Paul Hollis has gotten accustomed to traveling with security guards flanking his sides.

No, he is not a movie star or significant political figure or the ruler of a nation… he’s in the coin business, and he’s your neighbor.

Rare coins may not be his name but collecting them certainly is the Mandeville resident’s game.

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It all began at the ripe old age of 6 when Hollis’ grandmother presented him with his first coin. It was all it took for him to fall in love with coin collecting.

Allowance and even money earned from cutting neighbor’s yards was spent in the local coin shop.

“I used to shame them into paying me. I’d cut their grass without them knowing then ask them to pay me,” Hollis said, adding most of the time it worked.

He pursued his passion, and after graduating from LSU with a degree in political science, Hollis traveled overseas to Russia where he continued post-graduate studies at Moscow State University.

Upon returning to the U.S., Hollis acquired a job at Blanchard and Company in New Orleans, one of the nation’s leading rare coin firms.

“When I was hired I told my boss, ‘I know more about coins than anybody in this office,’” which was made evident when they promoted Hollis to chief of numismatic education after only a few years on the job.

During his stint in New Orleans, the Metairie native traveled the nation and the world in search of rare coins. He also played a role in trading some of the most precious coins, including the 1913 Liberty nickel (only five were ever created), the 1804 dollar (more than a dozen known to exist), and the 1907 Ultra High Relief Saint Gaudens coin where only about two dozen are known to exist. Each coin traded for over a million dollars.

Today, Hollis runs his own company, Paul Hollis Rare Coins, with numerous high-dollar clients that include celebrities.

He’s also one of the leading authorities on 2,000-year-old coins that circulated during the time of Jesus Christ. With the large network of suppliers and contacts that are continuing to unearth the ancient coins in Jerusalem, Hollis is able to sell the currency at reasonable prices.

You can also find Hollis on ShopNBC’s “Coin Shoppe” each week selling the ancient coins. The coin connoisseur’s most recent venture has brought Louisiana’s, if not the nation’s, rarest coin back to its birthplace in New Orleans.

In 1844 the New Orleans mint struck a single ten-dollar gold coin proof known today as the 1844-O proof. Believed to be a gift for the incoming southern president, the coin went to auction in 1911 and sold for $50. Eighty years later it resurfaced and was finally traded to its current owner in 2006 for $1.5 million.

On loan from his client, Hollis is exhibiting the proof, insured for $2.5 million, at the historic New Orleans Mint till Jan. 18.

It’s a passion for Hollis knowing some of the 1,000 or so rare coins in his personal collection could have been used by the nation’s founding fathers.

Although he was reluctant to disclose his priciest coin, he showed little hesitation to produce his most valuable coin…a 1922 peace dollar worn by his grandmother.

For more information about Hollis or how to purchase his coins, visit www.paulhollis.com.