Remember When: ANA Conventions Then and Now, Part 2

By Harvey G. Stack, Senior Numismatic Consultant

At the end of my last story, I mentioned how buying and selling changed at the ANA Convention in the early 1950s.  The Mint had started to issue Proof sets again and trading in these products, singly and in bulk, began to dominate the bourse floor. Dealers and speculators would roll in cases of the new sets for sale. The next big trend, later in the 1950s and into the 1960s, rolls of Uncirculated United States coins became the hot item as rolls and bags of coins were carted into a convention room on large rolling carriers, and bought and sold as unopened bags and unbroken rolls.  In fact, trading got so wild that Sol Kaplan, a dealer from Cincinnati, Ohio, set up a Bid & Ask Board, for rolls as well as Proof sets. Prices could change daily, hourly, or by the minute. It almost seemed that rare coins didn’t matter, only quantities of coins.

In 1970 or so there was a major flutter in trading of gold coins on the floor of the show and large sums of money could change hands. This was another distraction to dedicated numismatists during this era. Later in the 1970s, speculation in Silver Certificates dominated the bourse floor. At the time, Silver Certificates could be exchanged for silver bullion and a profit could be made almost instantly by then selling the bullion for a good-sized profit.

The Mint also started producing more special issues in the 1980s and the trading in these modern issues became an important part of the hobby and the business at the convention. Eventually it seemed that the Mint had gone too far and these programs were criticized for profiteering on collectors who tried to keep their collections current and had to buy more and more coins. Eventually at the beginning of the 21st century the Mint slowed down production.

This Mint programs caused a group of numismatists to go to Washington to address the situation. It was there and then that I proposed that the Mint produce something that could be collected at face value and bring the public back into coin collecting. The result was the Statehood Quarter series, which lasted for 10 years and did cause many people to search through their change, try to collect the whole series, and become acquainted with coin dealers, numismatics, and even attend conventions. After this series was issued, I am happy to report that there was a noted increase in attendance at all coin shows, including those held by the ANA.

The ANA has also worked to increase interest in coins. There are other conventions, besides the summer convention, as well as educational programs including their Summer Seminar. The Professional Numismatists Guild also offers educational opportunities, and organizations such as scouting encourage collecting of many things, including coins.

All of this was going through my mind as I stood in the lobby of the convention center hosting the 2013 World’s Fair of Money. Thinking back over my 67 years as a professional numismatist I thought that while many things had changed, it was evident that the desire to collect, the seeking of special pieces and rarities, the enjoyment of owning, learning about, displaying and discussing coins is still alive and well at the ANA convention as well as in numismatics at large.