The American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) 2022 National Money Show in Colorado Springs, Colorado, welcomed a total of 3,288 people to the three-day event, held March 10-12 at The Broadmoor resort.
“This was an excellent turnout for our spring convention,” said ANA Executive Director Kim Kiick. “We were thrilled to be able to connect once more face-to-face with so many friends.”
During the show’s opening ceremonies on Thursday morning, ANA President Dr. Ralph Ross presented National Money Show Host Chair Steve D’Ippolito with the ANA Goodfellow Award in recognition of his service. Dr. Ross also recognized the host clubs – the Colorado Springs Coin Club and the Colorado Springs Numismatic Society–and their presidents, Dave Starling and George Mountford–with the Lewis S. Werner Host Club Award.
The event featured 376 dealers buying and selling coins, currency, and related items; a wide range of numismatic educational presentations led by notable speakers; a three-session sale by Classical Numismatic Group, LLC (CNG); and exhibits of priceless rarities from private collections and the American Numismatic Association’s Money Museum in Colorado Springs.
The Money Museum showcase featured rare treasures including three of the first U.S. dimes, a 1933 Eagle (gold $10), highlights from a recent donation of California Territorial gold coins, and select items from the recently acquired Baker-Manley Collection of Washington medals. The medals presented a tie-in to the museum’s new exhibit, “The Medal in America”, the opening of which premiered Thursday night of the show. More than 250 ANA members gathered at the Money Museum to experience the new exhibit, which illustrates the history of the United States from colonial times to the present. The Baker-Manley Collection was donated to the Money Museum by Dwight Manley in August.
A major draw for numismatists and the general public alike were the collector exhibits. A constant stream of people enjoyed its more than 25 displays, with topics ranging from Colonial Colorado’s silver reals to meteorite coins. On Saturday afternoon, the ANA recognized the educational displays with an exhibit awards presentation and reception.
Show attendees also took advantage of the many educational opportunities at the show, including a technical seminar on grading and 10 free Money Talks presentations from numismatic experts.
The Kids Zone offered youngsters a plethora of activities to engage them in coin collecting, including a Treasure Trivia game where they learned about numismatics and earned prizes as they explored the bourse floor in search of answers to trivia questions. A Young Collectors Corner taught by ANA Numismatic Educator Sam Gelberd offered basic information about the hobby to a young crowd of enthusiasts.
CNG served as an official auctioneer of the 2022 National Money Show. The multi-session sale featured noted numismatist Kenneth Bressett’s collection of British and ancient Roman coins.
“This was a terrific result and we are very happy for Ken and all the winning bidders,” said Michael Gasvoda, managing director of CNG. “We were deeply honored to be chosen to bring some of Ken Bressett’s wonderful collections to market. This was a true collector’s auction, with highly affordable coins for people of all ages, incomes, and levels of interest.”
Online bidders for the auction pushed sales to more than $560,000 USD. Some of the top sales (including the 20% buyer’s premium) included an extremely rare early Roman Aes Grave, reaching $9,600 against an estimate of $4,000; a rare Byzantine gold solidus of Michael I Rhangabe, which achieved $7,800; and a silver denarius from the notorious emperor Caligula, topping at $6,600.
“We had lines at our table from the opening bell to closing. It was a phenomenal show,”said Colorado Springs coin dealer and past ANA President Tom Hallenbeck. “The biggest issue remains finding fresh material. Public attendance was softer than we’d hoped, but those that did attend came to buy, sell and enjoy the incredible exhibits. Everyone loved The Broadmoor resort and the new convention venue. We hope Colorado Springs will stay in the rotation for future ANA shows.”
Total attendance was 3,288, reflected as follows:
- Dealers: 376
- Staff & volunteers: 69
- ANA members & general public: 2,843
“Great appreciation goes out to all the volunteers, the host clubs, sponsors, and ANA staff who helped put this show together,” said Kiick. “Without their help, a show of this size and caliber would not be possible.”
The ANA would like to recognize the following:
- Steve D’Ippolito – Host Chair and Collector Exhibits
- Dave Starling – Money Talks
- Holly Stanton – Ambassadors
- Bob Cuppy – Pages
- Dan Usiak and Holly Stanton – Young Collectors Corner
- George Mountford – Club Table
Ambassadors – Peter Bond, Bob Cuppy, Steve D’Ippolito, Robert Daley, John Graves, Dave Jaeger (Front Range, Longmont & Fort Collins Coin Club), Russell Josephson, Vicky Kitzman, Doug Lang, Chris Large, Keith Morgan, George Mountford, Lynn Murphy, Milt Newell, James Northrop, Cary Rogers, Dan Roussin (Denver Coin Club), Steve Sellers (Denver Coin Club), Jason Smith, Holly Stanton, Dave Starling, Denise Starling, David Tyner.
Pages – Eve Brenner, Kevin Lester, Austin Smith, Nathan Smith.
The next ANA convention is the 2022 World’s Fair of Money to be held August 16-20 in Chicago (Rosemont), Illinois, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. The 2023 National Money Show is slated for March 2-4, 2023 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.