Two Collectors Splitting $2,000 Prize After Submitting First 2020-W Vermont Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Quarters for Grading by Professional Coin Grading Service

(Santa Ana, California – September 29, 2020) – The Professional Coin Grading Service (www.PCGS.com) Quarter Quest 2020 recently yielded two more winners with the release of the 2020-W Vermont Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Quarter, released by the United States Mint August 31, 2020. The coin, which has a mintage of just two million pieces and bears a “W” mint mark from the West Point Mint, was sprinkled in rolls of new 2020 Quarters from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints and distributed throughout the United States. The coins are not offered in any Proof Sets, Uncirculated Sets, or other United States Mint products and can only be found in circulation.

The 54th quarter issued in the America The Beautiful Quarter series launched in 2010, the 2020-W Vermont Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Quarter features a special one-year-only “V75” privy mark honoring the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War II. The privy mark is included on all 2020-W Quarters, which total 10 million and honor National Park of American Samoa in American Samoa, Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut, Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas, the latter of which will be released on November 16, 2020.

“The 2020-W Quarters have generated so much new interest in coin collecting,” remarks PCGS Director of Marketing Heather Boyd. “We wanted to help promote the joy and excitement of the hobby by launching the PCGS Quarter Quest. Since 2019, we’ve awarded more than $20,000 in prizes to coin collectors around the United States and are also offering special pedigrees and labels for a limited time.”

In addition to the cash bounties and the unique PCGS First Discovery Label for the submitter(s) of the first 2020-W Quarter for each new design, two limited-edition pedigrees are offered to those who submit the new coins in the weeks immediately after the First Discovery specimens have been graded. Qualifying 2020-W Quarters submitted within the first week of the PCGS First Discovery receive the PCGS First Week of Discovery pedigree; after that initial seven-day period, 2020-W Quarters submitted within the first 45 days of the First Discovery receive an Early Find Label.

The most recent winners of Quarter Quest 2020 are Karl P. of Maryland and John B. of the southern United States, whose 2020-W Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Quarters grade MS65 and MS66, respectively. The winners are splitting a grand prize of $2,000.

“I felt like a fish out of water,” says John of the excitement he felt in finding the 2020-W Vermont Quarter. “The adrenaline, excitement, the wait, the rush, the anxiety, anticipation, the joy and disbelief – all at the same time!” He was a long time waiting for the moment, as he is a long-time collector. A fan of Standing Liberty Quarters, error coins, and other pieces, works in the food industry, though his job affords him much time to travel and also search through rolls. “Whenever I visit my banks, I always ask for rolls and boxes to take back home and search.” He picked up three boxes of quarters during a 72-hour span in Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama the weekend before his discovery.

“They say, things happen when you aren´t looking, and in this case I wasn´t looking for the [2020-W] Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Quarter – I was still looking for the elusive Salt River Bay Quarter and everything in between, especially with the [PCGS] countdown for the Early Find Label submission. When I got home I didn´t really open the boxes until Monday, and when I opened the second box and [it] was full of new [2020] Marsh-Billing-Rockefeller Quarters and saw a ‘W’ ender [a W-mint marked specimen at the end of one of the rolls], that’s when everything turned upside down.”

His next thoughts? “How many are there? What to do now? And then it was ‘ohhh, I need to send them…” And send one he did – to PCGS as a 2020 Quarter Quest submission. “One little detail in the commotion was that I never marked the quarter boxes, and thus I believe the box I got in Florida was the one with the 2020 Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Quarters.” The Tom Hanks fan who loves the widely acclaimed 1994 movie Forrest Gump in which the actor stars sums up his numismatic experience this way: “The hobby is like a box of chocolates… You never know what you are going to get – and that’s all I have to say about that!”

Karl didn’t know what he was going to find searching through bank rolls, but he kept his eyes on the prize – that being a 2020-W Quarter. “It has been a crazy year for coin roll hunting!” he says. “COVID-19 regulations here in Maryland have resulted in most bank lobbies being closed and therefore [it’s] impossible to obtain quarter boxes. In addition, the Federal Reserve declaring a coin shortage a few months ago throughout the U.S.A. has made it difficult to pay cash for purchases making it extremely difficult to obtain any coins let alone the coveted 2020-W Quarters.”

However, there was one bank near him that kept its lobby open, allowing Karl to purchase and swap boxes of quarters. “Most of the boxes are old quarters, which still yield an occasional 2019-W quarter, and to date I haven’t gotten any 2020 [American Samoa] ‘Bat’ or [Connecticut] ‘Weir’ Quarters. However, recently I have gotten a total of six 2020 Salt River Bay [National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve] Quarter boxes, but none of them had any W Quarters.” He adds, “I was getting extremely discouraged; however, I kept at it and never gave up the search.”

Fortunately, Karl struck it rich – ironically, not via a roll of quarters. “Luckily, I was able to find a 2020-W Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller [National Historical Park] Quarter last week, and it came from a local convenience store! I couldn’t believe it, and I submitted the quarter expecting to be just a little late for it to qualify as a First Discovery Quarter. I figured the worst-case scenario was that I would get the First Week of Discovery label. Imagine my surprise when I was informed that, in fact, I was one of two lucky winners!”

“I really appreciate PCGS offering this contest for everyone to participate. As a two-time winner, I can tell you that I began my coin collecting hobby just last year because of the Quarter Quest, and it has been a blast!” says the cowinner of the 2019 PCGS Quarter Quest, when he submitted the First Discovery 2019-W Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Quarter. “I have been hooked ever since my first find, which was a 2019-W Northern Mariana American Memorial National Park Quarter.”

Karl attended his first coin show last year, and he says the highlight of that experience – visiting the Whitman Expo in Baltimore – was attending the PCGS Luncheon. “PCGS is a first-class company with a tremendous reputation and offers collectors the best value for graded coins.”

For more information about the PCGS 2020 Quarter Quest, including updated information on bounties, to find out which PCGS First Discovery pedigrees and prizes are available, and learn how much time remains for PCGS First Week of Discovery and PCGS Early Find pedigrees, please visit https://www.pcgs.com/2020quarterquest. This page also provides further information on terms and conditions for the PCGS 2020 Quarter Quest and other information on rules and qualifications.

About Professional Coin Grading Service

Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is the premier third-party coin and banknote grading company that was launched in 1986. Over nearly 35 years, PCGS has examined and certified some 44.7 million U.S. and world coins, banknotes, medals, and tokens with a combined value of more than $41.8 billion. For more information about PCGS products and services, including how to submit your coins for authentication and grading, please visit www.PCGS.com or call PCGS Customer Service at (800) 447-8848.   

Professional Coin Grading Service Names Bruce Amspacher, Greg Roberts, and Catherine Bullowa-Moore for Prestigious Honor

(Santa Ana, California) September 24, 2020 – Professional Coin Grading Service (www.PCGS.com) has named three longtime coin dealers and numismatic leaders to the PCGS CoinFacts Coin Dealer Hall of Fame. Every year, PCGS inducts a small handful of distinguished dealers into the Hall of Fame, and this year the world’s premier third-party grading service is adding the names of three well-deserving individuals to the hall of numismatic luminaries. These three new inductees are Bruce Amspacher, Greg Roberts, and Catherine Bullowa-Moore.

“Bruce, Greg, and Catherine have all made such a tremendous impact on our hobby,” says PCGS President Brett Charville. “Bruce, as many know, cofounded Professional Coin Grading Service in 1986, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to him for what he did in helping build our company to what it has become today,” says Charville of Amspacher, who passed away at the age of 63 in 2006. “His posthumous induction to the PCGS CoinFacts Hall of Fame further ensures his memory will never fade.”

Greg Roberts, 57, is CEO of Stack’s Bowers Galleries and A-Mark Precious Metals. He has been in the coin business for decades. “Greg has been a driving force in our industry for more than 40 years and has handled some of the biggest transactions of all time,” Charville remarks. “Some of his deals include the King of Siam Proof Set, which is famous well beyond the realm of our hobby.”

“Catherine Bullowa-Moore became a coin dealer after her husband, who owned a coin shop in Philadelphia, unexpectedly passed away in 1953, less than two years into their marriage,” Charville says. “After his passing, she stepped into those shoes as a coin dealer, taught herself the ins and outs of the hobby, and became one of the most respected dealers in the industry.” Bullowa-Moore, who passed away at the age of 97 in 2017, becomes the first woman inducted into the PCGS CoinFacts Coin Dealer Hall of Fame. “She was a pioneer in our industry and someone who so many coin collectors as well as her fellow dealers throughout the generations knew well and dearly miss.”

Bruce Amspacher was one of seven dealers who collaborated in 1985 to discuss plans for a new type of coin authentication and grading company. Just a few short months later this company became Professional Coin Grading Service.

“When we agreed to start the business in ’85, we got together and talked about naming it,” recalls PCGS cofounder Gordon Wrubel. “‘Professional’ was Bruce’s suggestion,” he adds. Wrubel says Amspacher was “brilliant” and had a virtually photographic memory. “He was also an amazing writer,” he says, noting the eponymous popular Bruce Amspacher Investment Report. “Bruce was a master of limericks and could actually compose them on the spot. His longer ones for friends on special occasions were sometimes framed for posterity.”

His siblings lovingly recall that their brother got his start in numismatics rather by happenstance.

“He worked at a grocery store next door to a coin shop, and during breaks he’d go in and speak with the dealer and really got into the hobby that way,” remarks his sister Jill Kinslow. “He had such a lock-trained memory – he could see a coin in 1985 and come across it again in 1990 and remember not just where he first saw it but also recall every little scratch, the color, spots. It just blew me away.”

His brother, Jerry Amspacher, notes he developed a great passion for the hobby. “He went to work for a coin dealer in Kansas City, then moved to Dallas and Boston before coming back to Kansas City. Then he and a few other dealers started PCGS, leading him to move to California.” He recalls that his brother shared his love of numismatics with the entire family. “He gave our mom a small gold coin on a chain, and then he’d call her each week and tell her how much it was worth that week based on the bullion value.”

Greg Roberts chalks up his illustrious career to “being in the right place at the right time.” But in reality, his successes have been built on more than serendipity. He got his start around 1978 hitting the bourse floor at a time when many of the coin dealers who were prominent during the Great Depression and post-war hobby boomtimes were still active and yet when many of today’s leading marketplace figures were just getting their starts. “Being able to work with some of the early people in the business was great,” he recalls. “I’ve been lucky,” says Roberts, adding a piece of wisdom for those contemplating a career in the coin business: “if you like history and want to make money, become a coin dealer. It’s a super accommodating industry, particularly for young people.”

Fellow Hall of Famer Kevin Lipton says he and Roberts go way back. “I’ve known him since he was a teenager when all he bought was Walking Liberty Half Dollars and Morgan Dollars! We’ve done some tremendous deals together he and I, including splitting the Eliasberg sale where amongst a large amount of other coins we purchased both an 1804 Draped Bust Dollar and 1894-S Barber Dime.” Lipton explains Roberts’ accomplishments extend well beyond handling those trophy coins. “Two of the biggest things I’d say he’s accomplished in his career so far is leading Stack’s Bowers Galleries back to the top of the U.S. rare coin auction market and purchasing A-Mark Precious Metals, which he had turned into a powerhouse.”

Among the numismatists Robert’s career arc has had a pivotal influence on is PCGS President Brett Charville. “Greg’s ability to get big deals done has always been a hallmark of his career, but the term ‘big deals’ isn’t limited to just trading coins when it comes to Greg. His acquisitions of A-Mark, Stack’s Bowers Galleries, Carter Numismatics, and numerous other numismatic companies now ensure that Mr. Roberts is at the forefront of every sector of the numismatic industry. It’s apparent now in hindsight that over the last two decades while Mr. Roberts was acquiring seemingly disparate businesses, he was rather actually quite steadily building a numismatic empire.”

Catherine Bullowa-Moore was already involved in the coin business in the late 1940s when dealer Harvey Stack had met her on a trip to Philadelphia, where she was working in the shop of David Marks Bullowa, the man who she eventually married in 1952. “I remember her and her husband being noted numismatists in the Philadelphia area and was always well known for her dedication to the numismatic industry,” recalls Stack, who is also a member of the PCGS CoinFacts Coin Dealer Hall of Fame. “She always did her very best to advance the hobby,” he says, “and always held a place of honor and friendship among her colleagues.” She was a founding member of the Professional Numismatists Guild in 1954 and was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to the United States Assay Commission in 1965.

A decade later, she met dealer Paul Nugget, who remembers her spit-fire demeanor. “I was 28 years old and on top of the world,” he remarks of himself in May 1975, when he first encountered her. “I was in Manhattan and she was in Philadelphia. There was a collection I was going to buy, and I had arranged to meet with her at 12 PM one day to look at it. So, I drove down and sure enough I somehow arrived 30 minutes early, so I rang the bell. She answered the door and said, ‘I’m eating lunch – come back in half an hour.’ But at 28 and as someone who thought of himself as royalty, I rang again 15 minutes later and she – who was then 58 – answered the door and let me know what she thought of royalty!” He continues, “I fell in love with her and saw her at shows into her 90s. Even though she was in a wheelchair by that time, I always made sure I got a hug from her.”

About Professional Coin Grading Service

Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is a third-party coin and banknote grading company that was launched in 1986. Over nearly 35 years, PCGS has examined and certified some 44.6 million U.S. and world coins, medals, and tokens with a combined value of more than $41.8 billion. For more information about PCGS products and services, including how to submit your coins for authentication and grading, please visit www.PCGS.com or call PCGS Customer Service at (800) 447-8848.