Whether you're a collector, a dealer, an eminent numismatist, or all three, at some point along the way the excitement and passion you get from collecting has spilled over into some other creative realm in your life.

For painter Kimberly Godinho, an interest in coin collecting has led her in new directions with her art.

"When my father passed away, he left to me a collection of early American coins that he had apparently been working on since he was a boy. I was enamored and in awe of the intrinsic beauty of these coins. I decided I would try to fill in the gaps so my son could have his grandfather's collection as it might have been."

Ms. Godinho, a 1999 graduate of the Ringling School of Design and Art, will exhibit her original work, offer prints and accept commissions at the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Philadelphia Expo--September 24-26 in the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Although Ms. Godinho has had dozens of exhibitions and commissions, when you talk with her you can hear the coin collector as much as the artist.

"As far as the collection, I'm working on Morgan's (mostly), Peace, Roosevelt dimes, Buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes, Lincoln's, Indian head cents, Standing liberties and Walking liberties.  I've finished the state quarter collection my father started and the Kennedy. In the very beginning, I actually started this series (without the intent to make a series) because I realized what it would take to obtain an 1893 S Morgan to fill the spot in my book, so I decided to paint one instead."

No less an authority than Q. David Bowers was struck by Ms. Godinho's enthusiasm for her subject.

"Kimberly Godinho’s numismatic art is dynamic and compelling. I can readily see that a painting or print will command immediate attention and interest."

In 25 years as an artist, Ms. Godinho has worked with an array of subject matters and mediums, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, pen and ink, printmaking, plaster, pastels and clay--even wood and stone sculpture. Yet she insists that painting American coins is the most inspirational and challenging subject matter she has ever come across.

Ms. Godinho's work has been purchased and shown throughout the United States, but if you want to see her stunning artistic and numismatic gems, you'll need to join in the fun at the Philadelphia Expo. To preview her work, visit her Web site at www.coinpaintings.us.

Click here for FREE online registration to the Expo.

Above: Kimberly Godinho's 1893 Morgan painting