Jan 27, 2013 | ANA, news, personal
Montgomery County, Maryland—Newly installed Montgomery County Coin Club (MCCC) President Scott Barman announced that he would be running for a seat on the American Numismatic Association (ANA) Board of Governors.
“I would like to bring new ideas to the ANA that will increase its membership beyond the steady 25,000-28,000 of the last decade,” Scott said in his announcement. “Not only does the ANA need to embrace the future, but find ways of keeping young numismatists engaged after they reach 18 years old instead of waiting for them to find their way back after 40.”
Like many young numismatists, Scott’s collecting pursuits waned when he entered college. Although he carried his old blue folders and albums through adulthood, there was never time to engage in the hobby while growing a career and family. Like many, that changed in his 40s after becoming a widower.
Scott believes that if the technology was as available as it is today, he could have integrated collecting into his young adult activities into his life and continued with his collecting interests.
“Technology has changed a lot since I wrote my first program on punch cards,” Scott noted. “We use technology for everything from our work to talking with our neighbors. Schools teach classes online. Seminars are held online. Virtual organizations meet online. The ANA should embrace technology to keep those between 18 and 40 engaged.”
In keeping up with the technology industry, Scott knows that social media and computer-based learning are part of the fabric of life for those under 40. There is a lot that can be done with modest investments to keep young numismatists engaged as they advance to adulthood and help others interested to engage.
“A number of reports said that more than 3 million people were collecting State Quarters since the program started in 1999,” Scott said. “Why hasn’t that interest translated into more ANA members?”
Aside from making the services and resources of the ANA more available to its members, Scott is worried that the Association does not feel more accessible to the average collector. While the support from the commercial community is important, the ANA would benefit by engaging more collectors.
Building a service platform that the ANA can deliver its content to a wider audience will go a long way to engage current and new collectors. This will help make the ANA a leader in educating the public and possibly a model for similar organizations to emulate.
Another area that has to be addressed is the stability of the ANA Headquarters. For the second time, a dismissed executive director has chosen to pursue a claim against the ANA in court. This gives the appearance of a dysfunctional situation in Colorado Springs. Scott believes that the professionals working for the ANA are competent and qualified, but the Board of Governors must look into what it will take to create an atmosphere to support them and prevent the problems of the past.
“With support for the professionals in Colorado Springs and expanding the use of technology to engage more collectors, the future of the ANA will be very bright,” Scott added.
When Scott returned to collecting in 2002, he joined the Montgomery County Coin Club. Finding a club with an active membership, Scott embraced the challenge to become more active and looked to make an immediate impact. Shortly after joining, Scott became Webmaster of the MCCC website (montgomerycoinclub.org) and began to contribute to meetings with presentations. Eventually, Scott was elected to the MCCC Board of Directors before being first elected club president in 2008.
Scott served two terms as MCCC president including 2009, the club’s 50th anniversary. Club rules prohibited seeking a third consecutive term, so he became a board member and then vice president. Scott was elected president for 2013 and will continue to serve the club as its president and Webmaster.
After becoming hooked on numismatics again, Scott joined the ANA in 2003 and read everything he could find about his collecting interests. This has lead to Scott joining the American Israel Numismatic Association while collecting Israel currency and exploring his Jewish heritage, and the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association to learn more about Canadian coinage since his second wife’s family is from Canada.
Following his time as a club representative to the Maryland State Numismatic Association (MSNA), Scott became a member and the organization’s webmaster (mdstatenumisassn.org), board member, then was elected vice president for 2012. MSNA Vice President Scott Barman is serving his second term in 2013.
In 2005, Scott started the Coin Collectors Blog (coinsblog.ws) that he continues to write today. The Coin Collectors Blog is where Scott has spoken directly to other collectors writing about news, history, instructions, opinions, and whatever else has come to mind. This has lead to articles that have appeared in on-line and printed numismatic publications.
For the last year, Scott has worked with the ad-hoc ANA Technology Committee providing assistance to the ANA Board of Governors to repair and grow the ANA’s technology platforms. His work will continue with this committee and support it being made a permanent advisory committee to the ANA Board of Governors.
Recently, Scott has been working with the Gold & Silver Political Action Committee as political coordinator keeping the membership informed of the numismatic and precious metal news in his locale, Washington, DC.
When not involved in numismatics, Scott is an information security and systems architecture analyst for a not-for-profit corporation that works with the Federal Government. His job is to help the government build systems to serve the public and protect personal information. Scott holds a Bachelor of Science with a major in Computer Science from the University of Georgia and a Master of Information Systems Management with a concentration in information security and public policy management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Scott is currently finishing a book about collecting titled Enjoying Numismatics, A Conversation in Collecting. This will be published as an electronic book to reach the same audience he wants to interest in becoming ANA members.
Scott’s next project is tentatively titled The Policy and Politics of Money Manufacturing in the United States. The plan is to use his interest in public policy and numismatics and study what is behind the minting and printing of money in the United States. It will also help answer the perpetual question, “Why did the Mint do that?”
Scott’s collecting passion includes the coins of the 20th Century, numismatics representing his hometown of New York City and Inwood, Long Island; Maryland Colonial Currency; and Israel banknotes. He is also a fan of Philatelic Numismatic Covers also called coin covers with interesting themes.
Scott is passionate about collecting and the organizations that support the collector and dealer communities. He would like to use his unique background to bring a new perspective to the Board of Governors and to ensure the ANA’s future.
For more information, please contact Scott Barman at scott@vote4scott.info.
To read more about my platform, visit my campaign website at vote4scott.info.
Dec 20, 2012 | ANA, commentary, legal, news
We knew it was coming. The American Numismatic Association issued a press release saying that they are being sued by former Executive Director Larry Shepherd.
“There is no merit to any of the allegations contained in the lawsuit, and it will be vigorously defended,” read the press release. “he ANA will make no further comment with regard to this pending litigation.”
This saga started on August 23, 2011 when the ANA announced that Shepherd was placed on administrative leave. After a month of speculation on why the ANA took this action, it was announced on September 28, 2011 that the ANA had “ended its employment arrangement with Larry Shepherd, as executive director, effective as of September 20, 2011. the vote of the Board to sever that relationship was unanimous.”
Obviously, Shepherd did not take it well and issued a statement about his firing when the ANA responded but should not have. All has been quiet until a the Shepherd filed suit for wrongful termination.
This will make two dismissed executive directors who have sued the ANA. Even if the ANA wins their argument, the ANA loses because of the costs to defend itself. Just as the ANA was getting its financial footing back together, here is a potentially large, unexpected expense that has to be dealt with.
If the “third time’s a charm,” then the ANA has done well by hiring Jeff Shevlin. After meeting Jeff, I believe he really has the best interest of the ANA at heart and will do a great job.
Oct 29, 2012 | ANA, shows, web
The American Numismatic Association announced that the 2014 National Money Show will be held in Atlanta and the 2015 show will be in Portland, Oregon.
Aside from moving the spring show back to March, the Atlanta show will be held February 27 to March 1, 2014 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in northwest Atlanta. For 2015, the show will run March 5-7 at the Oregon Convention Center.
For those interested in the 2013 National Money Show, it will be held May 9-11 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. This will be a little more than three months after the Super Bowl is played at the Superdome and slightly less than two months after Mardi Gras. N’awlins is a heckova party town and I am looking forward to making another visit to the Crescent City!
In other ANA news…
The board approved a $5.8 million operating budget that includes a surplus of $6,650 based on revenue projections. I hope that the projections are sound since that leaves a one-tenth of one percent margin of error. This year’s budget will allow the ANA to have greater presence at regional shows, increase the number of field trips offered to the Money Museum from area schools, and expand course offerings at Summer Seminar.
Improvements continue to money.org including the introduction of The Exchange, a blog to exchange comments and ideas amongst ANA members. If you are interested in posting, see the information at the top of the page for more information.
Work continues to improve the website and extend its capabilities is ongoing.
Aug 22, 2012 | ANA, technology, web
NOTE: This is a personal statement as the author of this blog. I do not speak for the ANA or any person and entity mentioned below. The ANA’s official statement can be read here, on their website
During the last few days, users of online numismatic forums have been reporting that their credit card information was stolen have conjectured that the recent technical issues that have caused problems with the American Numismatic Association website was to blame. Although the ANA website has had technical issue, there is no evidence that credit card or other personal information was compromised during this time.
Earlier this year, the ANA Board of Governors decided that it was time to consider upgrading their technology infrastructure to support growth of the organization and to support the new generation of members comfortable with being online. Working with the Governor Greg Lyon, a committee of ANA members with technical backgrounds was formed to advise the Board of Governors as to how to proceed. As a longtime critic of the ANA’s use of technology, I was asked to join the committee.
The committee consists of dedicated ANA members with a varied background in the technology industry. The committee is led by James Reinders of Intel with the Web Services Subcommittee chaired by Bill Hyder and I chair the Infrastructure Subcommittee—taking over from Jeff Shevlin who resigned to become the ANA’s Executive Director. For those who do not know, I have been working in the computing industry for over 30 years with over 20 years in information security, the last 15 years with the federal government.
The Technical Committee is answerable to the Board of Governors and required to provide periodic reports to the Board. A report was made during a Board session in Philadelphia that described the committee’s past, present, and future activities. One of those activities was advising the current ANA staff working on the issues that was experienced with the current website.
In working to resolve the issues, the Technical Committee found the ANA staff to be professional, competent, and capable. They were able to fix the problems and get the website back working to its full functionality overcoming some very interesting challenges. The issues the ANA staff faced was caused by issues with the technology and not with a security incident—there was no security incident.
It is unfortunate that attendees to the World’s Fair of Money had their credit card information stolen. I had this happen many years ago with a telephone credit card and had to deal with a bill full of overseas calls worth thousands of dollars. Even with the advances in fraud detection, I know that it is not only difficult to deal with and I know it feels like a virtual punch in the gut. However, the cause of their problem was NOT the ANA website.
Aug 14, 2012 | ANA, commentary, shows
After many years of fighting a few health issues, I attended my first World’s Fair of Money since the 2008 show in Baltimore. It was worth the time I had taken off from work to drive to Philadelphia to attend this show, especially since it was close enough to drive.
Philadelphia may not be as easy for some to attend like it was for many of us on the east coast. While there were companies and dealers from west of the Mississippi in attendance, those walking the bourse were markedly east coast oriented. There seemed to be a nice crowd drawn from the Philadelphia area and the region extended as far north as New York City and the Washington, DC area.
I know that the numismatic world extends beyond the megalopolis known as the Northeast Corridor, but dealers have mentioned that this is a good area for the numismatic business. More than one have said that with the World’s Fair of Money being in Chicago the next five years, it is good that the Whitman Baltimore Expo will continue to draw the northeast.
As I was talking with dealers, it was common for them to complement Whitman on putting on the Baltimore show and not being happy with the ANA for the upcoming (CORRECTED) 5 three year run in Chicago. Few have issues with Chicago, but nearly every dealer says that not having a rotating show may make it difficult to reach new customers.
One thing that was striking on Saturday was the number of parents walking the bourse floor with children. Some children were trying to get their Numismatic Passport stamped while others were exploring the world of money to earn their merit badge or even have something new to talk about. There were even parents who attended with small children who were less interested than their parents.
I say “parents” because there were mothers and fathers in almost equal numbers. At several tables, I was able to talk with kids and parents showing them some of the finer points of the meaning behind the money. Imagine lighting up the parents of a pair of Scouts explaining the anti-counterfeiting mechanisms of some of the foreign currency they were looking at.
Being able to sit with someone who can explain more of what they are looking at is an experience that cannot be duplicated in this age of online shopping. There is also an aspect of connecting with the numismatic community that is important for collectors to experience the coin show, especially a show like the World’s Fair of Money.
But next summer and the four succeeding summers, the World’s Fair of Money will not tour the United States meeting collectors everywhere but will be centered in one area. While the Rosemont area is not amongst the most exciting, it is near several suburbs that could draw people. But what about new people? What about new people who could be new collectors or find long time collectors and bring them back into the hobby?
I suggest that the ANA Board of Governors remedy this situation by ending the Chicago run after next summer. I do not think it serves the ANA, the members, or the collecting community to continue with this misguided policy.
Aug 13, 2012 | ANA, shows
Saturday in Philadelphia was a short day. After spending the morning trying get my act together, I went to the show. The table I was working was empty but the literature was left anyway. I sat for an hour before walking the bourse floor again.
After strolling around I came across a currency dealer who was not the friendliest person in the world, but I was able to buy a 3-note sheet of Antarctica $1 commemorative notes with consecutive serial numbers starting with “001.” These are for my wife who likes the weather colder than anything we get in the Washington, DC area. I cannot say I blame her because most summers are humid and unbearable. Sometimes, I would rather be with the penguins that are pictured on those notes.
One of the highlights of the day and the show was meeting David Fanning of Kolbe & Fanning. I have been on their mailing list for a while and tried to participate in a mail bid sale or two, but have not been successful. This time, I found a book titled Paper Money in Maryland 1727-1789 by Kathryn L. Beherens, Ph.D. The book was printed by Johns Hopkins Press in 1923 and even though the cover seems to be falling apart, the pages are still “stuck” together at the top as if the book was never read. I have been carefully going through the book separating the pages because I plan to read it. Then I will go through my own research into Maryland colonial currency and update what I have previously written.
Another highlight is meeting Kurt from SAFE Collecting Supplies, one of the blog advertisers. I passed the SAFE table and noticed they had large-sized currency sleeves that could fit the 1912 very large Russian notes. I have been looking for sometime to hold a few of those notes that used to belong to my late paternal grandfather and these sleeves looked perfect. After talking with Kurt for a few moments, he recognized my name on my show badge and we did the introductions. Aside from being happy to meet an advertiser, I know where to find these and other specialty-sized sleeves in the future.
While there were a few dealers who packed up early, there were quite a few who stayed and welcomed the curiosity buyers who came to the show. In fact, Saturday seemed to be kids day at the show. With a number of moms and dads in tow, kids went around the floor with their Numismatic Passports getting stamps, free coins, and finding different items. I had even taken the opportunity to show a small group some interesting features of foreign currency including a polymer note.
I will have more on this in a future post, but I think the American Numismatic Association is doing itself a disservice keeping the show in one city. You would not have this crowd of Philadelphia-area children and their parents visiting the show if it were in Chicago. The ANA has to figure out a way to balance the needs of the dealers to provide a prime selling venue and what is best for the hobby. But that is a discussion for the future.
I spent a little time at the PAC table, even though others have gone home, and then I left the convention center to head home.
On Arch Street outside of the convention center on the sidewalk next to the Reading Terminal Market was the Pennsylvania Dutch Festival. There was even a small band. When I passed by, they were playing the classic Foggy Mountain Breakdown. If you are interested in seeing my walk-by video that happened to upload upside-down, you can see it on yfrog.
Not only does the ANA put on a good show, but the people of the Philadelphia, including the Red Rose Coin Club who was the sponsoring club, did a great job. Congratulations to all!
I hope I was able to bring those who could not attend along with me. Pictures are still available on Pinterest and hope that it is enticing enough to convince you to attend an ANA show in the future. The next show is the last Fall edition of the National Money Show in Dallas, October 18-20, 2012. You should consider attending!
Aug 11, 2012 | ANA, coins, currency, shows
Friday at the World’s Fair of Money was my shopping day. I spent a lot of time walking the bourse floor looking at the various tables thinking about my current goals.
I am working on a special set of currency that will be used for a future exhibit, so I made a beeline to a few currency dealers. I met Steve from Florida. He was formerly from northern New Jersey but moved to Florida a few years ago to get away from the rat race. I had a great time going through the currency at his table. When I explained what I was looking for, Steve was great in showing me items that would fit my theme.
All the dealers I visited were wonderful. I was even able to take a close look at a note I want but cannot afford. I love the $10 Buffalo note that was issued in 1901 (sorry, I forgot the Pick or FR number). The dealer I spoke with said that he would show it to me but I would have to give him the chance to sell me one when I was ready to buy. It was a deal I could not pass.
Now that I had some currency and some coins, I went on a trading binge. I was able to make some trades to upgrade some of the notes and pick up new ones. At one point I found a Morgan Dollar that I recognized was a significant variety in a slab that was unattributed. Even though I am far from being an expert in Morgan Dollar VAMs, I remember reading something about it during my travels. After a quick trip to the NGC table to verify what was in their unattributed slab, I found a dealer interested in VAMs and sold the coin at a nice profit.
So with that money, I was off to the Royal Canadian Mint booth to buy their Philadelphia souvenir set, a gift for my wife, and to other booths where negotiating is difficult to non-existent.
In the middle of the day, the good people at Krause Publications cut a cake celebrating their 60th Anniversary. Doing the honors was former Editor and Publish Cliff Mishler and the current Editor-in-Chief of Numismatic News Dave Harper. While I opted out of a piece of cake, I was given a special KP 60th Anniversary token and an S-Mint quarter as their special giveaway.
I did miss the announcement while shmoozing around the floor that United States Treasurer Rosie Rios was in the area between the U.S. Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing booths autographing currency. Rather than keeping her head down and autographing currency, Treasurer Rios was smiling and engaging to the people getting autographs. It looked like she was genuinely enjoying meeting the people and signing their currency. I have read interviews with Treasurer Rios who said that she is humbled by the attention and enjoys meeting the people. Too bad I didn’t think about it earlier to get on line.
On Friday, I was told I forgot about the revival of the Society of Bearded (S.O.B.) Numismatists that was held on Thursday—and I would qualify as a member! I have to figure out how to join this group!
In the evening I attended the American Numismatic Association Banquet. I sat next to a very nice family and a couple from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in town to volunteer at the show. I was also at the table with the YN Exhibit Award Winner Morgan Fatora. To say Morgan was happy would be an understatement.
Saturday is the last day. I am only staying part of the day before heading home. Continue to follow me on Twitter and the pictures on Pinterest for the short time I will be at the show.
Aug 8, 2012 | ANA, BEP, shows, US Mint
Robert Burns wrote in his poem To A Mouse “The best laid schemes of mice and men/Go often awry” describes how I tried to leave early yet something always gets in the way. Such was my journey this morning when I tried to leave before my morning note posted. But after a stop at a local coffee shop, I was able to take to the road to Philadelphia.
With traffic, the drive to Philadelphia was 2 hours and 45 minutes with a stop to refill the coffee cup. I made such good time that I was too early to check in. So I left my luggage with the concierge and walked across the street to the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
I know I should not compare facilities because each city builds a convention center for its own purposes, but it seems that this facility was not as big as I thought it would be. Maybe I am not seeing the entire facility. But it is a nice place. It is well laid out, decently lit in the bourse area, and nicely positioned in downtown Philadelphia.
Every city has its charm, especially the old cities in the northeast corridor. Their growth, problems, and gentrification reflect the character of the city and how the city wants to show itself. Philadelphia seems to want to balance between the history of the colonial city while maintaining its melting pot atmosphere. The problem is that Philadelphia was so successful that it has made supporting services, such as hotels and parking, more expensive.
While I am not a fan of the American Numismatic Association’s decision to hold the World’s Fair of Money in the suburbs of Chicago, I am not sure they could sustain other shows in the downtowns of major cities. While I like Philadelphia, costs and the economy suggest a more cost effective location.
Maybe it is the cost and the economy why I was a little disappointed when I entered the bourse area of the World’s Fair of Money. Maybe the halls are bigger than they seem, but the show does not take up the entire hall. The back area is very open and there are sections blocked off so the show does not take up the entire hall.
The last time I attended the World’s Fair of Money was the 2008 show in Baltimore where they took up three halls in the Baltimore Convention Center and had a waiting list. While I have missed a few since (should have had my hip replaced sooner!), the differences are drastic.
Regardless of the size, the one thing you have to give to the ANA is that they know how to put on a show! The schedule is packed with interesting lectures, meetings, and other activities. They get the U.S. Mint, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and a few world mints here including the Royal Canadian Mint, Perth Mint, Holy Land Mint, and the Polish Mint—which are only the ones I saw today. I think there are others I will explore tomorrow.
When I arrived, I did make a dash to the U.S. Mint and BEP areas. At the U.S. Mint I was able to purchase the 2012 Making American History Coin and Currency Set, saving the $4.95 shipping costs. The set includes a 2012-S Proof American Silver Eagle and a Series 2009 $5 Federal Reserve Note from the Federal Reserve Bank Branch of San Francisco with the serial number beginning with “150.” The set looks like the U.S. Mint used the same supplier for this packaging as they have for other products. I like the set and glad I bought it.
The packaging of the $10 Generations set is phenomenal. Inside the box is a binder with a booklet showing the history of the $10 note slipped in the pocket, the $10 FRNs in two pages with an intaglio print of Independence Hall on the second page. With only 3,333 to be produced, I am glad I purchased a set.
Comparatively, the BEP can teach the U.S. Mint a little something about packaging—although the wood boxes used for the Eagles and 2009 High Relief Gold Coin were pretty nice, too! But the $10 Generations set looks better than the Making American History Set.
Before I forget, I found out there is a group called the Society of Bearded Numismatists who will meet at the show. I was told that they have been inactive for a while and this is the first time they will meet in many years. Well, since I qualify, I want to check this out. They are meeting at 3:00 PM at the World Mint Stage. This should be fun!
Otherwise, if anyone is in the area, come say hello. Whether you are in Philadelphia or watching from afar, watch Twitter (@coinsblog) and my board on Pinterest to see what I find.
May 23, 2012 | ANA, shows
During the National Money Show in Denver two weeks ago, the American Numismatic Association Board of Governors voted to eliminate the Fall edition of the National Money Show following this fall’s show in Dallas.
The fall show, pursued by former ANA Executive Director Larry Shepherd and accepted by the previously Board of Directors. Unfortunately, it has proven to be too much of an expense for the ANA especially since the Denver show did not have a featured auction, which helps produce revenues for the ANA.
In previous press releases from the ANA, President Tom Hallenbeck has reiterated that the mission of the ANA is education. Do these shows promote their education agenda? One can argue it does because the ANA offers classes and sponsors Numismatic Theater which allows for shorter presentation of various aspects of collecting. But the Board has concluded that the costs of sponsoring the shows does not justify holding them.
There have been other articles saying that the ANA could also end the Spring National Money Show after the 2013 show in New Orleans. This would leave the World’s Fair of Money that is held every summer and for the five years starting in 2013 will be held in Chicago.
Eliminating the National Money Show and limiting the World’s Fair of Money to one city significantly reduces access to the ANA’s education services. Although the ANA does take some courses on the road to regional shows, the only way to be involved with a the broad spectrum of ANA education services is being limited to a show in Chicago and the Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs.
In previous posts, I have come out against holding the ANA premiere show in one location. While I love Chicago and have friends in the Chicagoland area, being able to move the show to different venues allows the ANA to reach more people and include it educational agenda in more places. I would rather see the ANA unbridle itself from Chicago than end the Spring edition of the National Money Show.
If the ANA Board of Governors wants to purse an educational agenda, which is a good idea, then they need to reach out beyond Chicago, Colorado Spring, and the courses held at the F.U.N. show in January.
One idea is for the ANA to work with regional clubs to bring ANA courses to shows in various areas. Even when the show is owned by a commercial entity, clubs can work with those promoters to add value to the show by offering ANA sponsored courses. The ANA can help provide materials, instructors, and training for new instructors to provide a greater educational reach.
Another idea is for the ANA to help by developing a speakers’ bureau to bring special speakers to regional shows. The ANA would help with travel expenses for those who cannot provide long distance travel to bring various numismatic topics to areas of the country that would not be able to hear these speakers.
In fact, the speakers’ bureau would help support coin club speakers. Collector willing to share their stories and industry professionals who want to share their knowledge can register with the speakers’ bureau and make themselves available to local coin clubs in support of their educational programs.
By the way, if anyone in the Mid-Atlantic region is looking for a speaker, I have two presentations ready: one on Maryland Colonial Currency and another on the history of anti-counterfeiting technologies used on currency.
In the mean time, if you have information that you can share with a local club or a regional show, reach out to them and offer yourself to help in their educational programs. It can go along way to help the hobby.
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