March 24, 2011 – Attendees from 33 states and 11 countries made their way to Chicago, March 10-13, for the 17th Annual Chicago Paper Money Exposition at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare.
“What a fantastic week for the hobby!” said Scott Tappa, CPMX chairman and publisher of Bank Note Reporter. “We had our highest number of show exhibitors and early bird attendees in years, and everyone we spoke with said business on the show floor was healthy.
“The final numbers are still coming in, but it appeared that all three sessions of Lyn Knight’s auction were a success. It’s too bad we couldn’t do another CPMX next month!”
Upbeat comments were indeed the rule, with one dealer terming his Friday bourse business as “a monster.” “I think it’s fantastic,” said Bill Geigner, C.P.G. Currency Connection, Manhattan, Ill., of this year’s CPMX. “It’s been a very good show for me.” Geigner said his best seller was Nationals, with plenty of interest among collectors looking for particular signatures and towns. “I’ve even have a lot of customers who buy them because they have a second home, like in Lake Shelbyville, Ill., and they want to show people a note because that is where their summer home is at,” he said. Geigner said there’s still plenty of room for collectors to get into the market, particularly with the small-size Nationals.
“I’m thrilled with the level of activity here in Chicago,” said John Schwartz of Connecticut. “It’s always been a great city for me and this year is no exception.” Echoing that opinion were dealers Fred Bart, Executive Currency, Roseville, Mich., and Robert Giamboi, ASN Currency, Pelham, N.Y. “This show markedly exceeded any of my expectations,” Bart said, adding, “I’ve have absolutely had my best show here. I sold a wide diversity of currency to both other dealers and collectors.” ??”It’s the busiest show we’ve had in years,” Giamboi said. “The traffic has been fantastic.” Interviewed on Saturday morning, Robert Vandevender, American Paper Connection, Joliet, Ill., said, “I think the show has been pretty good so far. We’ve had some decent business.” “We had a lot of people coming through looking for circulated material,” he said, observing that he was also able to sell some “nice star notes.”?
Breaking down activity on Thursday and Friday of this year’s CPMX, dealer Ed Rothberg, Emporium Coin & Currency, Moorhead, Minn., said, “Thursday’s setup was healthy. I did some very, very good buying from the other dealers and that actually set the tone for the whole thing.” “Friday for me was a monster. It was real good. We were busy almost every minute and we weren’t just tire-kicker busy, we were buyer busy – both wholesale and retail.” Rothberg said everything from Fractionals to large-size type was moving. “I mean, there are people coming in looking for all of the areas I mentioned – dealers and collectors – you are not getting people saying that this stuff is worthless because you haven’t sold it. You are getting. ‘I want this.’ So, as I said, we weren’t just tire-kicker busy, we were buyer busy.”
The 18th Annual CPMX, sponsored by Bank Note Reporter, is slated for March 8-11, 2012 at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare. For additional information, contact convention chairman Scott Tappa. For sending an email to him, click here.
For more information on the Chicago Paper Money Expo, click here.