One of the wonderful aspects of coin and bank note collecting is the opportunity to make friends and conduct business, literally, around the world. Over the decades, Ronald J. Gillio has frequently visited Asia, and is a familiar, friendly "regular" at major numismatic shows in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and elsewhere. Gillio is Numismatic Acquisition Coordinator and World Coin and Currency Specialist for Bowers and Merena Auctions.
This past August, he was in Manila and Hong Kong to attend two important shows on behalf of Bowers and Merena. To the delight of collectors and dealers there, he offered previews of selections from the extraordinary Chinese bank notes collection of renowned researcher and international banker Eduard Kann who passed away in 1962, and previews of the East Bay Collection of International Bank Notes. The unprecedented East Bay Collection is a spectacular compilation of more than 30,000 notes from over 150 countries that now are being offered in a series of public auctions by Bowers and Merena.
"There was big interest in Kann’s paper money collection. He lived and worked in several Asian cities during his career," said Gillio whose overseas visit is credited with attracting more bidders from Hong Kong during the Kann sale and the first East Bay auction. The sale, October 27 – 28, 2008 in New York City, resulted in winnings bids totaling more than $1.1 million for 2,100 notes. The next installment of East Bay Collection notes will be offered by Bowers and Merena in the official auction of the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention, March 24 – 28, 2009.
During his 15-day overseas trip, Gillio also talked with collectors and dealers about the expanding world coin services offered by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and the Long Beach and Santa Clara, California Expos. PCGS and Expos Unlimited are divisions of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT).
At the Bank Note Society of the Philippines (BNSP) show held at the Quezon City Sports Club in Manila, he met with Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte, Jr.; BNSP President Wilson Que; BNSP Past President Albino M. Quiban, Jr. (a frequent visitor to the Long Beach Expo); and dealers Stephen Fenton of England and Augusto Dragoni of Italy, both frequent Long Beach visitors.
"It was an interesting and impressive show; small in size by U.S. standards, but very, very busy with hundreds of families coming to the show to buy and sell many kinds of collectibles. It was kind of like the ‘old days’ of neighborhood coins shops. Everyone was very friendly, and you can see that collectors in The Philippines enjoy coins of other countries as well as their own," said Gillio.
At the Hong Kong International Coin Show at the Golden Mile Holiday Inn, Gillio had a table to distribute information about Bowers and Merena as well as PCGS brochures and souvenirs, and copies of Long Beach Expo Program Books. Another prominent professional numismatist working hard at the busy table was Ian Hui of John Bull Auctions in Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Escala Group, the parent company of Bowers and Merena.
"This was a large, crowded show and there were a lot of transactions conducted with the public. I’ve been attending Hong Kong shows for more than 30 years, and the activity at this one was certainly in keeping with the tradition of these important, busy shows," said Gillio.
