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Critical Steps That Need To Be Taken By The ANA

By Laura SperberLegend Numismatics …………..

In light of all this monkey business, thefts, employee problems, etc the ANA has its self one nasty black eye. Further, the state of disrepair the ANA is in I see the deeping into a situation that may last for decades unless swift-even harsh changes are not imemdiately made. The Shepherd lawsuit will be quite harmful no matter who wins. I am worried that is only the beginning of the ANA legal woes.

One of the first things I will request: the new ANA board make a pledge to be transparent in its decisions. Change the rules to allow it if need be. I want the board to confirm it works for the best interest for the membership-not itself.

hot_topics_2Make the board of governers all sign a pledge to make restoring the ANA to its rightful place of promience in our hobby top priority. The board MUST make a clear statement it means business.

I also will call for a full investigation and review of all contracts, museum operations, and even board of governors meetings for the last 5 years (maybe longer). Obviously there has been clear wrong doing and things that were swept under the rug. I will not settle for a crony to do the checking, I want a real third party-possibly even the CO Attorney Genrerals office to be involved. Of course all proven ill gotten contracts, jobs, etc MUST go immediately.

All major job postions MUST be re-valuated. I do not for the life of me understand how you can have a job search then hire some one for 3 years in just a few days. I have an assistant who has worked with me for 10 years, they know my business, but they are not the right person to run it. I want to make sure we have the right employes in the right postions. After everything I have read recently I do NOT trust how people got their postions or how they have performed for the past 2-3 years.

I strongly believe by pinpointing where all the troubles came from in the past-we can start over to fix them with a clean slate. This new board MUST show it is dirfferent. They must not allow certain parties to use the ANA as their personal piggy banks or postions of power. The board MUST agree to be accountable for its actions.

I clearly see corruption and possibly worse, some potential criminal activites occured that were more than just coins stolen from the museum. I Sadly, I doubt I am wrong. We MUST punish the people who hurt the ANA and learn from the management failures. Because a new board is now in place does not mean the older crimes are forgiven or are forgotten. Its going to be painful and even embarrassing for the ANA. If we don’t do it, the ANA will never regain its footing or ability to move on. Its part of rebuilding the publics trust.

After all this is cleaned up, then we can get back to the business of bettering the uses of the museum, the role of the ANA as an educator, hobby leader, etc. I do still pledge to bring my team in to buld the best web site ever-so long as the  board don’t act like childern and slow the processs and stonewall content.

Sorry, but I am a very black and white no BS person. If someone is doing something wrong, I will NOT turn away. Too many people in this hobby for years just said don’t buy a coin if its bad. They felt that saved the problem. NOT! Coin doctors were only able to get more brazen. I attacked the root and woke up the PNG (to the best the dead PNG could be awkened), got  PCGS to hit a few docs with a lawsuit, and helped create CAC-a real pain the butt for the bad guys. I know we are far from done on that front-but we are attacking the problems roots now with minor successes. I am NOT afraid of the ANA people and will make sure the board does NOT look the other way. When you are in the right, there is nothing to fear.

Any questions or comments, feel free to email at lsperber1@hotmail,.com

NOTE: All articles presented in the Commentary and Opinion Category on CoinWeek are just that, Opinions of the writers who submitted the article, and do not  represent the opinions of the of the staff, owners, or advertisers on CoinWeek.

Laura Sperber
Laura Sperberhttps://www.legendnumismatics.com/
Laura Sperber is one of the owners of Legend Numismatics. She is a passionate and outspoken dealer who says what she believes and is a strong proponent of numismatic standards. Since 1987, Legend Numismatics has built an unequaled reputation among casual collectors and avid investors alike by locating and procuring top-quality rare coins.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Being a member for 30+ years I just read the interesting articles
    in the Numismatist and did not pay attention to all of the in house
    problems. I was greatly disappointed when Mr. Shepherd was let go.
    I have followed some of the other problems but not very closely.
    Hopefully a quick solution is found. The much larger problem
    facing collectors is “coin doctoring”. I hope this will be addressed
    quickly and the offenders dealt with harshly!! If you think I am being
    to severe ask someone who has bought a doctored coin and finds
    out later he or she has no recourse. Banning the guilty parties from
    any sort of numismatic activity would be the first step. Hopefully
    Laura Sperber will be elected to office. These are strictly my opinions
    and no other persons.If you wish to communicate about my opinions
    write me at : [email protected]

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