ANA Exhibit Awards at 2023 World’s Fair of Money

The American Numismatic Association (ANA) presented 53 competitive exhibit awards at the 2023 World’s Fair of Money in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most winners were announced at the Exhibit Awards Presentation and Reception on Friday, August 11, but the top prizes were revealed at the 132nd Anniversary Awards Banquet held that evening.

Awards are presented in three categories: Open Division Unclassified Awards; Class Exhibit Awards; and Young Numismatist Exhibit Awards. A total of 35 exhibitors of all experience levels, showing 58 exhibits, competed in this year’s program. Twelve were first-time entrants.

Last year, the ANA Board of Governors established a budget line for encouraging exhibiting at conventions. Some of this funding has been used to supplement the traditional award medals. The Open Division Best-of-Show awards include a half-ounce, quarter-ounce, or 1/10 ounce gold American Eagle coin. The Class Exhibit Awards include a 1/10 ounce American Eagle gold coin for first place, a Proof silver American Eagle for second place, and a bullion silver American Eagle for third place.

Open Division Unclassified Awards

Michael Kodysz received the Howland Wood Memorial Award for Best-of-Show for his exhibit “I Was a Teenage Emperor: Decoding Denarii from the Eastern Mints of Elagabalus”. The Radford Stearns Memorial Award for Excellence in Exhibiting, presented to the first and second runners-up, was awarded, respectively, to Michael Shutterly [A CoinWeek author. —CW] for “It’s Elementary!”, and to Thomas J. Uram for “The Historically-Significant Two Cent Piece 1864-1872”.

The ANA also presented competitive exhibit awards for young numismatists (YNs) age 17 and younger. The Charles H. Wolfe Sr. Memorial Award for the YN Best-of-Show Exhibit was presented to Hayden Howard for “I Like Ike: The History of the Eisenhower Dollar 1971-1978.”

The Thos. H. Law Award for The Best Exhibit by a First-Time Exhibitor went to Timothy Giambra for “Casting History: A Selection of Medals by Karl Goetz.”

The Rodger E. Hershey Memorial People’s Choice Award, selected by convention attendees, was won by Carl Waltz for “A Glimpse of the Life of Charles T. Steigerwalt 1852 to 1912.”

The Women in Numismatics Award, for the best exhibit exemplifying the roles of women in numismatics, was also presented to Michael Kodysz for “I Was a Teenage Emperor: Decoding Denarii from the Eastern Mints of Elagabalus.”

Michael Kodysz also received the Ira and Larry Goldberg Award for Best Exhibit of Coins That Made History, with his exhibit on teen emperor Elagabalus. The award is a trophy bearing a coin of Elagabalus.

Scott Loos received the Joseph E. Boling Award for Judging Excellence.

2023 Class Exhibit Awards

Class 1: United States Coins, Lelan G. Rogers Memorial Award. All United States coins and patterns and all coinage or trade tokens used in pre-Federal America, except gold.

1. First place: Thomas J. Uram, for “The Historically-Significant Two Cent Piece 1864-1872.”
2. Second place: Hayden Howard, for “I Like Ike: The History of the Eisenhower Dollar 1971-1978.”
3. Third place: Kathryn Rosinia, for “Making the Grade – The 1900-O Morgan Dollar Grading Set.”

Class 2: United States Fiscal Paper, Sidney W. Smith/William Donlon Memorial Award. All paper money and bonds issued by the United States government, including military currency; pre-U.S. colonial, Continental, and Confederate paper money and bonds; state and private banknotes and bonds; scrip; college currency; and stock certificates. Essays, proofs, and souvenir cards of such items may also be shown.

1. First place: Charles Ambrass, for “Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Andrew W. Mellon: Pittsburgh Native and Signer of U.S. Currency.”
2. Second place: Michael Pierce, for “Discovery: The Last $10 1902 Plain Back Printed for The Pacific National Bank of Nantucket.”
3. Third place: Michael Hicks, for “Whose ‘John Hancock’ is that?”

Class 3: Medals, Orders, Decorations and Badges; Burton Saxton/George Bauer Memorial Award. Medallic items not used as a medium of exchange, or not having trade value, including orders and decorations, convention badges, and badges issued by fraternal orders or other organizations. Excluded are Masonic pennies and tokens included in Classes 5-8.

1. First place: Timothy Giambra, for “Casting History: A Selection of Medals by Karl Goetz.”
2. Second place: Michael Kodysz, for “Zeppelins and the Great War: A Medallic History of German Military Airships in World War I.”
3. Third place: Jeffrey Rosinia, for “Sealing the Deal of the United States: E Pluribus Unum – The Great Seal of the United States.”

Class 4: Modern Coins and Medals, John R. Eshbach Memorial Award. Coins and medallic (non-denominated) material issued 1960 and later, including philatelic numismatic covers.

1. First place: Simcha Laib Kuritzky, for “Chaim Gross’ Ten Commandments Sculpture Medals.”
2. Second place: Judy Dobbins, for “Texas Numismatic Association Annual Show Medals.”
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class 5: Tokens, B.P. Wright Memorial Award. Items, including encased postage, issued as a medium of exchange for goods and services or for advertising purposes, but excluding American colonial items included in class 1. Includes Masonic pennies and substances used in lieu of medal.

1. First place: Michael Hicks, for “The Token Price for Alabama’s Natural Resources.”
2. Second place: Peter Smith, for “An Introduction to Twentieth Century (1948-1976) Encased Postage Stamps.”
3. Third place: Tyler Tyson, for “McDonald’s 50th Anniversary of the Big Mac.”

Class 6: Casino Chips and Gaming Tokens, Archie A. Black Award. Items of all types and materials used as gaming pieces, including traditional and non-traditional tokens and other money substitutes, and including tokens used in military clubs.

1. First place: No award.
2. Second place: Rich Bottles, for “Gaming Chips of Pittsburgh’s Max Klein.”
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class 7: Engraved Coins, Love Token Society Award. Numismatic items that have been converted into jewelry, amulets, or decorative objects. Examples are love tokens, hobo nickels, and “pop-out” coins.

1. First place: Tyler Tyson, for “Identifying Hobo Nickels Carved by Frank Brazzell.”
2. Second place: Rich Bottles for “Engraved Coins from President McKinley’s Funeral Train.”
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class 8: Elongated Coins, Dottie Dow Memorial Award. Souvenirs created using an elongating machine, whether the underlying piece is a coin, token, medal, or blank planchet.

1. First place: Cindy Calhoun, for “An Elongated Tribute to the Pittsburgh Area.”
2. Second place: Terri Ventresca, for “A Selection of Elongated Pennies and Postcards: Scenes of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.”
3. Third place: Tyler Tyson, for “Multiple Varieties of Elongated Coin Dies.”

Class 9: Coins Issued Prior to 1500 A.D., Dr. Charles W. Crowe Memorial Award. Coins, including gold, issued by any government before 1500 A.D.

No exhibits this year.

Class 10: Regional U.S. Numismatics, William C. Henderson/Fred Cihon Memorial Award. Numismatic material of any type specific to a particular region of the United States, such as the locale where the exhibit is being presented.

1. First place: Michael Hicks, for “Series 1929 National Banknotes from Western Pennsylvania.”
2. Second place: Kenneth Swab, for “Battle of Plattsburgh Medals.”
3. Third place: Eric Vicker, for “Western Pennsylvania National Currency.”

Class 11: Numismatics of the Americas, Henry Christensen/John Jay Pittman Sr. Memorial Award. Numismatic material of any type issued or used in the Western Hemisphere outside the United States.

No exhibits this year.

Class 12: Numismatics of Europe, John S. Davenport Memorial Award. Numismatic material of any type issued or used in Europe, including Russia east to the Urals.

1. First place: Michael Shutterly, for “Vive le Franc!”
2. Second place: Thomas J. Uram, for “The Kings and Queens of England Through Maundy Money.”
3. Third place: David Frank, for “Holocaust Numismatics – 10 AD-1953 AD?: Selected Examples.”

Class 13: Numismatics of Africa and the Middle East, Menachem Chaim and Simcha Tova Mizel Memorial Award. Numismatic material of any type issued or used on the continent of Africa or in the Middle East (from Turkey east through Iran and south to Aden).

1. First place: Michael Kodysz, for “I was a Teenage Emperor: Decoding Denarii from the Eastern Mints of Elagabalus.”
2. Second place: Charlie Tate, for “Israeli Ten Agorot Coins.”
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class 14: Numismatics of Asia and the Pacific, William B. Warden Jr. Memorial Award. All numismatic material issued, used in, or related to Asia east of the Urals and Iran, and in the southeast Asian, Australasian, and Pacific islands (excluding Hawaii under the U.S.)

No exhibits this year.

Class 15: Gold Coins, Gaston DiBello/Melvin and Leona Kohl Memorial Award. Gold coins of any provenance and era.

1. First place: Brett Irick, for “Early Republic of Mexico Hand-on-Book Half Escudo Gold Coins 1825-1870.”
2. Second place: Cindy Calhoun, for “U.S. Marshals Service Gold Coin … Celebrating a Career.”
3. Third place: Kevin Dailey, for “Gold Coins of the Mint’s Golden Girl.”

Class 16: Numismatic Errors and Error Varieties, Numismatic Error Collectors Award. Any numismatic material mis-struck or misprinted by the producer, including varieties caused by die or plate deterioration or damage. Items mutilated or altered after production are excluded.

1. First place: Mark Wieclaw, for “A Selection of Ancient Minting Errors.”
2. Second place: Art Parness, for “Mint Errors: Enormous Deep Die Capped Set.”
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class 17: Numismatic Literature, Aaron Feldman Memorial Award. Printed and manuscript (published or unpublished) literature dealing with any numismatic subject.

1. First place: Carl Waltz, for “A Glimpse of the Life of Charles T. Steigerwalt 1852 to 1912.”
2. Second place: No exhibit.
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class 18: General, Specialized, and Topical, Robert Hendershott Memorial/Robert J. Leuver Award. Numismatic material not covered in other classes or covered by more than one class. Includes wooden money, political buttons and insignia, and other exonumia, as well as material linked by design, such as elephants or bridges, or by theme, such as political movements.

1. First place: Michael Shutterly, for “It’s Elementary!”
2. Second place: Gary Dobbins, for “Honoring Music Through a World of Paper Money.”
3. Third place: Jeffry Rosinia, for “Phoenix Rising – Numismatic Impressions of a Legend.”

Class 19: Convention Theme, Clifford Mishler Award. Numismatic items of any type that, together with the exhibit text, illustrate the announced theme for the convention at which the exhibit is shown. The 2023 convention theme is “Bridges – Physical and Cultural.”

1. First place: Cindy Calhoun, for “One of the Most Recognized Bridges in the World…The Golden Gate Bridge.”
2. Second place: Jeffrey Rosinia, for “Heinz Relishes 150 Years in Pittsburgh: A Hand-Picked Taste of Heinz History.”
3. Third place: Richard Crosby, for “George Westinghouse: Pittsburgh’s Industrialist.”

Class 20: U.S. Commemorative Coinage, Society for U.S. Commemorative Coins Award. Material of any type or period related to United States commemorative coinage and to the events being commemorated.

1. First place: Simcha Laib Kuritzky, for “Vermont’s Catamount.”
2. Second place: Rae Howard, for “Civil Rights Act of 1964 Commemorative Silver Dollar.”
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class 21: Single Case, ANA Award. Any numismatic material that can be treated in a single ANA exhibit case.

1. First place: Michael Kodysz, for “boar hunt!”
2. Second place: Simcha Laib Kuritzky, for “The Lion Monument at Tel Hai.”
3. Third place: Richard Jozefiak, for “Token for an Ice Worm Cocktail in Alaska.”

Class 22: Emeritus, Stuppler Family Award. Exhibits by individuals not otherwise eligible to exhibit competitively, or exhibits that have won best-of-show or twice won in class competition at the World’s Fair of Money®. Any other exhibit may also be entered at the exhibitor’s option. The winner of this class does not advance to best-of-show judging.

No exhibits this year.

2023 Young Numismatist Exhibit Awards

Class Y1: United States Coins, Edgerton-Lenker Memorial Award. All United States coins and patterns and all coinage or trade tokens used in pre-federal America.

1. First place: Hayden Howard, for “I Like Ike: The History of the Eisenhower Dollar 1971-1978.”
2. Second place: No exhibit.
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class Y2: World Coins, James L. Betton Memorial Award. Coins issued 1500 A.D. or later in any foreign country.

No exhibits this year.

Class Y3: Paper Money, Kagin Family Award. Paper money and paper numismatica of all types, issued in any country.

No exhibits this year.

Class Y4: Israeli or Judaic, J.J. Van Grover Memorial Award. Israeli or Judaic numismatic material of all types. In the event no exhibits qualify, the award may be presented to another deserving exhibit.

1. First place: Charlie Tate, for “Israeli Ten Agorot Coins.”
2. Second place: No exhibit.
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class Y5: Medals and Tokens, Charles “Cheech” Litman Memorial Award. Medals and tokens of all countries. In the event no exhibits qualify, the award may be presented to another deserving exhibit.

1. First place: Hills Howard IV, for “Meet Me at the Fair: A History of U.S. World’s Fairs.”
2. Second place: No exhibit.
3. Third place: No exhibit.

Class Y6: Medieval and Ancient, Charles H. Wolfe Sr. Memorial Award. All numismatic material issued prior to 1500 A.D.

No exhibits this year.

Class Y7: Errors and Varieties, Alan Herbert Memorial Award. Any numismatic material mis-struck or misprinted by the producer, including varieties caused by die or plate deterioration or damage. Excluded are items mutilated or altered after production. In the event no exhibits qualify, the award may be presented to another deserving exhibit.

No exhibits this year.