Following a nineteen-year career as publisher at Whitman Publishing, Dennis Tucker will retire at the end of February 2024. He plans to spend time with family in the United States and the Philippines while pursuing creative and philanthropic projects.
Tucker has served Whitman as its publisher from December 2004, when the company was owned by Atlanta-based Anderson Press, through its recent acquisition by CDN Publishing. During that time, he has overseen the publication of more than 300 titles ranging from 64-page monographs to 1,504-page references in the fields of numismatics, banking and financial history, the American presidency, U.S. military history, and other nonfiction topics.
“Dennis Tucker has been a loyal leader and a guiding figure in our business,” said Whitman president Mary Burleson. “He has built lasting relationships with researchers and numismatic industry leaders, developed and mentored our editorial staff, worked as an advocate for readers and a partner for authors, and served as an ambassador to the numismatic community and non-collectors alike. I want to publicly thank Dennis for his dedication over a long and productive career.”
Tucker has been part of the modern renaissance in numismatic publishing that started in 2003 with the addition of Q. David Bowers as Whitman’s numismatic director. He helped develop more than two dozen volumes in the best-selling Bowers Series, as well as the popular “100 Greatest” library, many encyclopedic reference books, and twenty editions of the Red Book, which sold more than six million copies during his tenure.
An award-winning author himself, Tucker wrote the Whitman book American Gold and Silver: U.S. Mint Collector and Investor Coins and Medals, Bicentennial to Date (2016). He has written more than 400 articles published in commercial, scholarly, and popular numismatic journals and periodicals; given more than 40 numismatic presentations and lectures nationwide; taught courses at the American Numismatic Association’s Summer Seminar at Colorado College; and been interviewed for hobby and mainstream media including NPR’s “Planet Money” and “Morning Edition.”
He has earned numerous hobby recognitions including the ANA’s Glenn B. Smedley Memorial Award. In 2020 he was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel by Governor Andy Beshear for his career in publishing and for promoting the Commonwealth’s numismatic history. In 2021 he was named by Coin World as one of the most influential people in numismatics from 1960 to 2020.
After his retirement Tucker will continue in various numismatic roles and activities, including as secretary pro tem of the Rittenhouse Society, and as coauthor (with Coin World editor Steve Roach) of the ANA’s “Collecting Friends” blog column. He will finish his second term this year as numismatic specialist of the Treasury Department’s Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, and he serves as chairman of the board of directors of Brayhope Farm, Inc., a New York charitable nonprofit that offers community health and educational programs for autistic children and others with physical, developmental, behavioral/emotional, and sensory needs.
“My time with Whitman has been a dream come true, one of the great pleasures in my life,” Tucker said. “The people involved—collectors, dealers, researchers, writers, historians, and co-workers—have made it a rich and fulfilling journey. I look forward to remaining active in numismatics and keeping in touch with my many friends in and around the hobby.”
With a heart full of gratitude and a legacy built with unwavering dedication, Dennis Tucker steps into retirement with immense pride, cherishing the memories created, and the impact made throughout an extraordinary career.
About Whitman Publishing
Whitman Publishing is the world’s leading producer of numismatic reference books, supplies, and products to display and store coins and paper money. The company’s high-quality books educate readers in the rich, colorful history of American and world coinage and currency, and teach how to build great collections. Archival-quality Whitman folders, albums, cases, and other holders keep collectibles safe and allow them to be shown off to friends and family.
Whitman Publishing is the Official Supplier of the American Numismatic Association. As a benefit of membership in the ANA, members can borrow the Guide Book of United States Coins (and other Whitman books) for free from the Association’s library, and also receive 10% off all Whitman purchases.