Rhett Jeppson, the first Principal Deputy Director of the United States Mint, has agreed to autograph certification labels exclusively for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®).
Jeppson helmed the Mint from January 2015 to January 2017 in his capacity as Principal Deputy Director, and on May 19, 2015, he was nominated as Director of the US Mint. Under his watch the US Mint released a number of popular special issues, including:
- The 2015-W American Liberty High Relief Gold $100, the highest denomination gold coin ever issued by the United States;
- The 2016 American Liberty Silver Medal, which sold out just six minutes after release;
- The 2016-W Centennial Gold Mercury Dime, which sold out in less than an hour; the 2016-W Centennial Gold Standing Liberty Quarter; and the 2016-W Centennial Gold Walking Liberty Half Dollar;
- The 2016-W 30th Anniversary American Silver Eagle, the first lettered edge coin in the widely collected series, and;
- The 2017-P Lincoln Cent, the first cent issued with the “P” mintmark of Philadelphia.
Before leaving the US Mint in January, Jeppson laid the groundwork for the production and release of the 2017 American Liberty US Mint 225th Anniversary Gold $100. It is the first coin to portray the allegorical figure of Liberty, which has graced United States coins since 1792, as an African-American woman. This groundbreaking coin was covered extensively in news reports when it was announced earlier this year.
The American Liberty US Mint 225th Anniversary Gold $100 is scheduled to be released on April 6 and will be struck in high relief from one ounce of .9999 fine gold with 225th ANNIVERSARY in raised letters on the edge. It will be followed by a silver medal released mid-year and a set of silver medals released at year’s end.
Prior to his appointment as the Principal Deputy Director of the United States Mint, Jeppson served as the Acting Chief Operating Officer of the Small Business Administration, where he was also the Associate Administrator of Veterans Business Development. A veteran himself, Jeppson joined the US Marine Corps in 1987 after he received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Florida.
Jeppson was deployed in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq and, after alternating between active duty and other jobs, was reactivated in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He served in varied roles including Chief of Current Operations for the US Marine Forces Europe and Deputy Director of Operations for US Forces—Afghanistan. He was later assigned to US Special Operations Command in Tampa, and eventually appointed Deputy Director of Operations for US Forces—Afghanistan.
“We are honored that Rhett, a distinguished veteran and chief administrator of the US Mint, has agreed to autograph labels for NGC,” says Mark Salzberg, Chairman of NGC. “The pairing of labels hand-signed by Rhett with the important coins released under his watch will create particularly special collectibles.”
“NGC’s innovative programs, such as its authentic hand-signed labels, have brought many new collectors into the hobby and I am eager to build on this success,” adds Jeppson. “I look forward to working with NGC to expand the coin collecting hobby to appeal to more diverse demographics.”
Coins encapsulated with Rhett Jeppson hand-signed NGC certification labels will be available from select retailers later this month.
