The Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS) will present its annual Q. David Bowers Award this year to long-time professional numismatist, award-winning author, CoinWeek contributor, and acclaimed hobby leader Jeff Garrett of Lexington, Kentucky.
The CSNS Bowers Award recognizes the contributions made by numismatic professionals in the hobby.
Among his many accomplishments in his illustrious career, Garrett founded Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries; served as President of both the American Numismatic Association (ANA) 2015-2017 and the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) 2005-2007; founded the Bluegrass Coin Club; authored or co-authored a half-dozen award-winning numismatic reference books; and is a consultant to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Collection in Washington, D.C..
Since 2019, he has served as Senior Editor of The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins.
“Jeff Garrett certainly deserves this award for his unselfish devotion, scholarly contributions and the investments of time and resources made to the hobby by a numismatic professional,” said CSNS President Mitch Ernst. “The professional side of the hobby is often asked to fund many of the benefits the collector side of the hobby enjoys. Sadly, those contributions many times go unrecognized by the organizations that have long benefited by the contributions made by the numismatic professionals of our hobby. Interestingly, when the concept of creating this award was originally presented to the CSNS Board of Directors, it was with a person like Jeff Garrett in mind.”
Grateful for the award, Garrett stated: “The Central States Numismatic Society has been a part of my numismatic journey for almost 50 years. The organization has always been important to me, especially since I live in one of the ‘central states.’ I am very honored to be named the Q. David Bowers award recipient.”
“Dave Bowers has been one of the most important mentors of my career. He taught me so much about numismatic writing and the importance of numismatic knowledge. Our work together on Red Book over the years was inspiring and motivated me to try to educate others as Dave did so well over the decades. His contributions to the hobby will never be matched and being given an award that is connected with him is truly humbling,” emphasized Garrett.
Like Garrett, recipients of the Bowers Award, named after the prominent dealer and esteemed numismatic author Q. David Bowers, are selected by members of the Central States Numismatic Society Board of Directors. The 2025 award will be presented to Garrett during the annual CSNS membership meeting at 8:00 am, Saturday, April 26, at the upcoming CSNS Convention in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois, April 24-26, 2025.
For additional information about the Central States Numismatic Society and its annual convention, visit www.CSNS.org.
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