Hugh Shull received the Professional Currency Dealers Association's 2007 literary award Nov. 10 at the PCDA's annual convention in St. Louis, Mo..
Shull was recognized for his Guide Book of Southern States Currency.
"I was really surprised and it was nice being recognized by my peers," Shull said. The 22nd annual National and World Paper Money Convention was held Nov. 8-10 at the St. Louis Airport Hilton.
According to Kevin Foley, bourse chairman of the event since its inception, 64 separate dealers from 21 states had booths and 412 collectors registered as public attendees.
The convention also featured a $4 million Lyn Knight paper money auction. "Our public participation was definitely up from last year and any number of the dealers told me they had really successful shows from a commercial standpoint," said Foley. "The paper money market was strong going in to the convention and remains strong now."
Educational programs at the convention featured a talk by Foley, "The Ten Best Ways to be a Failure as an Auction Consignor," as well as a tour of the recently opened Eric Newman Money Museum, sponsored by the Society of Paper Money Collectors.
Ron Horstman, general chairman of the NWPMC, said of the tour, "We had 18 members and guests visit Eric at his museum, an unusually strong participation for such an event. Those who didn't come really missed out on a wonderful learning experience. Eric Newman himself gave us a personal tour and everyone went away vowing to return to the museum on their own in the future."
Next year the 23rd Annual National and World Paper Money Convention will move to a new site roughly 10 miles away in the St. Louis area, the St. Charles Convention Center. Dates will be Oct. 16-18 and the show will be held in conjunction with a separate event in the center at the same time, the Silver Dollar and Rare Coin Expo.
Bourse information for the 2008 NWPMC is available from Foley at (414) 421-3484. Shull's book is a guide to the state-issued money of the South, from the pre-Civil War era through the war years and into the late 1800s. It combines dealer Shull's research and first-hand knowledge of the market with historical text by Wendell Wolka. Illustrations are mainly from the collection of Gene D. Mintz, and Q. David Bowers penned a foreword.
The PCDA literary award recognizes significant works on the subject of paper money or related topics. The association publicly acknowledges these works and their authors as part of its ongoing commitment to providing educational and informational tools to collectors and the public at large.
For more information about the PCDA, see Web site www.pcdaonline.com.
