ANA’s eLearning Academy Takes Center Stage
Prospective attendees of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) Summer Seminar may be disappointed to learn that the annual event will not take place in 2021. However, a variety of free online courses will be offered to interested numismatists during the seminar’s typical June and July timeframe. The event was originally slated for June 19-24 (Session 1) and June 26-July 1 (Session 2).
Traditionally held on the Colorado College campus adjacent to ANA headquarters, Summer Seminar is a once-a-year opportunity for numismatic learning and camaraderie that offers hundreds of collectors from around the world a varied selection of week-long courses designed for discovery and continued study.
Colorado College notified the
ANA in late 2020 that it would not be hosting events on its campus in
2021 because of COVID-19. The Association looked at an alternative location in Colorado Springs, but the $128,000 deficit that would be incurred to host the event there was rejected by the ANA Board of Governors.
The University of Denver campus also was considered, but previous Summer Seminar students and instructors indicated that without access to the Association’s museum and library, Summer Seminar would not be as engaging. Additionally, many previous participants noted they were uncomfortable traveling during the pandemic.
ANA Executive Director Kim Kiick indicated that the Association will offer free virtual courses through its eLearning Academy during the 2021 Summer Seminar dates of June 19-July 1. Although the online classes will not replicate the Summer Seminar event, it will give participants a taste of the popular program. Topics will appeal to a broad range of collectors, from beginners to advanced numismatists. Details will be available in the weeks ahead.
COVID-19 also caused the cancellation of the 2020 Summer Seminar, the event’s first cancellation in its 50-plus-year history. Scholarships that were awarded for the 2020
Summer Seminar will be honored when the event resumes in 2022.
ANTI-COUNTERFEITING EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION WARNS FEDS ABOUT ONLINE “COIN”
Promptly acting on a tip from a concerned collector, the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Founda-tion’s (www.ACEFonline. org) Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force (ACTF) has notified law enforcement agencies and online shopping platform Amazon.com about a seller who is in apparent violation of federal laws involving reproductions of rare coins.
The seller, using the name SeTing, offered nine reproductions of coins and fantasy dates, but none of the accompanying coin images indicated any of the items were properly marked “COPY” as man-dated by the Hobby Protection Act.
The offered items included replicas of a 1794 Flowing Hair dollar, an 1804 Draped Bust dollar, and a 1915 Indian Head quarter eagle ($5). There was also a fantasy piece resembling a Trade dollar but with the date 1791 and a Carson City mint mark that was identified by the seller as “Old Original Morgan Dollar.” Genuine U.S. Trade dollars were struck from 1873 to 1885, and Morgan silver dollars were produced between 1878 and 1921. Prices for the “coins” ranged from $2.99 to $3.29 plus an additional $3.98 shipping.
A hobbyist who saw the online listings sent a complaint about the seller to members of the American Numismatic Association Board of Governors, some former ANA officers, the United States Mint, and several numismatic publications and numismatic information websites. ANA Past President Gary Adkins forwarded the email complaint to former Texas Police Chief Doug Davis, ACEF Director of Anti-Counterfeiting.
“The timely ‘heads up’ tip from the concerned collector is greatly appreciated. These six items are in apparent violation of both the Hobby Protection Act and Title 18 of the
U.S. Code involving counterfeiting and forgery of United States coins.
The task force has reported the information to the appropriate federal agencies and Amazon,” said Davis. “ACTF currently monitors over 200 websites and social media platforms selling counterfeit coins and precious metals across the country and around the world. Intelligence information is forwarded to the Secret Service and Treasury Department Office of the Inspector General. ACTF also assists all levels of law enforcement in counterfeit case development for prosecution,” he explained.
“The Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation is aggressively seeking legislation on the state level to provide local law enforcement officers with statutes seeking criminal penalties for the possession, manufacture, and distribution of counterfeit coins and precious metals,” said ACEF Executive Director Robert Brueggeman.
PCGS GRADED 23 OF TOP 25 MOST EXPENSIVE UNITED STATES COINS SOLD IN 2020
With 2020 officially behind us, Professional Coin Grading Service (www. PCGS.com) is once again on top when it comes to grading almost all the top 25 most valuable coins sold at public auction during the past year. Having graded 23 of the 25 most valuable coins to cross the auction block in 2020, that number represents an increase of two PCGS-graded top-priced coins from the previous year’s count of 21 in 2019. It also includes the crossing of a graded rarity that sold for $1.44 million and was in a holder from another grading service.
The sales data compiled here is derived from the seven top auction companies, which include Heritage Auctions, Stack’s Bowers Galleries, Legend Rare Coin Auctions, GreatCollections, Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Sotheby’s, and Bonhams. A complete list of the top 25 most valuable coins sold in 2020 can be found online at https://www. pcgs.com/top-selling-coins-2020.
Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez has won multiple Numismatic Literary Guild awards for his work as a journalist, editor, and author and enjoys writing about a variety of topics spanning the hobby he has loved since 1992. Joshua has been writing for COINage since 2014 and became a contributing editor in 2015.