One-day Coin, Stamp & Collectibles show April 20 at Steinbach Mennonite Heritage Village
The Manitoba Coin Club could have you rolling in riches during its one-day Coin, Stamp & Collectibles show in Steinbach in a few weeks’ time.
People who have a cache of coins stuffed in a sock that’s been tucked away in the back of their bureau or paper notes taking up space in a box under their bed can haul them out and bring them to the show where coin club experts will gladly tell them whether they’ve been hoarding treasure.
The coin club’s numismatists – those are the folks that study and appraise coins and other currency such as paper notes and tokens – can put a price on Canadian and foreign coins and notes and teach you some of the fascinating social, economic or political history that lies behind currency. They can also tell you how to spot counterfeit currency and what steps you can take before purchasing currency online or from an auction house.
In addition to educating people about their own treasure, club members will have some of their collectibles on display at the show so that the public can see what collecting is all about. There will also be other experts on hand for people who collect items from stamps, comic books and cards to sports memorabilia, model cars and medallions.
Numismatist and coin club member Larry Dalman, who has about 50 years’ experience valuing currency, said the club’s experts can help people understand that money may be worth more than its face value and even hold great historical significance.
“The Manitoba Coin Club realizes that our province is huge and that there are a large number of people in other areas collecting commemorative coins or other money that could be valuable. Or their parents or grandparents were collecting coin sets or paper bills or bank tokens, and people are now wondering how they can find out the value of what they’ve got in those collections and what they can do with it,” said Dalman. “Our coin club offers people information and advice and can value their money. People are very welcome to join our club, too.”
Founded in 1954, the Manitoba Coin Club is celebrating its 70th Anniversary this year. The club provides numismatic education, hobby and fellowship. Its members collect mostly Canadian and foreign currency, banking memorabilia and exonumia (tokens, which are forms of coinage, souvenir medallions, encased coins and so forth). Members hold regular meetings in person or via Zoom.
This is the second time since the club was founded that members have organized a show outside Winnipeg. The overwhelming success of their first rural show – in Stonewall in 2023 – saw people from across the Interlake and southern Manitoba drop by, and the club more than doubled its membership numbers from 50 to 109 after they learned what numismatics was all about, said Dalman.
Spending a bit of time with a coin club member at the show or becoming a member of the club could net you some cash or simply inspire you to start sifting through your change or bills. With some of the club’s members creeping up in age, the club is hoping to inspire and attract younger adults, youth and kids to hoist the numismatic banner.
And it’s important to bear in mind that unlike old and newly issued currency, expired debit and credit cards have no value and aren’t on a trajectory to become collectors’ items anytime soon.
But older currency such as Canada’s so-called devil-faced 1954 paper bills, in which the devil reveals himself hiding in the Queen’s hair, and newer currency such as commemorative 10-cent coins issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2021 for the 100th Anniversary of the Blue Nose (there were four versions issued, including a coloured dime and a dime bearing a single date, which is the most valuable), can be worth more than face value, said Dalman. Same for tokens which were issued by butchers, barbers, cigar stores and the Hudson’s Bay Company (its so-called beaver pelt coin) back in the days when “everyone had their own tokens.”
Tokens issued by various banks before Canada had a national currency and “shinplasters” (small paper notes) that date back to 1870, as well as commemorative gold and silver coins, are either worth a fortune already (depending on how well-preserved they are) or destined to creep up in value over time.
For example, the Mint stopped producing Canada’s 50-cent coin as a circulating coin in 2004, said Dalman. Now they’re issued only as collector’s coins (collector’s have to buy them from the Mint). Those 50-cent pieces are going to be worth far more than their face value, depending on condition.
The most important thing to remember, said Dalman, is to not haul your stash of silver coins or older paper notes into a bank because you’ll get only their face value in return. And ditto for companies that buy silver currency – you’ll only get the current market price of silver by weight.
A single silver coin or a coin set could be worth far more if in pristine condition or if they have unique characteristics such as a flaw, small production run or other special feature.
Take our new king, for instance, the Royal Canadian Mint issued in 2023 a limited number of circulating coins with the image of Charles III. Should his health take a turn for the worse (he was diagnosed with cancer), all the dies at the Mint will have to be changed in order to start producing an image of our next monarch. Having a limited number of coins out there means they could increase in value. A 50-cent coin with Charles’ image is considered “highly collectible.”
“We’re trying to teach people about changes like this that happen in currency,” said Dalman. “As soon as it was announced that the king had medical issues, they [the Mint] probably started preparing and moved to Plan B. And the reason you’re likely not seeing Charles on your coins right now is that there are a limited number of these coins in circulation and there are still billons of coins out there with the Queen’s image. We’re also still waiting for the Bank of Cananda to announce if Charles will be on our $20 bill. We’re assuming we’ll have a monarch on our $20s because we’ve always had one.”
Another newly issued coin that’s destined to increase in value is the Mint’s Year of the Dragon (2024) coin.
“The Mint has done a number of special coins for the Year of the Dragon, but one of the award-winning coins they just did is in silver or gold and has the dragon’s head coming out of the coin on one side and the tail sticking out on the other,” said Dalman. “This is a high-end collector coin. The others are flat like most coins.”
Staff from the Royal Canadian Mint will be attending the club’s Steinbach show and offering the public a coin exchange. For a Loonie, people can get a set of 10 coloured Blue Nose dimes.
“This is an award-winning coin and the very first time we’ve had our dime coloured. We’ve done Toonies and Loonies but never the dimes,” said Dalman.
Dealers and other specialists looking to nab a table at the upcoming show will receive a discount. At the moment, Dalman said the coin club has had confirmation that Memory Lane Diecast & Collectables, which is one of the largest Hot Wheels dealers in western Canada, and the Antique Mall from the Forks in Winnipeg, will be attending the show.
The show will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 at the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach. There will be door prizes and raffles. Admission is $5.
Anyone interested in reserving a table for the show or joining the Manitoba Coin Club can send a message to the organization using the online email form on its website: www.manitobacoinclub.org or by emailing the club’s president: president@manitobacoinclub.org
Memberships in the club cost $25 (corporate), $15 (adults) and $5 (youth). Applications will be available at the show.
