Lethbridge collectables show an exchange of history

By Dale Woodard on September 29, 2021.

Herald photo by Dale Woodard - Ken Clarke shows a few vintage bills to John Braun at the Lethbridge Comic, Card and Collectable Show Saturday afternoon at Legion Hall.

For Ken Clarke, it’s a hobby that draws plenty of interest.
It also draws a healthy rate of exchange.
As the Lethbridge Comic, Card and Collectable Show took over Legion Hall Saturday, the coin and currency collector from Red Deer offered up not only bills from previous decades, but a history lesson as well.
“I love coming down and meeting people and talking to people about collecting coins and keeping the hobbies and the collectability of things alive,” said Clarke, who has been to all five Lethbridge Comic, Card and Collectable Shows since it began. “It’s too hard to make a living having a coin and bill store, but to keep the hobby and get kids to come out and see the history of what a coin was and what things were like back in the 1920s and 30s and the history of Queen Elizabeth and her dad being on a 1937 (bill) and trying to tie Canadian history into something that’s real tangible.”
Clarke said he’s been collecting coins ever since he was an eight-year-old going to downtown Edmonton to coin stores.
“So it has been a hobby that has been a lifetime.”
Among the currency on display was a 1935-dollar bill as well as another from 1937, featuring Queen Elizabeth II’s father, King George VI as well as the 1954 bill featuring Queen Elizabeth II.
Also on display were coins from Nova Scotia before they became a part of Confederation.
“So a lot of provinces like Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia created their own coins.”
Over the course of conversations with his customers, Clarke said he also learns a thing or two.
“It’s quite an exchange because they have some knowledge. I learned one of the 1911 bills that I sold (Saturday) had Lord Grey on it, one of our first governor generals in Canada. Again, it’s a history of Canada and a history of what we have for a country.
“When we got away from the nickel and we had to use brass because we needed the nickel for the war efforts, things like that. It’s still part of history and part of what we had to do as a country to contribute to the war effort.”
With Saturday’s Lethbridge Comic, Card and Collectable Show requiring proof of vaccination as part of the province’s Restrictions Exemption Program, organizer Ryan Ulrich said traffic as of early Saturday afternoon was a bit slower than it was last year.
Still, over 20 vendors showed up for the event’s fifth year, taking over both rooms at the Legion.
“Pretty much everything is for sale, comics, toys, hot wheels, coins and currency, crafts, just a little bit of everything,” said Ulrich, who had his own display of comics, coins, graphic novels, DVDs, and children’s books.
While COVID has played a role in the past two Lethbridge Comic, Card and Collectable Shows, Ulrich said there are plans to get bigger in coming years.
“We’re going to try and do the (Lethbridge Exhibition) grandstand, a little more room and keep everybody in the same room. We’ve actually had to turn some vendors away, but we had some last-minute cancellations with the restrictions. It was just such a weird year.”
No matter where the Lethbridge Comic, Card and Collectable Show is held, Clarke said he’ll be back.
“I come to this one because it’s a nice getaway. I don’t do these on a regular basis, but I enjoy coming to Lethbridge and the people. Ryan is a good friend of mine. This is my fifth year and I’ll be back next year.”

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