Want to Collect Smarter? The 2026 GACC Show Puts Top Coin Experts in the Classroom
Collectors heading to the 2026 Great American Coin & Collectibles Show in Rosemont, Illinois, will find more than coins for sale. This year, organizers will put a strong emphasis on practical collector education.
The public show runs Thursday through Saturday, October 1-3, 2026, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Dealer-to-dealer trading begins one day earlier, on September 30.
During the show, visitors can take part in the returning Numismatic Educational Journey. In addition, five educational seminars on Friday, October 2, will tackle subjects ranging from classic U.S. commemoratives to Morgan and Peace Dollars.
Better yet, Educational Journey participants will have a chance to win numismatic prizes, including an American Silver Eagle or a certified Proof Franklin Half Dollar.
Numismatic Educational Journey participants at the 2026 Great American Coin & Collectibles Show will have a chance to win an American Silver Eagle or other numismatic prizes.
A Coin Show Treasure Hunt With an Educational Purpose
The Numismatic Educational Journey has become one of the show’s signature collector programs.
Larry Shepherd, president of Shepherd Expos Management, said visitors responded well to the concept at previous Great American Coin & Collectibles Shows.
The program directs collectors to roughly 20 participating dealer tables across the bourse floor. Each dealer will display an interesting or historically significant coin, bank note, or other numismatic item.
Visitors then move from table to table and learn why each object matters.
After participants complete the journey, organizers enter them into a prize drawing. Potential prizes include a certified Proof Franklin Half Dollar and an American Silver Eagle.
Therefore, the program combines three things that coin shows do especially well: discovery, education, and the opportunity to examine numismatic material in person.
Five Seminars Focus on Real-World Collecting Decisions
The educational program becomes even more intensive on Friday, October 2.
Five seminars will address questions collectors regularly face when they buy coins. For example, speakers will discuss coins that prove harder to locate than published prices might suggest. They will also examine appropriate versus questionable toning and explain strike-quality issues.
According to Shepherd, the sessions will focus on information collectors can actually use while walking the bourse floor.
That practical approach could prove especially useful in today’s market. A grade on a holder tells only part of a coin’s story. Strike, eye appeal, surface quality, toning, rarity, and market demand can all influence whether one coin represents a stronger purchase than another.
Classic U.S. Commemoratives Open the Program
The first session begins at 11 a.m.
Shepherd and Tyler Jorgenson will conduct an “Ask the Expert” forum covering classic United States commemorative coins from 1892 through 1954.
The classic commemorative series offers collectors an enormous range of designs, subjects, mintages, varieties, and condition challenges. Consequently, collectors often need more than a price guide when choosing between examples.
Shepherd has spent decades working with classic U.S. commemoratives, while Jorgenson works with him in the specialty.
How to Grade and Price Silver Dollars
At 1 p.m., the National Silver Dollar Round Table Educational Forum will present:
“How to Grade and Price Silver Dollars.”
Numismatic experts Scott Travers and Don Ketterling will lead the session.
Grading remains one of the most important skills in the silver dollar market. Even a one-point difference can create a major price gap for certain dates and grades. Therefore, collectors need to understand more than the number printed on a certification label.
Don Rinkor Takes on PL and DMPL Morgan Dollars
At 2 p.m., Don Rinkor will lead a forum on Prooflike and Deep Mirror Prooflike Morgan Dollars, better known to collectors as PL and DMPL Morgans.
Rinkor has long specialized in these highly reflective business-strike dollars.
PL and DMPL Morgan Dollars create their own set of challenges. Reflectivity can vary dramatically from coin to coin. In addition, cameo contrast, surface marks, strike quality, and overall eye appeal can have a major effect on desirability.
For Morgan Dollar specialists, this could rank among the day’s most useful sessions.
High-Grade Peace Dollars Take Center Stage
At 3 p.m., Shepherd and Jorgenson return for:
“High Grade Mint State Peace Dollars – What You Need to Know to be an Expert Collector.”
Peace Dollars can become especially challenging at high Mint State levels. Strike quality varies, and contact marks can become critical as grades rise.
Therefore, collectors who understand these characteristics can make better comparisons between coins that may carry similar certified grades.
Morgan Dollar Varieties and Die Clashes
The day’s final National Silver Dollar Round Table forum begins at 4 p.m.
Dr. Nowland Bambard will lead “Morgan Dollar Varieties and Die Clashes.”
Die varieties and clashes have created an entire specialty within Morgan Dollar collecting. A collector who learns to recognize them can find details that casual buyers may overlook.
Bambard has previously presented educational programs explaining how die clashes form and how collectors can identify them on Morgan Dollars.
2026 Great American Coin & Collectibles Show Hours and Admission
The 2026 Great American Coin & Collectibles Show will take place in Hall F of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, located at 5555 N. River Road in Rosemont, Illinois.
Public hours are:
Thursday, October 1: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Friday, October 2: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 3: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission costs $15 for a three-day pass or $10 per day. Children age 10 and younger enter free.
Shepherd Expos Management co-produces the Great American Coin & Collectibles Show with Amos Media, publisher of Coin World.
Heritage Auctions serves as the show’s Official Auctioneer. Heritage, Coin World, Legend Numismatics, and West Coast Coins also support the event as co-sponsors.
Collectors can find additional information about hotel accommodations, the full event schedule, and discounted early-entry passes at Great American Coin & Collectibles Show
For additional information, collectors can also contact event manager Larry Shepherd at 719-464-8801 or [email protected].
