Today began with a start later than expected when I get a text from home telling me that one of the air conditioners died and then from work saying the systems I am working on died. After I told my wife who to call for service, I didn’t have to worry about my wife handling the home situation while my work problems will be waiting for me on Monday.

So it was down the elevator, down the block a little, across the street, and I stride into the convention center just before the bourse opens to the public. While waiting for my table coverage, I walked over to the exhibits.

If you are following me on Pinterest, you would have seen quite a few pictures from the exhibits area. Not following the pack, I was drawn to the first set of cases on the right, even though that was the tenth case of the exhibit. It was full of chocolate. Not just chocolate but chocolate in the shape of coins. Coins, medals, and tokens from the United States and around the world. Chocolate notes, boxes of chocolate coins, a “million dollar” case of chocolate coins. Ten cases of chocolate. 

There were some very interesting exhibits but two really stood out. One was a complete collection of Confederate currency that included a rare $1,000 note. The beginning showed that the exhibit was well researched and the collector did a great job finding the notes, but it needed something extra. It needed to do more than show off the notes. There needed to be more information interspersed with the notes rather than all up front. It would have made the exhibit more engaging.

The presentation was a problem with an exhibit that had National Banknotes representing all of the county of Pennsylvania. While the cases were divided by regions, there needed to something more than the notes and a sliver of paper describing the note. Maybe a little history, something about the region, anything.

But the best exhibit, in my opinion, were the pre-Civil War notes from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chattanooga grew up as a port town and then as a train stop, the exhibit not only presented the notes nicely with descriptions, and informative and fun. I was told that the exhibitor tried this before and took criticism from the judges seriously and improved his presentation. It was an excellent job.

The rest of my day was dealing with meetings, catching up with the ANA Technology Committee looking to help the ANA upgrade their IT technology to help serve the membership better, making sure the Maryland State Numismatic Association table is watched, and filling in at the last minute for Barry Stupper for his Money Talks discussion about the need for a political action committee.

In between running around, I was able to glance at a few tables. I’ve noted some people I want to visit in the process. I think I found someone with Maryland Colonial Currency who might have something I am looking for. The dealer said she would look in the stack of notes for me and I will drop by in the morning. I am also looking at some other foreign currency for an idea I have to do my own exhibit. I found a dealer who has a nice selection of early 20th century foreign currency who I also have to visit at some point.

Continue to follow me on Twitter and the pictures on Pinterest to see what comes up on Friday.

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