Coins, paper money to be featured at upcoming show

Caving to mounting pressure from dealers and collectors alike, the Southern Minnesota Coin and Stamp Club Association is bringing back the Coin & Paper Money Show.
“This is a resurrection of it,” said Dean Jirousek, a member of the association and organizer of the show.
The show originated back in 2007 but fell victim to COVID-19 in 2020. It previously had been held at the old Holiday Inn in Owatonna. The show attracts as many as 600 people.
This year’s show will take place on Saturday, Nov. 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Steele County History Center in Owatonna. The show will feature buying, selling and trading of coins, gold and silver. Admission is free and free appraisals will be available.
“This is a service,” Jirousek said. “We’re not doing this to make money,” he added.
Fifteen dealers will be coming in from all over for the show, according to Jirousek. “I sold the show out right away. It’s a vote of confidence moving forward,” he said.
“It’s not a selling event,” Jirousek stressed. “We provide a service for people that want coins appraised, and we try to educate people. Knowledge is paramount in this hobby.”
In talking about the importance of coin shows, Jirousek said: “If you don’t know coins, you better know a good coin dealer.”
Jirousek said the success of coin shows typically parallels the gold and silver markets, which are very strong right now. “If the market remains hot, we will probably do two or three shows a year,” he noted.
The coin shows had gained quite a reputation prior to the pandemic, Jirousek said. “People told us we had the best show around. I got so much pressure from dealers and customers to bring it back. I finally gave in,” he said, adding the show is “a big deal.”
Jirousek said there is a fascinating history behind money. For example, a limited number of bills was issued in 1929 for one year by area banks, including Owatonna, Blooming Prairie and West Concord. “In the depression, there was a shortage of money,” he said, adding it prompted local banks to print money with their towns identified on the bills.
The Southern Minnesota Coin and Stamp Club Association is a nonprofit organization solely for the purpose of promotion of coin and currency collecting.