Collector values a world of money

Jesus Lopez has amassed currency from 180 countries. He promotes its beauty and its ability to teach people about the world.

By MELANIE AVE

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 27, 2000

[Times photo: Dirk Shadd] Jesus Lopez has collected more than 2,000 bills, the oldest dating back to June 17, 1776.

PINELLAS PARK -- For Jesus Lopez, money is the root of much good.

The Pinellas Park resident has spent the past 50 years collecting paper currency from around the world. It started with his fascination over a penny when he was growing up as the son of a Mexican farmer. In the years since, Lopez has amassed more than 2,000 bills from 180 countries.

Currency has taught Lopez, a self-educated machine operator and father of five, about other cultures, governments and economies. Now, he wants to share his knowledge -- and his cash collection -- with others.

But for all of those who believe money makes the world go 'round, it seems few are interested in seeing his colorful and wide-ranging exhibition of dollars, yen, marks, rubles and lira.

Even when he took his collection of bills to the airwaves -- appearing on a multinational, Spanish-language television program in 1993 -- there was little reaction to Lopez's display.

"I am surprised," the 59-year-old said recently, remembering one of his first public showings. "I am disappointed that nobody seems to care.

"I went to museums. No. Not interested. It's a shame. If this collection was shown by (Microsoft's) Bill Gates, everyone would come."

On Feb. 13, Lopez's place of worship, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, exhibited the collection in its parish center. About 1,800 bills, including a Colonial shilling dating from 1776 and a plastic Australian bill, hung behind plexiglass cases made by Lopez.

"I thought the parishioners might enjoy it," said the Rev. James Merkel, who called the display amazing. "I think they did. I sure did."

Lopez led a group of four men and women around the cases, pointing out some of the more fascinating bills with detailed drawings of world leaders, animals and trees. Above each currency was a label showing its home nation, with a number keying its location to large maps hanging around the room.

He aimed a wooden pointer at a Hungarian bill. It is his favorite, he explained, because of a dove on the front holding an olive leaf, signifying peace. It was drawn at the end of World War II.

"You must have had some help," one woman said to Lopez, admiring the hundreds of rainbow-colored rectangles that drive world economies and determine wealth.

"No. I did this myself since I was 7 years old," Lopez said.

He has shown his display at a zoo, school and even a nursing home, where he saw some people cry as they remembered spending some of the bills in their youth.

Now, he wants to use his money to make money and teach people along the way. Already, he has been forced to spend some of the U.S. currency on his children's education at the University of South Florida and parochial school. A $100 bill in his display has been replaced with $1.

Lopez, who moved from Mexico in 1969, doesn't know the value of his collection. Much of the money is worth nothing because it no longer is considered legal tender because of devaluation or the fall of foreign governments. But others, like a $10 U.S. bill from 1901 with a buffalo on the front, are worth more than a thousand dollars each, according to a book on currency values.

It is the money's ability to teach people about the world and the beauty of the intricate artwork, rather than its monetary value, that drives Lopez and his passion for the collection he gathered "piece by piece" from flea markets, airports and family.

Despite its beauty and educational value, paper money isn't as hot on the collector market as coins.

Glenn Shavers, a local money collector and dealer, said more people collect coins because of the different ways money is dated. Coins are stamped with the year they are made. But paper money is printed with a series number, meaning a dollar bill may be dated 1989 but actually is printed years later.

People can collect money as a hobby or as an investment, he said.

"Paper money isn't easy to come by," said Shavers, owner of Glenn's Rare Coins in the Tri-City Plaza. "It takes a little knowing and searching, too."

Kevin Foley, a currency dealer from New York City, said the number of people collecting bills seems to be growing. Fifteen years ago, he said there was only one annual convention of paper money collectors. Today, there are at least five, he said.

Some people collect only rare and hard-to-find bills as a way to make money, while others appreciate money for its history or its beauty.

"It's one of those specialty areas of life you can sometimes be surprised to find out it exists," said Foley, chairman of the Chicago Paper Money Exposition, held recently in Illinois. "Then you find out the depth of it."

Lopez is attracting some attention from friends such as Jim Hassett, a deacon at Light of Christ Catholic Church in Clearwater. He's hoping to talk the church into displaying the money, which Lopez "sold me on before I ever saw it," Hassett said.

"It's good for kids to find out about money," Hassett said. "You get a kid who's 10 years old and doesn't know that all money isn't green and white."

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