Jim Fitzgerald (1937-2025): Currency Legend Remembered

The numismatic world lost a legend yesterday. James “Jim” Fitzgerald, founder of Currency Collectors of America, passed away at 87.

Fitzgerald started collecting during the Depression, scrounging coins from his father’s grocery store cash register. By the 1960s, he’d built one of the premier collections of Confederate currency on the East Coast.

A Dealer’s Dealer

Old-timers remember Fitzgerald’s booth at coin shows stretching back to 1958. He never used price tags. Everything was negotiable, usually over terrible coffee from his thermos.

“Jim could look at a note and tell you its story,” recalled long-time friend and dealer Marcus Webb. “Not just the grade. The history. Who printed it, why, what happened to the thousands of others.”

His Legacy

Fitzgerald wrote three books on Southern currency, all still considered essential references. His 1978 guide to Confederate Treasury notes remains in print.

He donated his personal collection to the Smithsonian in 2019, valued at over $2 million.

The Currency Collectors of America will host a memorial at next month’s Baltimore show. Details forthcoming.