(Fallbrook, California) – The Professional Numismatists Guild will continue its year-long series of PNG Share the Knowledge educational seminars at major numismatic conventions in June and August. Programs will be conducted by PNG member-dealers at the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention, June 6; the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money® in Baltimore, August 1 and 2; and at the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Atlanta Expo, August 22, 2008.

A complimentary light lunch will be available for audience members at each seminar. The seminars are free and open to collectors and dealers as a way for some of the hobby’s top experts to share their knowledge.

PNG Immediate Past President Jeff Garrett of Lexington, Kentucky will present a program about “United States Gold Coins and The Smithsonian Collection” at Noon on Friday, June 6, in room 303 of the Baltimore Convention Center.

“While doing research for the book, Encyclopedia of United States Gold Coins, I had the opportunity to study one of the greatest collections of gold coins ever assembled. During my seminar I’ll discuss the history of the collection, the museum and many of the incredible highlights that make the National Numismatic Collection one of the finest in the world,” said Garrett.

Two PNG seminars will be presented at the ANA convention starting with Donald Kagin, Ph.D. of Tiburon, California who will discuss “Pioneer Gold Pattern Coinage” at 11 a.m. Friday, August 1, in room 319 of the Baltimore Convention Center.

“It’s the story of our nation’s first entrepreneurs who created and made impressions from coinage dies primarily in contemplation of making coins from the gold in our country’s first three gold rushes. There were more than 30 different companies, but 11 of them never made gold coins,” Kagin said.

The second PNG seminar at the ANA’s annual summer convention will be presented by PNG President Gary Adkins of Edina, Minnesota, “Collectors Are From Venus, Dealers Are From Mars!,” at Noon, Saturday, August 2, also in room 319 of the Baltimore Convention Center.

Adkins will discuss expectations on both sides of the bourse table when attending a coin show, including preparation before the show; travel and security; show hours and management; dealer and collector etiquette; buying and selling; expectations of the transaction; and enjoying the experiences of a coin show. (more…)

By US Mint Director Ed Moy

Editors Note: Below are two speeches give by US Mint Director Ed Moy concerning the designs on US coinage and his desire to preside over a new period of design excellence at the mint.

On Sept. 19, 2007, Directory Moy gave the following presentation at the FIDEM “Art Of The Medal” conference held in Colorado Springs, Colorado and hosted by the ANA. Below are his comments from that speech.

Thank you, Ken, and good morning everyone. I am delighted to be here and want to begin by congratulating FIDEM, its President Carlos Baptista de Silva, and its Honorary President Lars Lagerquist on the 70th Anniversary of FIDEM and the 30th Anniversary of the FIDEM Art Medal World Congress.

I also want to say thank you to the ANA and its President Barry Stuppler for hosting this event and inviting me to participate. The United States Mint has enjoyed an excellent relationship with the American Numismatic Association for many years and is delighted to take part in the FIDEM Art Medal World Congress. This is my second visit to the ANA museum, and I am looking forward to attending the FIDEM show there and seeing your theme, Passages to Reconstruction, carried out in many beautiful medallic sculptures on display.

As the 38th Director of the United States Mint, I’d like to say “welcome” to all the artists from other nations around the world as well as to our American medallic artists, including Don Everhart and Jim Licaretz of the United States Mint. I also wanted to say a special hello to Don Scarinci, who serves on our Citizens Coin Advisory Commission. I have read Don’s treatise on arts medals and for those who will attend his seminar, you are in for a special treat.

I have been Director for more than a year now and am enjoying every aspect of it.

On a personal level, it has been wonderful to have my father stop complaining about my not going to medical school. Now he can brag to his friends that his son “finally has a job where he makes a lot of money.” And of course, my Chinese friends have renamed me from Moy Goon Fong to “Moy Ca-Ching.” My really hip friends have taken that a step further - “Moy Bling Bling.” (more…)

The American Numismatic Association will offer a variety of classes, workshops and seminars, catering to all ages and interests, before and during the Baltimore World’s Fair of Money®, July 30 to Aug. 3.

Educational programs begin with a variety of pre-convention seminars on July 28-29, and continue throughout the show.

Technical Series

The Technical Series courses teach hobbyists essential skills that will allow them to evaluate and authenticate coins with confidence. The following two-day courses will be presented from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 28-29:

• Forensic Numismatics: Detecting Counterfeit and Altered U.S. Coins
• Fundamentals of Grading U.S. Coins
Cost for Technical Series seminars is $345 for ANA members; there is a $50 life member discount and a $50 early registration discount (before July 1). Cost is $445 for all others.

Collector Series

Collector Series courses give hobbyists a well-rounded introduction to a specific area of the hobby.

• Advanced Morgan Dollar Study, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 28-29
• Numismatics of Colonial America, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 1
• Overview of Post-Civil War Tokens, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 1
“Advanced Morgan Dollar Study” costs $145 for ANA members. There is a $10 life member discount and a $20 early registration discount (before July 1). Cost for all others is $245.
“Numismatics of Colonial America” and “Overview of Post-Civil War Tokens” each cost $98 for ANA members; there is an additional $10 life member discount and a $10 early registration discount (before July 1). Cost for all others is $198. (more…)

The American Numismatic Association’s School of Numismatics will offer its Fundamentals of Grading United States Coins, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 8-9 during Coinfest in Stamford, Conn.

Students will learn and understand how U.S. coins should be graded according to the latest ANA and market standards during this highly enriched two-day seminar. Participants will gain confidence in evaluating surface marks, strike, luster and eye appeal through interactive discussions, group activities and individual study of hundreds of coins from the ANA grading set.

“A well-rounded education is the foundation of any successful collector,” said ANA Executive Director Larry Shepherd. “Courses like Fundamentals of Grading United States Coins can teach hobbyists skills and information that will save them thousands on the bourse floor.”

Summer Seminar instructor Lane J. Brunner, Ph.D., will teach the course. Tuition is $345 for ANA members and $445 for all others. Become an ANA member at www.money.org. To register for Fundamentals of Grading United States Coins, call 719-482-9857 or visit www.money.org and select “School of Numismatics” from the “Numismatic Events” drop- down menu.

Pattern coins and the precious metals markets are the topics of the next two, free Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) “Share the Knowledge” educational seminars. They will be conducted, respectively, by PNG member-dealers Andy Lustig and Richard Nachbar at the Central States Numismatic Society convention (CSNS) in April and at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo in May.

A complimentary light lunch will be available for audience members at both PNG seminars.

Lustig of Nyack, New York is a co-founder of The Society of U.S. Pattern Collectors. He will present “Collecting Pattern Coinage” starting at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 18, 2008 in room 42 of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Rd., Rosemont, Illinois, the site of the 69th Annual CSNS Convention.

“Patterns are some of the rarest coins struck by the United States Mint. The series has more than 2,000 different prototypes for American coinage including patterns, die trials and experimental pieces. This half hour seminar will provide an overview of the series, historical background, collecting strategies and a superb slide show of great rarities,” Lustig said.

The annual spring PNG Day will be held in conjunction with the CSNS show on Wednesday, April 16. Collectors may obtain free, printed PNG Day invitations from PNG member-dealers. An online membership directory is available at www.PNGdealers.com, or call PNG Executive Director Robert Brueggeman at (760) 728-1300. (more…)