The bi-annual Paris Coin and Collectibles Show will once again return to the Paris Fairgrounds on Sunday, August 10, 2025.
The summer event is set to run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. inside the exhibition centre building and cost of admission is five dollars but free for kids 16 and under.
“We’re going to have 50 dealers from all over southern Ontario and they’ll have things like coins, bank notes, stuff made of gold and silver, and some of them will have things like sports memorabilia or military coins as well,” said Jared Stapleton, Paris Coin Show organizer. “We also have an auction firm coming in from New Brunswick that can take valuable items and put them through auction too. It’s just a great place to walk around and talk, or buy and sell with the dealers; it’s not just for collectors, but for anybody who is interested in learning more about the numismatics hobby.”
The Paris Coin Show, formerly known as the Southwestern Ontario Numismatics (SWON) show, is a one-day event that has been running since 1996 and is always held on the first weekend of February, and again on the second weekend of August.
Stapleton, who owns Metro Coin and Banknote in Toronto, and also runs the Toronto Coin Expo, acquired the rights to the SWON show from Paris resident Ted Bailey back in 2017, and has since kept the tradition alive.
“Ted was running the show for years and it just got to the point where he could no longer do it. I was already running the Toronto Coin Expo, so I thought the show would be a good fit for me and I didn’t want to see it end,” said Stapleton. “It’s interesting because even now, people ask ‘why keep it in Paris?’ but really, it’s basically an hour drive to Paris from wherever you are in southern Ontario and it’s just a nice, central location for people to get to.”
Stapleton added that there are plenty of reasons why people are drawn to numismatics as a hobby, and that each person has their own special interest within it.
“No matter what your thing is, collecting is very personal and everyone has different interests. For example, I collect bank notes myself, but I have a friend that collects pennies and a certain type of ancient coin, and that’s all he collects. Another friend of ours only collects Canadian nickels and so you can really have fun with it,” he said. “It’s interesting too because there’s usually a reason behind what you collect. For me, I love the art on bank notes, so that’s what attracts me to it. And the fascination with a show like this is that it brings the numismatic community together, but also I think the fun and the thrill of collecting is getting to find some rare or unique that will match your collection. For some people, it’s really about the thrill of the treasure hunt.”
Stapleton said that overall, he’s looking forward to another great event.
“I’m always excited to have the show in Paris,” he said. “We have great vendors that come in, we get to meet clients and collectors who have reached out to us and they get to say hi in person. It’s just a real gathering of friends.”
Stapleton encouraged those who are interested, serious collectors or not, to stop by and check it out on the day.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
