Iowa woman seeks world record certificate for souvenir spoon collection

April 27 (UPI) -- An Iowa woman's collection of souvenir spoons is being publicly counted in an attempt to earn a Guinness World Record.

Cammie Pohl estimates she had at least 8,500 souvenir spoons commemorating famous people, places and events, and the number is being determined Thursday at a public counting event at Bally's Quad Cities Casino & Hotel.

Pohl said the total determined by the official count will not represent her entire collection, as many of her spoons remain unsorted in various boxes and bags.

The Davenport resident's collection began with a set of 1904 St. Louis World's Fair spoons gifted to her by her great-grandmother when Pohl was preparing to leave to join the Army.

"She handed me three boxes and instructed me to not open them until either I got married or bought my first home and I said, 'Oh, great-grandmother, you're going to be there,'" Pohl told WQAD-TV. "She passed away in January of 1989 and we bought our first house in June of '89. I opened up those boxes and I was thrilled she gave me those souvenir spoons and ever since that day, everywhere we traveled, we will always get a spoon."

Pohl said she is hoping Thursday's counting event will lead to a Guinness World Record. The record-keeping organization does not currently list an entry for largest collection of souvenir spoons.

"I hope that the Guinness Book of World Records will spark other people to start a collection of something that will remind them of their grandparents or great-grandparents and where they came from," she said.

Pohl said her ultimate goal is to start a souvenir spoon museum to share her collection with the world.