COLORADO SPRINGS – The American Numismatic Association will host a special groundbreaking ceremony and reception for a new Numismatic Hall of Fame at 5 p.m., July 2, at ANA headquarters, 818 N. Cascade Ave., in Colorado Springs.
During the event, ANA officials will unveil plans to display plaques for all 79 Hall of Fame members in the outdoor atrium at the entrance to the Edward C. Rochette Money Museum. The ceremony will include a wine reception followed by a barbecue on the adjacent Colorado College campus. After the barbecue, four Hall of Fame members will participate in a special panel discussion in Packard Hall, also on the Colorado College campus.
“Members of the Numismatic Hall of Fame are truly an elite group,” said ANA Vice President Tom Hallenbeck, who spearheaded the fundraising effort for the new shrine. “We have recognized the hobby’s greats since the Hall of Fame was established, and feel it is time to immortalize these numismatists with a lasting memorial worthy of their accomplishments.”
The capstone event of the evening will be a panel discussion, “Inside the Collector’s Studio.” Based on the popular Bravo TV series, “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” the discussion will be moderated by Coin World Editor Beth Deisher, and feature Hall of Fame members Ken Bressett, Chester Krause, ANA President Clifford Mishler and Edward C. Rochette.
The Hall of Fame dedication, barbecue and panel discussion are free to Summer Seminar attendees enrolled in classes during Session II, July 2-8. ANA members not attending Summer Seminar may purchase tickets to the event for $25.
The Numismatic Hall of Fame was proposed in 1964 to perpetuate and enshrine the names of the most important numismatists in history. Honored are collectors, writers, artists, engravers and business leaders who have had a lasting and significant impact on the hobby, and whose legacies are a direct result of their passion and devotion to numismatics.
The brainchild of Jack W. Ogilvie, a Hollywood film writer and editor who served as ANA historian from 1950 to 1970, the Hall of Fame inducted its first nine members in 1969, two years after the completion of the American Numismatic Association museum and headquarters. The ANA serves as trustee of the Numismatic Hall of Fame, appointing a Hall of Fame Council and Elector Panel, which considers nominations from ANA members every two years.
The American Numismatic Association is a congressionally chartered nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging people to study and collect money and related items. The ANA helps its 30,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of education and outreach programs, as well as its museum, library, publications, conventions and seminars. For more information, call 719-632-2646 or visit www.money.org.
