By Jesse Robitaille
The biannual Paris Coin Show returns to southwestern Ontario on Feb. 2, but a day earlier – in conjunction with its auction – another event billed as “Canada’s smallest coin show” will be held in nearby Brantford, Ont.
Show owner and organizer Jared Stapleton decided to add another 12-dealer bourse, dubbed the “Canada Coin Show and Auction,” to coincide with the Feb. 1 sale to “bring some more numismatic excitement” to the show calendar.
“We want to continue making numismatics more friendly and exciting, and we also wanted to give the community another great event,” said Stapleton, who also runs the biannual Toronto Coin Expo and owns Metro Coin and Banknote in Toronto’s west end.
“People are already attending the auction during the day, so why not have a few dealers there to make things even better? We wanted to make it a nice weekend – a collector’s weekend – where people can stay overnight at the hotel and show up the next day in Paris, which is only 10 minutes away. It’s really close.”
The first 12-dealer bourse – plus the sale by New Brunswick’s Geoffrey Bell Auctions – will be held at the Hampton Inn and Suites on 20 Fen Ridge Court in Brantford, Ont., about 10 kilometres north-west of the Paris Fairgrounds, where the Paris Coin Show is held. It will be open from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., with dealers offering an array of coins, banknotes, tokens, medals and more. Admission is free.
Lot viewing for the auction will also be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. that day, with the auction beginning at 5 p.m. and running until about 9 p.m.
“As always, we anticipate a good auction run by the Bells,” said Stapleton. “The Bells always have something for every collector, and this sale features a very diverse range of items.”
Auctioneer Brian Bell, of Geoffrey Bell Auctions, expects a strong turnout to that evening’s sale.
“We have a nice sale scheduled that should draw more than usual to the auction floor.”
FREE TICKET TO PARIS
All registered bidders of the Feb. 1 auction will also receive free admission to the following day’s Paris Coin Show.
For everyone else, admission to the show in Paris is $4 and includes a draw ticket for a Royal Canadian Mint gold coin.
Held on 139 Silver St., only minutes from downtown Paris, the Paris Coin Show will feature about 35 dealers across 55 tables filled with all things numismatic. This bourse will be open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
“Paris is such a popular show among collectors and dealers we have people lining up to get in,” said Stapleton, adding some of the new dealers include Willow Coin, of Markham, Ont., plus Rudy Sauro, of Hamilton, Ont., who “missed a few shows due to health, but he’ll be turning up again and it’ll be great to see him.”
Centrally located, the show is about a one-hour drive from anywhere in southern Ontario.
“We normally have a great turnout and expect it’ll be another good day,” added Stapleton, who acquired the rights to the show – formerly known as the Southwestern Ontario Numismatics Show (SWON) – from long-time dealer Ted Bailey in 2017.
“My main goal was to preserve what Ted Bailey was doing with the show,” Stapleton told CCN last year, referencing the man who owned and organized SWON for more than two decades, during which time he hosted 42 events beginning in 1996.
Looking forward to this fall, the next Paris Coin Show will be held at the same venue on Aug. 9.
For more information, visit pariscoinshow.ca.