Eloise Ullman, who is retiring soon as Executive Director of the Industry Council For Tangible Assets, was awarded the PNG’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her years of dedicated service and achievements in numismatics.
The award was presented to Ullman by ICTA Industry Affairs Director and PNG Associate Member Diane Piret. Ullman has provided the numismatic hobby and profession with 23 years of service as ICTA Executive Director, and the PNG is grateful for her outstanding efforts on legislative and tax issues facing dealers and collectors across the country.
Piret was honored with the PNG’s Significant Contribution Award for her40 years of dedication and significant contributions to numismatics. The award was jointly presented by PNG Board of Directors members Dana Samuelson and Barry Stuppler.
But the picture of Ullman’s reaction is priceless.
I met Ullman last year when I began to work with the Gold & Silver Political Action Committee. From what I could see she was a tireless working for ICTA for over 23 years and they will have a difficult time finding someone to succeed her.
Congratulations Eloise and the other PNG Award winnerss.
As with any World’s Fair of Money, there will be quite a few announcements. Some may appear here others will be tweeted as they come in.
Terry Hanlon, newly elected president of the Professional Numismatists Guild
In early news, the Professional Numismatists Guild held its annual meeting and announced that Terry Hanlon, President of Dillon Gage Metals in Addison, Texas, has been selected to serve as PNG’s President for 2013-1015. Other officers selected by the PNG Board are Vice President Fred Weinberg of Fred Weinberg & Company, Encino, California; Treasurer Dana S. Samuelson of American Gold Exchange, Austin, Texas; and Secretary Barry Stuppler of Barry Stuppler & Company, Woodland Hills, California.
PNG’s Board of Directors are Mitchell A. Battino of Hudson Rare Coins, Princeton, New Jersey; PNG Immediate Past President Jeffrey Bernberg of Rare Coin Company of America, Willowbrook, Illinois; John Maben of John Maben Rare Coins, Sarasota, Florida; James A. Simek of Numisgraphic Enterprises, Westchester, Illinois; and Richard A. Weaver of Delaware Valley Rare Coin, Broomhall, Pennsylvania.
Congratulations to all!
Professional Coin Grading Service announced that they are teaming with eBay to expand the eBay U.S. and Canada Coins Catalog feature. When the new catalog from PCGS goes online this fall it will immediately grow from the current 8,500 products to more than 41,000.
The renewed U.S. and Canada coins catalog will allow for more detailed descriptions of specific coin attributes, as well as further differentiation for the collecting community. These detailed descriptions, item specifics and high resolution images in the catalog will allow novice and experienced sellers alike to more accurately identify the coin they are selling on eBay.
An expanded catalog should help provide education to collectors buying and selling on eBay. Anything that makes that marketplace safer os good for the hobby.
Although the ribbon cutting is on Tuesday, my schedule will not allow me to get away until Wednesday night. Stay tuned for more news.
Saturday in New Orleans started with my sleeping late and checking out of my hotel. After I left my bags with the concierge and picked up a cup of coffee, I walked over to the convention center.
The weather was better than Friday in that it was sunny with a little humidity. If I had hair it would have been a different problem. But it was just cool enough to be comfortable as I walked over in my sports coat that I wore for the candidates forum.
Panorama of the 2013 National Money Show bourse floor at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans
I did a little looking around the floor and spoke with a few dealers. I did take the opportunity to stop by the booth of Miller’s Mint. I see Harry and Joan Miller at a number of larger shows and will see them next month in Baltimore. I did buy a few smaller items from them before the candidates forum. I will take a look at a few more items they have when I see them next month.
On my way to the candidates forum I saw people I recognized from visiting coin shows in the Mid-Atlantic region. Of course I handed them campaign material and went to the forum.
There was a good crowd at the candidates forum that included Executive Director Kim Kiick, Past President Barry Stuppler, retiring Board members Cliff Mishler and Wendell Wolka, and recently fired Executive Director Jeff Shevlin and his wife.
Just prior to the candidates forum, Jake Sherlock tweeted that the forum would be streamed live on YouTube. I wish they would have announce it sooner so that we could have ensured a larger crowd, but there seems to have been a few people watching with interest. There were two questions from the Interwebs. If we can do more of this, broadcast Board meetings, add classes, and Money Talks lectures, this would be a fantastic step forward.
Can you imagine if the Board can help better organize the use of technology, the ANA can reach more people and expand its education role not only for members but the public.
The candidates forum last more than three hours, longer than the scheduled two hours. A few of us had to do our summations early so that we could go to the airport to catch flights home.
What the Candidates Forum looked like from my perspective.
I will have more comments on the candidates forum and what was said later this week.
After rushing out of the convention center, I quickly walked back to the hotel, collected my bags from the concierge, and caught a cab for the airport. Going through security screening is always fun, especially when your hip is made of titanium. That hip replacement guarantees that I will be patted down every time I go to an airport.
On my way to the gate I found a shop to buy coffee and headed to the gate. After typing notes on my iPad, I looked over and found Wendell Wolka waiting to board the same flight to Atlanta, where we would transfer to separate flights to head home.
After landing at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and fetching my car, I arrived home at 1:00 PM with a rousing welcome from my two puggles Boomer and Tessa. Of course my wife was happy to see me!
In the next few days, I will talk about something I found and the candidates forum. For now, it is time to get some rest!
It was a rainy day in the Crescent City but that only mattered when I tried to leave my hotel to go to the convention center. Thanks to Michael Weir, the Director of First Impression at the Hilton Garden Inn, a group of three show attendees including myself, were able to get to the convention center without being rained on. Mr. Weir gave us door-to-door service dropping us off under an overhang.
Before I continue, let me give the New Orleans visitors bureau fodder by recommending the city for your next vacation. No matter when I have come here, the people of New Orleans have been accommodating, courteous, and fun. And when you are away from home, having fun is the most important part of a visit!
After stopping to speak with ICTA’s Director Elloise Ullman, I picked up a cup of coffee before walking down to Hall G. Before entering Hall G, I went upstairs to the meeting rooms where I found I missed a talk on so-called dollars because I started to schmooze outside of the hall.
My first stop this morning was to see Steve Roach, the Editor of Coin World. We had a nice conversation where we talked about everything from the upcoming American Numismatic Association Board elections to the production of Coin World Next, their weekly publication that concentrates on one topic.
After a lively conversation with Steve and Tom Mulvaney, who is best known as the instructor of the coin photography class with the ANA Summer Seminar. Tom’s work can be seen all over the numismatic industry. Some day I will be able to take the time off to go to Summer Seminar to take his class.
I wanted to tour the bourse floor but decided to finish touring the exhibits I did not finish. While in the exhibits area I ran into Hollie Weiland, counsel for the ANA. She then introduced me to Beth Papiano. This became an interesting conversation following the criticism I wrote about her. We did talk about what I wrote and why. Hopefully, I will have another opportunity to speak with Beth again and maybe I can understand more about what happened.
Lunch was a little hole-in-the-wall poboy place where I had fried oysters before returning to the convention center to try to do more looking around and meeting people. First, I had to go back to the exhibits and see what I missed. My favorite was the Travancore Chuckram Count Counting Boards. It was an exhibit of these metal boards that were used to count small coins. These are mainly form countries in southwest Asia. There were a lot more involved with this exhibit. Hopefully, I will have a chance to spend time carefully reading the text to learn more. Otherwise, I hope the exhibitor will display it again in Chicago.
At 2 o’clock it was time for the open Board meeting. After a delay because some of the governors were caught in traffic, the meeting proceeded with thunderstorms booming in the background. I do not know if that was a message, but considering the controversies of the past few weeks, there may have been something prophetic about the scene.
But the meeting started with an interesting “ritual.” ANA Past President Barry Stuppler invited his “spiritual advisor” Zar, a Voodoo Priest, to bless, spiritually cleanse, and add good luck to Kim Kiick on her appointment as executive director. Upon the end of the “ceremony,” someone in the crowd commented that this should have been done 10 years ago—referencing the problems with executive directors over the last 10 years.
I will comment about the meeting at another time, but one of the central discussions was the ANA’s web presence and the security of the technical infrastructure. I am glad to hear that the board is taking the move to expand the ANA’s technology seriously. Yes, there was skepticism and references to age-specific issues, it does not appear that the current board will hold back progress. There still needs a few more technologically aware members of the board, which is why I am running for the board.
After the meeting, it was back to the bourse floor to shake a few more hands before going to a reception for Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA). Rep. Scalise from Lousiana’s first district and succeeded Bobby Jindal after Jindal became governor. Scalise co-sponsored newly introduced H.R. 1849, Collectible Coin Protection Act. This is the same bill that was introduced last year.
Finally, a walk down the hall to the Stacks-Bowers auction to watch the bidding on the various auction lots. Since most of the lots were out of my price range, I watched the action. The few items I could have afforded, I decided not to be a buyer. Some of those coins were hammered at a price higher than I expected. I would have dropped out before the top bids.
After being exhausted from a long day, I availed myself of the dinner service at the auction including the coffee. Meet a few people outside of the auction room came back the hotel. I did call my wife only to listen to one of my neurotic dogs bark at the thunderstorms throughout our conversation.
Tomorrow is the last day of the show and my last day on the floor. The candidate forum will be at 12 noon Central Time. I heard that the ANA arranged to have the two-hour forum broadcast on the Internet. I urge ANA members to watch the forum. If they have a way for you to ask questions, please try to do so! It is your ANA and you have to let the Board of Governors know how you feel.
I will be flying home after the candidates forum and arrive in the Washington, DC area very late. I will have a third-day update sometime on Sunday.
After a late arrival in New Orleans, I walked the block over to the convention center to enter the bourse floor. Hall G of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is a big convention center hall that does not feel “full.” Sure, the National Money Show is a smaller show than others including the World’s Fair of Money, but it does allow for a different group of people to come in and learn more about numismatics.
Since my trip to the show is largely to campaign for the Board of Governors elections, I started to meet and talk with members around the floor. I had taken the opportunity talk with a few people I know and introduce myself to others.
But that does not mean I did not do some looking around.
The biggest news I learned is that the U.S. Mint is planning on issuing a reverse proof American Gold Buffalo later this year in honor of the design’s 100th anniversary. A sample can be seen at the U.S. Mint booth at the show and, of course on Pinterest. The image was taken through the glass of the case it is being display within. On Friday, I will try to take a picture of the coin with the case open.
On seeing the reverse proof American Buffalo coin I was stunned as to how beautiful it is. It has an elegance that you cannot see in a picture. The coin will be released later this year. It will give us time to put some money aside to buy at least one version. If you buy no other gold coin this year, you should save to buy this one. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.
Although the sales of the 2013 American Eagle West Point Two-Coin Silver Set went on sale today, the U.S. Mint only had a sample at the show. All sales are being made on line or via the telephone. You can see an image on Pinterest. I will try to take a better picture when I do one of the American Buffalo gold reverse proof since both are in the same display case.
Aside from buying a new loupe because I left mine at home, I just found a few New York-related tokens including a New York City subway token where the cutout “Y” is off-center.
One of the great things about coming to an ANA show is to see people, meet new people, and just have a great time. Some of us went to the French Quarter for dinner. After dinner, we walked a few blocks to the French Market for café au lait and beignets at Café du Monde. Thus, the tradition I started as a college student in 1980 continues—every trip I have ever made to New Orleans included a visit to Café du Monde.
Friday will be some Money Talks sessions and end with a reception for Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA). Scalise is one of the sponsors for the newly introduced H.R. 1849, the bill to update the Hobby Protection Act. The same bill that did not get a hearing during the last session.
Keep a watch on Twitter and Pinterest for reports from the show.
Hello from New Orleans: The Crescent City; The Big Easy; NOLA; N’awlins; the self-proclaimed America’s Most Interesting City; and home of the 2013 National Money Show.
After an early start and a change in planes in Atlanta, I made to Louis Armstrong International Airport. How could you not want to go to a place where the airport is named after the great Louis Armstrong! Oh yea!
I just checked into my hotel, freshened up a bit, and giving the phone a chance to charge so I can take pictures in the convention center. While waiting, I created a board on Pinterest where I will be posting those pictures. You can also follow me on Twitter where I will tweet and even post some images.
Of course, I will write an evening wrap-up. So keep your browser pointed here for what happens in New Orleans.
Remember, Saturday is the candidates forum for those running for the American Numismatic Association Board of Governors. I will be there along with the 15 other candidates including the president and Vice President candidates that are running unapposed.
Finally, at some point I have to make it to Café du Monde in the French Market for a café au lait. Going is a personal tradition that dates back to my first trip to New Orleans in 1980.
When I returned to the hobby, the first show I attended was the Baltimore Coin Show. Back then, it was privately run by an area dealer who grew the show to something that required a facility the size of the Baltimore Convention Center to hold for a twice per year show. I remember walking into the hall at the time and being overwhelmed with the rows of tables and starting my adventure. Even when the show occupied only Halls A and B was really a sight to see.
Then Whitman bought the show and propelled it to levels greater than its previous owner, which did not seem possible. Not only has Whitman done a great job, but they expanded the show to three times per year and expanded the number of dealers to include Hall C. Hall C also includes Whitman’s own booth along with providing space for a Kids Corner, exhibits, services, and some numismatic organizations. In many ways the size and scope exceeds last summer’s World’s Fair of Money in Philadelphia.
New Campaign Button
I arrived at the Baltimore Convention Center mid-afternoon on the Ides of March to take in the show and meet with my fellow board members of the Maryland State Numismatic Association for a scheduled meeting. Before the meeting I was able to get through about a quarter of the bourse talking with people and handing out my new buttons for my campaign.
Since the MSNA president could not get away from work, I presided as the organization’s vice president. I kept the meeting under 45 minutes while still getting a few things done. We set a new meeting, adjourned, then went to the elevator for the two floor descent to the main level and the bourse.
I did not buy much at this show since I did not take my usual inventory before going. I did look for New York-related tokens and medals and for Maryland colonial currency. But I did not find anything that intrigued me.
Later in the day, I did go by the table of Butternut Coins and COL Steve Ellsworth. This is not the first time I have spoken the Steve but every time I do I find him a very intriguing and engaging person. Ellsworth is a specialist in Early American Copper Coin along and the Civil War. It was his expertise in Early American Coppers that I was interested in.
As I was looking through his cases, I told Steve about my One Page Collection idea where I would fill a single 20 coin pocket page with nice coins for around $50-100. Since I posted it, I wanted to put the collection together and plan to talk about it at the upcoming National Money Show in New Orleans. He gave me suggestions as to what to look for based on my price and condition guidelines and found two coins that will be added to the collection.
1851 Braided Hair Large Cent obverse
The first coin I found was an 1851 Braided Head large cent that his holder has marked as VF30. It is not a rare coin but a nicely preserve coin with a smooth brown color, nice details still remaining, very clear “Liberty” in the headband, and the signs of slightly weak strike on the reverse that does not detract from the look of the coin.
1853 Braided Hair Half Cent Obverse
The other coin is a 1853 Braided Hair half cent that his holder has marked VF35. Again, this is not a rare coin but one that is really beautiful. The coin shows some streaks of red and I asked whether it might have been cleaned at one time. Remember, it was a common and acceptable practice to clean coins to bring out their shine and color. But Steve did not think so and that the streaks of color may be original toning. Even if the coin is naturally recolored from a previous cleaning, the coloring does not detract from the beauty of the coin.
Both coins were well within budget and will be included in my one page collection. I appreciate the help that Steve provided in my search.
Now that I decided to present these ideas at a Money Talks program in New Orleans, you will have to come to the show to hear about different ideas I have.
In the mean time, if you are in, near, or can get to Baltimore on June 20-23, it is a good way to spend a day or even the weekend. And let me know, we can sit down for coffee at the stand on the third level.
Greetings from somewhere over the southeastern United States as I fly to Dallas-Fort Worth on my way to the American Numismatic Association Headquarters in Colorado Springs for a meeting with the Technical Committee. What better way to celebrate technology than pulling out the iPad and writing a blog entry. Of course this will be posted after I land and can connect to the Internet.
Being on my way to the ANA brings to mind this past weekend’s coin show by the Tidewater Coin Club at the Tidewater Convention Center in Virginia Beach. After waking early, I climbed into the X3 and headed fours hours south to check out another club’s show. Although I anticipated coffee stops I was not prepared for the Sunday construction I found along the way. Although the drive took longer than expected, I arrived with plenty of time to browse and schmooze.
When I arrived at the convention center I found it full with two other events being held along with the coin show. The Tidewater Convention Center is a modern facility that would rival that in any medium size city and is a nice representative of the Virginia Beach-Tidewater region.
The coins how was held in a large meeting room upstairs, so I passed the two shows to the escalator going up. When I arrived at the greeting table I was met by members of the Tidewater Coin Club. The three gentlemen at the table were pleasant and engaging. The handed me a door prize ticket and I purchased tickets for the gold raffle—a quarter-ounce and tenth-ounce American Eagle gold coins. I do not think I won since I did not receive a call asking how they can send me the gold coin.
Once inside I was delighted and surprised. Delighted in that all of the tables were occupied and there were a number of people browsing the various offerings. I was surprised in the number of dealers that I have seen in the various shows around the Washington, DC area. At least a third of the dealers attended the Alexandria Coin Club show three weeks ago. The is nothing wrong with seeing the same people, they are all fun people with good inventory, but it would have been nice to meet new people.
As I made the rounds I looked at their various offerings and spoke to the dealers. I did buy but I was able to get in a little campaigning in between purchases.
My purchases from this show may be considered mundane but is significant in that they were all geared to putting together the One Page Cent type collection I wrote about last week. Even aft verifying prices with online price guides, I wanted to verify that it could be done. In the process. I was able to find a nice 1858 small letter Flying Eagle cent for $30, a 1859 copper-nickel Indian Head cent, a 1902 Indian head cent in red-brow, and a 1909 VDB cent all under $20 each. I was able to add a nice 1944 shotgun shell cent, 1959 blazing red Memorial cent, and the 7-coin 1982 copper and copper-player zinc set for less than $10 for all of the coins. With the four Lincoln birth bicentennial cents I already have, I was able to progress far into this collection.
I will finish this collection by the Whitman Baltimore Show in March and start on the next typeset. I am already working on a plan for a cent to represent 2, 3, and 5 cents coins on one page. As part of this effort, I will be turning my experience into a Money Talks program for the next National Money Show this May in New Orleans.
After making two passes around the floor, I found the president of the Tidewater Coin Club, introduced myself, and complemented him on a good show. He seemed a little overwhelmed since this was his first show as the club’s new president, but he seemed to be the type that could get things done. If my experience at their show is any indication, he will have a successful term as their president.
Before leaving the show area, I stopped to look at the nearby exhibits by club members. One that really is interested me was one about nickel typesets. Rather than being an extensive collection of copper-nickel composition five-cent pieces, it was a nice representative of various type coins with an index card for each coin explaining why each are part of the set. It would not win an ANA exhibit award, but it was very interesting and was really great to see.
We are getting ready to land. I will end here about the Tidewater Coin Club Show.
For the next few days, watch the @coinsblog Twitter feed and my Pinterest site for pictures and news from the ANA headquarters in Colorado Springs.
This week’s poll is going to help me support you, the collecting community and the dealers who serve them should I be privileged to be elected to the American Numismatic Association Board of Governors. I have not made it a secret that I am against the show being fixed in Chicago. So one of my platform items is rotate the World’s Fair of Money to different areas of the country and different cities within those regions.
Thinking about this, I was curious about where would you, my readers, like to see the World’s Fair of Money. While looking at a map, I thought about several places across the country where it might be interesting to hold the show. Read the list and think about your top three preferences. Mark your choice in the poll and let me know. If you have another suggestion, let me know in the comments, below.
By the way: you will notice there is one entry that I am interested in… not that it should influence your choice!
Where would you like to see the ANA World's Fair of Money held? (select 3)
Growing up in the metropolitan New York area, you can find people who live around all of these famous landmarks but had never visited them. Whether it is visiting the observation deck Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty, sometimes jaded New Yorkers just never get around to it.
My mother was different. She grew up in Coney Island and was adept at navigating the subway, so she wanted her children to be as wise about our hometown. During breaks from school, especially the winter break, we would take the Long Island Railroad into Penn Station and do something or see something that a tourist would do.
One of the treats about taking this trip was seeing my father in his office in Manhattan. As a youngster, it was cool to see the people who you might have spoken with on the telephone when trying to call my father or someone he had spoken to my mother about. It was also my first look into my future of working in an office, something I tried to resist to no avail.
Lunch at the Automat (ca. 1940s)
Part of that visit was lunch at Horn & Hardart’s Automat. The Automat was first opened in Philadelphia in 1902 and New York in 1911 before becoming a real institution in the areas between the cities. First opened in 1902, it was a fast food restaurant that sold meals, beverages, and deserts through coin-operated vending machines. Diners would choose what they wanted to eat, insert the correct change, and lift the window to get your food. The food was wrapped in plastic wrap when I went with my mother but in a era long before I was able to go the food was wrapped using waxed paper.
Behind the machines was a kitchen that refilled the machines and a cashier was in the center of the dining hall to give change. When the Automat first opened, the machines only accepted nickels. Things were a little more expensive in the 1960s, an era before vending machines were able to accept currency, Horn & Hardart used tokens. Remember, this was a time there were almost no dollar coins in circulation, a reported shortage of coins, and when half-dollars stopped circulating because the silver was worth more than their face value.
Tables were set up all around the room like a cafeteria and the decor was what I would later understand to be art deco.
Automat in Times Square Postcard ca. 1939
I have a distinct memory of visiting an Automat with my mother the winter break of 1968. That year was the first time my brother went with us and my youngest brother was just a baby, so he stayed with my grandmother. We went to Rockefeller Center and tried to skate on the famous skating rink. There was a man teaching the kids how to skate and I took great joy in watching my brother fall on his butt even though my skating style would not win points at any competition.
A dash to see my father and then we went to the Automat. I remember I had a sandwich and soda. Then, as my mother ran to a quick shopping excursion, I argued with my father about getting a piece of pie. He finally gave in and bought the pie that the three of us shared as we waited for my mother to return. When she did return, packages in hand, my father went back to work and we took the subway downtown to see Macy’s front window. From Macy’s it is a short walk down 34th Street to Penn Station. We went downstairs under Madison Square Garden to board the Long Island Railroad to go home.
This trip down memory lane is courtesy of the Alexandria Coin Club whose annual show was held on February 2. It was a show filled with a nice mix of dealers with varying types of collectibles, I made the trip in the snow flurries to see what I could find. While searching through an exonumia dealer’s box, I found a token that was as irresistible as a youngster picking a sandwich from an Automat vending machine. A wide smile ran across my face as the memories of the food in the machines ran through my memories. There was no way I was leaving the show without an Automat token!
I am not sure what the token is made from, but it is heavier than aluminum. It is 20 mm in diameter, larger than the cent (19.05 mm) and smaller than the nickel (21.21 mm). The front has the distinct Automat logo and the reverse has a child at one of the set of vending machines reaching up for his treat. Around the edge, it says the token commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Automat, which dates the token to 1981. What a great addition to my New York collection. Not only is it different but the memories are priceless.
Along with the Automat token I also found a commemorative medal someone issued for the Statue of Liberty centennial in 1986 and an aluminum souvenir from the Democratic National Convention held July 12-16, 1976 in New York City. When I picked it up I thought it had the look of a Mardi Gras token. When I turned it over, it says it is from Louisiana. The reverse image is that of a pelican since Louisiana’s official nickname is “The Pelican State.” Since the convention was in New York, it is added to my New York collection. Now I need to find something numismatic related from the 2008 Republican National Convention that was held in Madison Square Garden to balance the collection.
By the time I was old enough to become interested in the Automat it was in its decline. In the 1960s saw a decline in their clientele as people started to leave the city to live in the suburbs. Then companies began to open their own cafeterias and buildings reconfigured their lobbies to bring in retail customers including eating establishments. Finally, the city closed a loophole that allowed cafeteria patrons to avoid paying sales taxes and it forced the Automat to raise prices to cover the new tax burden. High labor and food costs drove its regular customers away as quality declined and the restaurants grew seedy. H&H closed half of their locations by 1971. By 1991, the last Automat in New York closed its doors for the last time.
Additional Reading
Read more about the Automat by Steve Stollman who restores old Automat equipment.
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