Coin Collectors News

2017 United States Mint Congratulations Set Goes on Sale on April 4

Mar 30, 2017 | Announcements, U.S. Mint

WASHINGTON – The United States Mint will accept orders for the 2017 Congratulations Set (product code 17RF) starting on April 4 at noon Eastern Time (ET).

Priced at $54.95, this set features for the first time ever an American Eagle One Ounce Silver Proof Coin bearing the “S” mint mark of the San Francisco Mint. The coin is encapsulated and mounted in an attractive presentation folder adorned with black, gold, and silver ribbon curls to add a festive and elegant flair. A Certificate of Authenticity is printed on the back of the folder, while coin specifications are printed on the back of the sleeve. The Product Limit is 75,000. Later this year, the American Eagle One Ounce Silver Proof Coin with the “S” mint mark from the San Francisco Mint will be available as part of the 2017 Limited Edition Silver Proof Set.

Orders will be accepted at https://catalog.usmint.gov/ and at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order at 1-888-321-MINT. Information on shipping options is available at https://catalog.usmint.gov/customer-service/shipping.html.

United States Mint Releases Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Quarter on April 3

Mar 30, 2017 | Announcements, U.S. Mint

WASHINGTON – The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for rolls and bags of America the Beautiful Quarters® Program coins honoring the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in the District of Columbia starting on April 3 at noon Eastern Time (ET).

The coin’s reverse (tails) design depicts Frederick Douglass seated at a writing desk with his home in Washington, D.C., in the background. Inscriptions are “FREDERICK DOUGLASS,” “DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,” “2017,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” Its obverse (heads) design features the 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan.

Product options and their prices are as follows:

PRODUCT CODE	PRODUCT OPTION	MINT MARK	PRICE
17ABD	100-Coin Bag	P	$34.95
17ABE	100-Coin Bag	D	$34.95
17ABF	100-Coin Bag	S	$34.95
17ARD	Two-Roll Set	P and D	$32.95
17ARE	40-Coin Roll	S	$18.95
17ARF	Three-Roll Set	P, D, and S	$46.95

Coins in the rolls and bags are struck on the main production floors at the Philadelphia Mint, Denver Mint, and San Francisco Mint facilities. The three-roll set contains coins from all three facilities. Unlike the “P” and “D” mint mark quarters, those with the “S” mint mark will not be released into circulation.

The special numismatic wrapping for the coin rolls displays the name “Frederick Douglass National Historic Site”; the abbreviation “DC” for the District of Columbia; “$10,” the face value of its contents; and “P,” “D,” or “S” for the mint of origin. The canvas bags have a tag with “Frederick Douglass National Historic Site”; “DC”; and “P,” “D,” or “S.”

Orders will be accepted at https://catalog.usmint.gov/coin-programs/america-the-beautiful-quarters-program/, and at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468). Information on shipping options is available at https://catalog.usmint.gov/customer-service/shipping.html.

Submissions Accepted for ANA’s Club Publications Contest

Mar 30, 2017 | ANA, Announcements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, March 29, 2017

CONTACT: Morgan Perry
Telephone: 719-482-9871
E-mail: pr@money.org

Submissions Accepted for ANA’s Club Publications Contest

The American Numismatic Association (ANA) is currently accepting entries for the 2017 Outstanding Club Publications competition. The contest is open to member clubs that are current with their ANA dues and do not have an elected or salaried ANA officer as editor or assistant editor. Club publications must have been issued on a regular basis. Completed submissions must be received by May 15.

Submissions must include a complete set of 2016 publications, or three different printed samples of online publications. Also required are the editor’s name and the name, address, phone number and e-mail address of the submitter.

All club contestants will be entered in a drawing to receive a full 2017 Summer Seminar adult scholarship, which covers tuition, lodging, meals and airfare. The winning club can award the scholarship as it wishes. In addition, an article or commentary from each first-place publication will be adapted or reprinted in The Numismatist or on the ANA website.

Judging criteria

Entries are judged on general appearance, composition, aptness of illustrations, newsiness and relative interest. Whether a newsletter is handwritten, typed or computer-generated is not a factor in judging, nor is the size of the club or the amount of funds expended.

Visit www.money.org/outstanding-club-publications for complete rules, judging criteria and submission guidelines. 

Completed entries can be emailed to magazine@money.org or sent to:

Outstanding Club Publications Contest
ANA Publications Department
c/o Caleb Noel
818 N. Cascade Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

For additional information, contact the Publications Department at magazine@money.org.

The American Numismatic Association is a congressionally chartered, nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging the study and collection of coins and related items. The ANA helps its 25,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of instructional and outreach programs, as well as its museum, library, publications and conventions. For more information, call 719-632-2646 or visit www.money.org.

Literary Awards Competition Open to Young Numismatists

Mar 28, 2017 | ANA, Announcements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 28, 2017

CONTACT: Morgan Perry
Telephone: 719-482-9871
E-mail: pr@money.org

Literary Awards Competition Open to Young Numismatists

Entries are now being accepted for the 2017 American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) Young Numismatist Literary Awards competition. The awards program encourages young writers and promotes future numismatic authors and researchers. All submissions must be postmarked by May 15.

The contest is open to young writers in three age groups, all of whom will compete for cash awards and numismatic book vouchers. Article submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges, including Bill Fivaz, Q. David Bowers and Kenneth Bressett. Awards will be presented in Colorado Springs at the ANA’s 2017 Summer Seminar, June 17-29. Those who are unable to attend will receive their awards by mail.

Eligibility

To compete in this year’s competition, participants must be ANA members. Submitted articles can focus on a numismatic topic of the competitor’s choice.

Bill Fivaz Young Numismatist Literary Award (Ages: 8-12)
Article should display basic knowledge of a numismatic topic. Creativity and original conclusions are encouraged.
Suggested length: 450-900 words
Q. David Bowers Young Numismatist Literary Award (Ages: 13-17)
Article should display advanced knowledge of a numismatic topic. Logically presented facts and original conclusions are encouraged. A bibliographic list of sources is recommended, but not required.
Suggested length: 900-1,800 words
Kenneth E. Bressett Young Numismatist Literary Award (Ages: 18-22)
Article should display in-depth knowledge of a numismatic topic. Logically presented facts and original conclusions are required, as is a bibliographic list of sources. Inclusion of charts, graphs, tables or other illustrations is encouraged.
Suggested length: 1,800-3,600 words

Awards

Whitman Publishing has collaborated with the ANA to offer prizes. The following will be awarded in each of the three age categories:

First Place
Plaque and $500 cash prize, plus a $500 voucher to help build a personal library of numismatic books produced by Whitman Publishing.
Second Place
Certificate, plus a $200 book voucher from Whitman Publishing.
Third Place
Certificate, plus a $100 book voucher from Whitman Publishing.

Completed entries can be emailed to magazine@money.org or sent to:

ANA Publications Department
c/o Cynthia Wood-Davies
818 N. Cascade Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

For additional information, contact Cynthia Wood-Davies, copy editor of The Numismatist, at cwood-davies@money.org.

Newman Numismatic Portal Update

Mar 27, 2017 | News

One million pages: The Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP) has reached a milestone of one million scanned pages, representing over 13,000 documents. The million mark was exceeded in March 2017 during the scanning of the extensive run of Stack’s Bowers auction sale catalogs. This particular series begins in 1935 and includes nearly 800 sales, of which 90% have now been scanned. The Newman Portal acknowledges Stack’s Bowers for sharing this content and for allowing it to be made freely available through NNP. We also thank our scanning partners at the American Numismatic Society (ANS), Librarian David Hill and Internet Archive associate John Graffeo, who scanned many of the early catalogs in this extensive series. Finally, ANS Trustee Dan Hamelberg made available Stack’s material form his unparalleled library. The Stack’s catalogs are available on NNP in our auction catalog section at https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctioncompanydetail/3.

Newman Portal at the Central States Numismatic Society Convention: The Newman Portal will hold a user forum at the Central States convention at 11AM on Thursday, April 27. Lunch is included, the meeting will be held in the Serenity room (not Serendipity room as mentioned elsewhere). Space is filling quickly, if you wish to attend please contact Newman Portal Project Coordinator Len Augsburger at leonard.augsburger@wustl.edu. We’ll cover current NNP status and discuss future initiatives.

Advanced Search on NNP: The Newman Portal now includes an advanced search function that offers additional refinement of search results. One interesting feature is the ability to set a date range on results (“Publication Year,” “To”), allowing researchers to identify the earliest discussions of various numismatic topics. Users may also restrict results to document types, for example auction catalogs. This is useful when searching for historic sales of specific items. Try it at https://nnp.wustl.edu/Library/AdvancedSearchForm.

Coming next: Additional content and features will be announced at the Central States user forum. Plan to attend!