The 38th annual event will be held June 13 and 14 at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Dr. Richard Bode Collection – an astounding compilation of worldwide banknotes ranging from the earliest known currency from China’s Ming Dynasty (1388-1664) all the way up to modern-day polymer notes – will be the featured exhibit at this year’s International Paper Money Show (IPMS) slated for June 13th-14th at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis.
The International Paper Money Show has been an annual numismatic event since 1977, always held in June and always in Memphis (sometimes called the Paper Money Capital of the World). The show has nearly 200 vendors, buying and selling paper money from many countries, plus nearly 200 cases of educational exhibits offering excellent materials and historical background.
Hours for the show are 10-5 on Friday and 10-4 on Saturday, with special guest speakers every hour from start to finish, also both days. The initial speaker (on Friday, June 13th, at 10 a.m.) will be Shawn Hewitt (“Before There Were Stars”). The final talk (on Saturday, at 4 p.m.) will be given by Jamie Yates, whose topic will be “Collecting Series of 1934 $5 Silver Certificates.”
Friday’s guest speakers will also feature Joseph Boling (“The Fakes Outnumber the Originals”), Carlson Chambliss (“Survival of Small Size Gold Certificates”), Peter Huntoon (“Civil War Money”), Tom Snyder (“Life and Commerce on the Mississippi River, the upper half”), and Wendell Wolka (“Enemy at the Gates – Civil War Scrip Issuers of New Orleans, 1861-1862”).
Saturday’s speaking lineup will include Ali Mehilba (“Replacement Notes From Around the World”), Steve Carr (“First Names on National Bank Notes”), Lee Lofthus (“The 1928E Note: King of the $1 Silver Certificates”), Neil and Joel Shafer (“Money of the People”), and Ray and Steve Feller (“The Latest Discoveries From the Eastern European Ghettos of World War II”).
Experts in nearly every field will be on hand, ready to offer appraisals and opinions on coins, paper money, postcards and related topics, such as Confederate history and the Civil War. The show boasts the largest display of U.S. and worldwide banknotes in America. Admission is $7 each day per person ($5 off with ad or coupon). A family show pass is also available, for $20.
The Cook Convention Center is located at 255 North Main Street in Memphis. The show is being held in the East Hall. To get to the Convention Center, take I-240 north to I-40 west to exit 1-A at 2nd Street. The preferred show hotel is the Memphis Sheraton Downtown, at 250 North Main Street, but rooms there were nearly all filled at press time. Other accommodations are nearby.
Prior to 1977, the only show that was of interest to currency dealers and collectors was the annual ANA (American Numismatic Association) convention. But that event was expensive to attend, and was really designed by and for coin collectors. The paper money crowd had little else, until the IPMS (now known simply and affectionately as “Memphis”) came along in 1977.
“Memphis” was different from the start, with dealers bringing special material that would keep collectors excited for weeks preceding the event and well into the summer afterward. Now, each year, the biggest and the best currency collectors make the trek to Memphis to share their passion for paper money and enjoy the educational events, the meetings, the SPMC breakfast, the bourse floor, the auctions, the exhibits, the camaraderie and, of course, the point of it all, the banknotes.
The International Paper Money Show is owned and managed by Collectible Properties, based in Overland Park, Kansas. For information about the 2014 International Paper Money Show, you may call Doug Davis, IPMS Bourse Show Chairman, at (817) 723-7231; or, you can send him an e-mail at [email protected]. To learn more, please log on to www.MemphisIPMS.com