Collectors Universe to Host 'Stump the Experts Contest' at the ANA

Collectors Universe announced that they will be hosting "Stump the Experts Contest" at the ANA 108th Anniversary Convention on Thursday, August 12, 1999, 2:30-4:00 in Chicago.

Contestants may ask the experts any question they wish concerning numismatics. If the experts gets "stumped," the contestant will be awarded $25 good towards any purchase in any of Collectors Universe's online auctions or galleries. If you have a question that you think might stump one of our experts, visit the Collectors Universe booth at the ANA or e-mail it to us at [email protected] no later than Tuesday, August 10.

Contestants have their work cut out for them because they are up against some of the country's top numismatists. From 2:30 to 3:00 a panel of world coin experts, including Jim Elmen, Ron Gillio and Karl Stephens, will be on hand. At 3:00 currency experts Tom Denley, Lyn Knight and Mel Steinberg will answer questions. Then at 3:30 experts Q. David Bowers, David Hall and Jim Halperin will take questions on U.S. coins.

About the Experts:

World Coins
• Jim Elmen has been a dealer for 28 years and is the owner of Worldwide Coins of California. A specialist of European coins, he is the founder of the Russian Numismatist Society. Mr. Elmen is Vice President of the International Association of Professional Numismatists (IAPN) and a member of the International Bureau to Suppress Counterfeit Coins (IBCC).
• Ron Gillio has been considered one of the primary sources of rare coins in this country for the last three decades. Mr. Gillio supplies over 20 million dollars worth of U.S. and World rare coins per year to numerous dealers, banks, investment advisors and financial planners.
• Karl Stephens specializes in Germanic, Polish and Eastern European, British and British Commonwealth, and general world coinage from 1000 to date, as well as world medals and tokens. Mr. Stephens is the founder of a successful mail order company and travels to numerous shows around the country.

Currency
• Lyn Knight is considered by most to be one of the greatest currency dealers of all time. At 21 years of age, Lyn became the second youngest dealer ever admitted to the Professional Numismatists Guild. In his career he has handled every great United States currency rarity. Mr. Knight has also been instrumental in the formation and/or liquidation of most of the greatest collections of the last three decades.
• Mel Steinberg has been buying and selling notes for the last 29 years and travels yearly to Holland, Hong Kong, Singapore and London to attend currency shows. Mr. Steinberg is on the board of the International Bank Note Society and regularly speaks at currency conventions across the U.S.
• Tom Denly is the owner of Denly's of Boston and has been the consultant to over 30 currency books. Mr. Denly is a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), Professional Numismatic Guild (PNG) and a recipient of the SPMC Award.

U.S. Coins
• Q. David Bowers is the most famous rare coin dealer of all time. Mr. Bowers was also named one of the "Numismatists of the Century" by COINage magazine. He was the first ANA member to be named Numismatist of the year (1995), has been inducted into the ANA's Numismatic Hall of Fame, and has received more "Book of the Year Award" and "Best Columnist" honors given by the Numismatic Literary Guild than any other writer. The most prolific coin writer in numismatic history, he is the author of 40 books, hundreds of auction and other catalogs, and several thousand articles including columns in Coin World and The Numismatist.
• David Hall is the founder of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and is one of the major principals of Collectors Universe. Mr. Hall has been an industry leader for the last 20 years and was recently named one of the "Numismatists of the Century" by COINage Magazine.
• Jim Halperin is one of the founders of the Heritage Rare Coin Galleries, the world's largest and most successful numismatic company. Mr. Halperin is also the author of several books, including the highly-acclaimed, landmark text How to Grade U.S. Coins.

Audio streaming of the contest will be available at the Coin Universe site at www.coinuniverse.com beginning Friday, August 13. For additional information, visit Collectors Universe at www.Collectors.com or send e-mail to [email protected]. You can also contact Collectors Universe at P.O. Box 6280, Newport Beach, CA 92658 or call 949-567-1234.