I've been a member of the ANA for 40 years. Went to my first convention when it was held in Cincinnati . Been to several since. Chicago and Atlanta are my favorite locations. In New Orleans in the early 80's I spent time talking with Julian Liedman and David Bowers. Leon Hendrickson also spent time showing me several rarities at his table. Got to watch Walter Breen examine and write an authentication for a Branch Mint Proof at one of the shows. At the Chicago 1991 show I saw the PCGS Morgan Silver Dollar exhibit. At the same show, I went thru a half gallon zip lock bag of Hungarian Medieval denars. Bought 300 for $3 a piece. Bought my first Early Dated spitzgroschens from Glenn Schinke. I've been to several other Summer and mid Winter ANA events. Even visited the headquarters when the shows were in Denver. I'm planning on attending the show in August, in Chicago. Hopefully many of you will get to attend this year. I would suggest visiting Wednesday - Friday. On Saturday the dealers are packing up and leaving. The exhibits that collectors present are really nice and well thought out. You get to see a variety of collections beyond Morgan dollars and Mercury dimes. If you attend, maybe we can meet up at the concession stand and have a soda. Take care and safe travels, Tibor
There's a few others. The moderators are aware of them. I read most of the posts on Coin Talk. If I don't recognize the name of the poster, I just delete the thread.
No, I've never attended an ANA Convention. Both of these medals are from the 3-medal sets that were issued only for the years 1969-1982. Each set contained a 38mm silver medal, a 38mm bronze medal and a 19mm bronze medal, all of which were supposed to be numbered. The 19mm medal sold only in the set, but not separately. I first fell in love with the 1969 set for the Philadelphia convention which was designed by Frank Gasparro and featured the likeness of Libertas Americana. It took me a few years, but with the help of some friends on the NGC Collectors Society, I finally found all 14 sets on eBay. Then, it took me a few more years to convince NGC to grade them. Ten of the medals (five silver and five bronze) were struck in high relief and required a thicker slab.
@tibor Here is the gallery that Bob created for me if you would like to look at all of the 1969-1982 medals. Robec's Images: Chris (robecsimages.com)
Congratulations My 40th comes up next year. Joined just as I finished High School. In the early 90s, I thought about getting a life membership but never bothered. Too bad.
Been an ANA member since April 2015. Never been to a convention. I really wish they would have it in a different city every year and not always in Chicago. Central States is the same way.
@Rushmore While it would be great for the ANA WFoM to travel to different cities each year, it just isn't possible. Local taxes, union, the safety of dealers and convention attendees plays a big part in the ANA's decision. Easy to get to cities is high on the list. Dealers do not want to change planes and neither do the attendees. Ease and security play a MAJOR role in this decision. The cities want the conventions to reserve a block of rooms. If these rooms are not sold out, the city makes the ANA to make up the difference. The concession also has its requirements. IF they do not meet certain $ goals, the ANA makes up the difference. In some cities the unions rule. Do you want some ham fisted union employee carrying your inventory to your table if your a dealer. Security is a major concern. Some cities such as Detroit would not be attended by many dealers and collectors. After the summer of 2020 there are a few more to add to the list. At Rosemont, you are a 15 minute shuttle ride from the airport. Several nice hotels within a five minute walk of the convention center. Many cities do not return the ANA's initial call. Let's face it, among conventions, the WFoM is very, very small potatoes. In a good year 10,000 collectors attend, many are counted several times as they come and go from the con- vention hall. On the other hand, AMWAY, Shriners and other organizations can easily have 40,000 attendees. In Denver of 2017, the Nissan Corp. was has having a "get together" of their dealers and suppliers. They were disappointed that only 25,000 were going to show. So the fact that Rosemont will have the ANA convention is a true blessing. I know it's not fair that Chicago gets the lions share of conventions, but everything considered it is far and away the best place to hold it. I know there are other factors that play into the decision making process but at 2:30 AM they don't come to mind. I want to make one thing clear, I am not a spokesperson for the ANA. These are just thoughts and reasons that have been voiced over the last several years. I hope to see and meet several of forum members in Chicago. PS I'm driving 600+ miles to attend this year.
