"We'll start with the small stuff -- $5,000 and $10,000 bills," quips Donn Pearlman, a former member of the board of governors for the American Numismatic Association, which sponsors the massive coin and currency show going on through Saturday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.

Those magnificent bills only whet the appetite for the $100,000 bills. Kevin Brown, marketing manager with the Department of theTreasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing, lifts a dozen of the bills worth $1.2 million from the glass case unlocked by Karen Smith, amarketing manager with the numismatic group.

"These were only used for the Federal Reserve Banks," Brown says of the 1934 bills, which sport the likeness of President Woodrow Wilson. The largest denomination ever printed, the $100,000 bills are worth a fraction of what lurks under the glass in the next locked display case.

"One billion dollars!" Brown says slowly, holding his right pinkie to his mouth in a dead-on impression of Dr. Evil from those "Austin Powers" movies, before gently cradling two $500,000,000 Treasury notes. In charge of the "Billion Dollar Showcase," Brown still lightens the mood. Collecting coins and currency should be fun, he says.

"I have the best collection in the world. Whatever we've printed, I have," says Brown, who is surrounded by gobs of money at his office but generally can't bring his work home with him. "I collect the stories people have. They get people asking who's on money and why."

One of the most popular items is a 1913 Liberty Head nickel worth an estimated $2.5 million, says Pearlman, who retired from his 25-year career as a newsman with WBBM-AM radio and Channel 2 TV. Milwaukee resident J.V. McDermott used to carry that nickel around in his pocket, whipping it out to win bar bets when he'd produce the documentation about its worth, Pearlman says. After McDermott's death in 1966, the coin was purchased at an auction for $46,000 and donated to the American Numismatic Association Money Museum in Colorado.

The nickel shares a display with a legendary "King of U.S. Coins" 1804 silver dollar, which actually was struck in the 1850s as part of diplomatic trade mission gifts to the king of Siam and other Asian leaders. Only six are thought to exist today, and this one is insured for $4 million.

Even if a thief could swipe a $100,000 bill, he wouldn't be able to use it at Wal-Mart. Still, Brown says, the World's Fair of Money has armed guards, cameras and extensive security. He is coy when it comes to details about how he got his billion-dollar display to Rosemont.

"Securely," Brown says. "Very securely."

To read the complete article, see:
Constable: $1 billion is yours -- but only to see -- at show in Rosemont (www.dailyherald.com/article/20150812/news/150819725/)