for $50. I thought it was pretty cool, and I just went from there,” Dylan Tunke of nearby Eureka, Ill., said of how his collections began. “I looked it up on eBay and bought a couple (cloisonné) pieces. I didn’t know what made it cool, except that each piece is unique and one-of-a-kind.”

Tunke has collected in both categories for two years. “And, I’m pretty good at it,” he said. “My friends say nothing about it really - they don’t care.”

Many others like Tunke attended the show and spent hours combing through the displays of 47 Midwestern dealers. Mid-America Manager Richard Porte was pleasantly surprised at the youthful turnout.

“More than we’ve seen in years,” Porte reported. “I don’t know why, because most of them go to flea markets, the Internet or whatever. But, I think the word is getting out that this is the only real quality show in the area, and that helps.”

David Wheeler, who with his wife, Lynda, operates Collectanea – antiques and estate jewelry – of Memphis, Tenn., was happily puzzled at the youthful attendance, and called it a phenomenon. “It’s normally not like this, but, it’s wonderful – it’s wonderful,” he added.

The younger crowd was not buying his high-end estate jewelry, but they were spending money at the show. “They’re walking around with packages in their hands, so obviously, they’re buying from other dealers,” he said. “They look at my displays, but mine are a little more expensive than regular run-of-the-mill items.”

The older the object, the more interest – but not necessarily sales – they seem to draw from the younger crowd, Lynda Wheeler noted, citing a marvelous Samarian alabaster carving from 2200 B.C. as an example. She found the carving at an estate sale in Kingsport, Tenn., and offered it to the Peoria crowd at $975.

“I price a lot of things according to what I pay for them, and to what I think the demand will be. But not that many people are knowledgeable enough to want a Samarian head from 2200 B.C.,” she said of the low asking price.

The Wheelers also offered three Roman finger rings from about 300 to 400 A.D., and a carving of a horse’s head in a bronze medallion, remounted in an 18 karat gold frame, and priced at $7,500. An American Indian handcrafted turquoise and sterling silver cross dating from the 1950s, would go at $300.

“I think there’s a resurgence at this time of younger people being interested in antiques,” Lynda Wheeler said. “I think we’ve gotten by the Boomer stage where everybody wanted something new. Now, the kids who are in the G-age are starting to want to antique again.”

Al Scolnik of Highland, Ind., tempted the younger show-goers with a small Japanese fabric and metal Boys Day helmet from the 1910-1920 time period. Although he had a much higher price on the gold-toned, beautifully crafted gift, Scolnik would part with it at about $150. Prior to World War II and still in many areas of Japan, people set aside one day each year as Boys Day where gifts such as this helmet were given to boys, and they were taught how to be men, he added.

A spotlight highlighted a solid wood child’s cupboard in the booth of Mel Woods of St. Louis. Beautifully crafted from what appeared to be cherry, the cupboard was in excellent condition. Woods priced the piece at $695, but said he knew nothing of its history.

Bonnie and Ed Jordan of Onsted, Mich., hoped their three-foot tall, colorful ceramic rooster “nestled” among the Flow Blue porcelain, art glass and lamps in their booth would interest all age brackets, and he did attract attention. A white ceramic rooster with red comb and wattles added to the eye appeal. Both were unmarked. The pair came from an antiques show in Columbus, Ohio. The colorful rooster was marked $250 and the other $150.

Although prices for antiques are still down, the crowds seemed bigger and sales were a little better, Jordan said. “If younger people make a purchase, it’s for decoration, not particularly for the make or pattern,” he noted. “They say, ‘That would look nice on my buffet or table.’ They’re not really into serious collecting.”

A nearly five-foot tall majolica-style pedestal vase displayed by Rita Robbens, a metal restoration specialist with Robbens of Harrison, Ohio, awed show-goers with its rich blue and gold classic beauty. Robbens knew little about the vase, but noted the three capital “B’s” incised in triangular style on the bottom.

The piece came from an auction in Cincinnati, she said. Her asking price was $3,500. Robbens identified the vase as “extremely early” age-wise from the metal staples that repaired a break in the footed base.

“They don’t restore things like that now,” she said. “Also, there’s quite a bit of crazing on the inside, so there’s quite a bit of age, although it’s in remarkable condition.”

Small visitors were entranced by the pair of more-than-lifesize Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy stuffed dolls displayed by Rick Kojis of Wisconsin. Almost 42 inches tall, each doll was crafted in the late 1940s by Knickerbocker. Displayed with them were two smaller Raggedy Ann and Andy handmade dolls from the 1930s. Kojis priced the larger pair at $185 and the other at $225. “Little kids come by and love them because they’re bigger than the kids,” he said of the 1940s pair.

The twice-yearly, early winter/late summer Mid-America Antiques Show is the first or second oldest of its kind in Illinois. The next show will be at the Exposition Gardens Fairgrounds, 1601 W. Northmoor Road, Peoria, on Aug. 10-12.