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MONEY TALKS ...

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

Jesus Lopez Bravo says no one wants to hear about his collection of 4,000 bills from 180 countries anymore. The “Money Man” may cash out.

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By STEVE KORNACKI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 10, 2008

CLEARWATER - Jesus Lopez Bravo found a special penny when he was 7, a tiny thing of beauty that seemed minted just for him.

"It said 1941 on it, the year I was born," he says. "I found it in a store, and I took it home to show my family. I started collecting right then."

But paper money, not coins, would become his obsession. The 66-year-old retired machine operator now has more than 4,000 bills from 180 countries. He is the Money Man. Or, back home in Mexico, Hombre de Dinero.

While displaying his money at Leto High in Tampa last year, Bravo pointed out his favorites. His oldest are a 1-shilling bill printed in Connecticut in June 1776 and a $2 bill from New York in August 1776. The dates reflect the change from British to American currency following the Colonies' Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

The largest currency is a 500 billion dinar note from Yugoslavia - about $30 in U.S. cash.

The smallest currency he has is the Japanese 1 centavo, and the physically smallest are the Mexican 2-cent and 5-cent bills. "They are 2 centimeters by 5 centimeters, and still people tear them in half to give change with them," he says.

He has a 1923 U.S. $1 bill that memorializes the parting of a father and son. The son wrote on the front, "Good-bye, Dad. God bless you," and dated it 6-24-27. On the back he added: "Pray for me. I'll be gone."

"Maybe he was going into the Army and said goodbye to his father at the port," Bravo says. "His love was there."

He points to a Polish 100 zloty bill featuring a sprawling tree drawn in great detail.

"That is the most beautiful one," he says. "And I love the African money. It is the most colorful, with the elephants and flowers.

"The money is an expression of art as well as an expression of a country's heroes, industry and natural resources."

Bravo's "Numismatic Cultural Exhibition" became popular at Tampa Bay area middle schools, high schools and church festivals. The Pinellas Park resident showed it at the University of South Florida and St. Petersburg College, and in 1993, it earned him a spot on the popular Hispanic variety show "Sabado Gigante," which airs at 8 p.m. Saturdays on WVEA-TV in Tampa.

But over the past eight years, interest has steadily waned. Last year, he had only two opportunities to display.

"I used the money of the world to teach students about geography, history, economy and art. I have been to every high school in the area, but principals and teachers are no longer interested, even though the students still enjoy it," he says.

"All I hear back is, 'We have no time, no room.' Or they say, 'We will call you back.'"

Maintaining and storing his 24 large display cases is difficult and hardly worth the effort with so few opportunities to exhibit. Bravo hopes a museum will show the bills or a collector will buy them. If neither happens, he'll get rid of the cases and stow the bills in a safe-deposit box for his wife, Evelia, and their five children.

"Maybe Bill Gates would buy it, huh?" he says. "He likes education. If he owned this, people would line up to see it."

People interested in exhibiting Bravo's collection - or buying it - can contact him at (727) 403-2128. Reporter Steve Kornacki can be reached at (813) 731-8170 or skornacki@tampatrib.com.

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