The Professional Numismatists Guild has selected Donald Kagin, Ph.D., for its 2026 Abe Kosoff Founders Award, the organization’s highest honor. PNG announced the award during its annual awards dinner after the April 22, 2026, PNG Dealer Day at the Central States Numismatic Society convention in Schaumburg, Illinois.
The honor capped a wide-ranging awards program that recognized veteran dealers, authors, young talent, digital outreach, and a high-profile rare banknote recovery.
Donald Kagin Receives PNG’s Highest Honor
Kagin serves as President of Kagin’s, Inc. of Belvedere Tiburon, California. He has been a member of PNG since 1994 and previously served as Vice President of the American Numismatic Association.
He also ranks among the field’s best-known authorities on private and pioneer gold coinage. His numismatic works include Private & Pioneer Gold Coins of the United States 1786–1862. Kagin’s and Whitman’s list related private and pioneer gold references by Donald H. Kagin and David J. McCarthy.
Why the Abe Kosoff Founders Award Matters
PNG presents the Abe Kosoff Founders Award to a member-dealer who shows steadfast dedication to the numismatic community and makes a significant contribution to the Guild or the broader numismatic fraternity. The award honors Abe Kosoff, PNG’s Founding President, who helped launch the organization in 1953.
Kenny Duncan Earns Lifetime Achievement Award
PNG named Richard Kenneth “Kenny” Duncan, Sr. as the 2026 Harvey G. Stack Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Duncan founded U.S. Coins and Jewelry in Houston, Texas.
The Guild gives the Stack award to a numismatist who shows extraordinary devotion to numismatics and makes major lifetime contributions to the hobby or profession.
Thomas DeLorey Wins Robert Friedberg Award
Thomas DeLorey won the Robert Friedberg Award for his reference book The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922, published by Whitman. The award recognizes an author for an outstanding numismatic book or other literary work.
PNG Also Honors Garrett and Ankerman
Former PNG President Jeff Garrett received the Significant Contribution Award. Garrett founded Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries in Lexington, Kentucky, and PNG recognized his exceptional, beneficial efforts on behalf of the Guild, the profession, and the hobby.
PNG also named Walt Ankerman of Carlsbad Village Coins in Carlsbad, California, as the recipient of the Art Kagin Ambassador Award. The award recognizes distinguished service as an advocate of numismatic goodwill.
$1 Million Banknote Recovery Brings Sol Kaplan Award
The Sol Kaplan Award went jointly to four people and one nonprofit organization for work tied to a rare banknote recovery. PNG said the group investigated and recovered rare banknotes valued at more than $1 million after someone reported the notes lost or stolen from a registered mail shipment in August 2025.
The 2026 Kaplan Award recipients are Robert Hart of All Florida Coin & Stamp in Jacksonville, Florida; Peter Treglia of Stack’s Bowers Galleries in Costa Mesa, California; Dave Orshowitz of Roswell Gold, Silver & Coins in Roswell, Georgia; and Inspector Chris Nastawa of the Jacksonville, Florida office of the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General.
PNG also presented the Kaplan Award, in connection with the same case, to the Numismatic Crime Information Center. Former Texas Police Chief Doug Davis founded NCIC, which coordinated and facilitated information-sharing during the case. NCIC’s public alert confirms the August 13, 2025 USPS registered-mail incident and says NCIC coordinated with a Florida dealer and USPS inspector during the recovery effort.
“This case exemplifies the vital importance of collaboration between the numismatic community and law enforcement. The actions taken by all involved reflect the highest standards of professionalism and serve as a model for effective response to crimes involving rare and valuable numismatic material,” PNG Executive Director John Feigenbaum said.
Young Talent and Digital Outreach Gain Recognition
PNG awarded the nexGen Future Numismatist Award to Jacob Gonzalez, 20, of Weslaco, Texas. Gonzalez recently graduated from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley with a degree in criminal justice and legal studies. PNG also selected him as one of this year’s nexGen scholarship recipients to attend a week-long session of ANA Summer Seminar classes in Colorado.
Christian Hartch, founder of Treasure Town, became the first recipient of PNG’s new COINfluencer of the Year award. Hartch, a Princeton University economics graduate, built Treasure Town around a YouTube channel that provides entertainment and education on numismatics, collectibles, and history. PNG said the channel now has more than 220,000 subscribers. Treasure Town’s own team page confirms Hartch founded the company, holds an AB in Economics from Princeton University, and started the channel in August 2017.
About the Professional Numismatists Guild
The Professional Numismatists Guild is a nonprofit organization composed of many of the top rare coin and paper money dealers in the United States and four other countries. PNG member-dealers must follow a strict Code of Ethics when they buy and sell numismatic merchandise.
For additional information about PNG, visit the
online or call (951) 587-8300.
