A Visit to the MIF International Money Fair

MIF, On an Upward Path

For dedicated collectors, it wasn’t just the name of Valkenburg, but also the name of the former venue (“Polfermolen-Halle”) which had a quaint provincial and memorable sound. This was just some of the reasons why the “Paper Money Show” in the Netherlands has developed over the past decades from just an insiders tip to a globally relevant must-attend show for dealers and serious collectors alike. With a recent move to the modern “Maastricht Expositie en congres centrum” and a re-branding to “MIF International Money Fair”, organizer Dimitri Waltmans has made his aim clear. He has confidently made it clear the MIF is now without a doubt in the same league as the “World Money Fair” in Berlin or the “World’s Fair of Money” in the USA.

The inviting atmosphere of the exhibition hall created a pleasant and comfortable venue for collectors. Photo: Sebastian Wieschowski.

Fans From All Over the World

From all accounts, Waltmans seems to have succeeded in his quest. At the most recent MIF which takes place twice a year, over 220 dealers arrived in Maastricht to participate in the autumn show from the 23rd – 24th September. Many of them taking advantage of the “Pre Show” entrance ticket the days before and for alot of those dealers, the show was spread over a duration of six days. “Collectors in attendance used to be very local, now the audience is very international,” says Waltmans looking back on the development of the show. Whether in the exhibition hall, in the parking lot in front of the venue or during the evening spent in the old town – it became very clear in Maastricht that the exchange of banknotes was the main attraction and activity for people from all over the world during that week. This year, an impressive 64 nationalities were represented, including dealers far afield as Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand and with one exhibitor from New Caledonia. He is now the record-holder in terms of distance travelled to the MIF.

Banknotes on offer were widely varied. Shown here are Graded specimens and banknote bundles which were particularly popular. Photo: Sebastian Wieschowski.

What Every Banknote Collector’s Heart Desires

At this year’s MIF autumn show, just about everything was on display that any banknote collector’s heart could desire. Magnificent banknotes from the West African colonies, perfectly displayed in sealed graded holders of leading US certification services and appropriately priced in five-figures upward. Also on display were originally packaged banknote bundles in brick form (appropriately referred to as “Bricks”) and French assignats from the years before the revolution (which were available from a reasonable 7.50 euros) From the very expensive to the ever-present junk boxes full of coins and banknotes from around the world (some of these items were sold on the last day of the fair by the kilo). There was also the widely popular zero-euro souvenir bank notes. A visit to the trade fair was certainly an entertaining experience for beginner to dedicated collectors alike. Speaking of beginners, for many years, trade fair organizer Dimitri Waltmans has had an open invitation for school classes from the surrounding area to visit. This makes perfect sense because the beautifully designed notes with magnificent colours and unique security & special effects would certainly be of interest to younger generations. Banknotes also cover an array of many topics such as animals, the environment or the latest technology which many youngsters are always interested in.