PCGS Awards $12,000 in College Scholarships

(Newport Beach, CA) - Six coin collecting students have been awarded a combined total of $12,000 in college scholarships as top prizes in the Eighth Young Numismatist Essay Contest sponsored by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), of Newport Beach, California.

PCGS (www.PCGS.com) is the world's largest rare coin authentication service and a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (www.Collectors.com).

"There were a number of outstanding entries, and choosing the winners was difficult. In fact, we had ties in two categories," said Michael Sherman, PCGS Vice President, who announced the results at the recent American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money(R) convention in Baltimore, Maryland.

Josh Zachman, 12, of Ohio took the top $5,000 prize in the Junior Division (ages 13 and under) for his essay, "The 1933 Double Eagle." Two young collectors tied for second place, Adam Gerchick, age 12, of Virginia for "Not a Golden Success," and Michael Block, 12, who wrote, "The Threat of Technology to Coin Collecting." Gerchick and Block will each receive checks for $500.

In the Senior Division (ages 14 to 18), Jeremy Katz, 16, of New Jersey and Brian Rose, of Kansas each received $2,500 scholarships for their respective essays, "European Influence on U.S. Coinage and the Nationalistic Ideas Portrayed Therein," and "Counterfeits and Forgeries of the Draped Bust Dollar Series."

Two $500 runner-up prizes were awarded by PCGS to Jim Goebl, 17, of Indiana for "Unearthing the Large Cent," and Alexander Burg, 16, of New York for his essay on the 1909 Lincoln cent, "Quality over Controversy."

"The PCGS Young Numismatists Essay Contest was designed to encourage teenagers and pre-teens to enter and stay with the educational hobby of coin collecting," explained Sherman. "In the coming weeks, we will be posting some of the winning entries on our web site."

More than two dozen entries were received this year. They were judged by a panel of five prestigious numismatists: David Hall, Bruce Amspacher, Gordon Wrubel, John Dannreuther and Mike Sherman.

Information about the ninth essay contest will be announced next spring.