During the 2011 holiday season, in between conducting the
day-to-day business of keeping the ANA up and running, ANA staff
members competed in a gingerbread house contest. Sponsored by the
Crowne Plaza in Colorado Springs, the contest challenged
businesses, museums (that's where we came in) and other nonprofit
organizations to put together a gingerbread house that best
reflected what their organization was all about.
As you can see from the accompanying photo, the ANA staff did a
nice job of putting together a numismatic-themed house that
reflects what goes on at the Money Museum and captures the spirit
of the holidays. Now, for the upcoming season, we'd like to give
members a chance to stretch their creative muscles and win some
great prizes in the process. Here's how it works.
The canvas: Let's not limit ourselves to
gingerbread houses - feel free to make any decoration that reflects
the holiday season. Think Christmas tree ornaments, banners,
stockings, menorahs, New Year's party hats, gift bags and baskets,
fruit cakes, wall decorations, or any other object that is normally
associated with Christmas, New Year's, Hanukkah or
Kwanzaa.
Numismatic theme: This is where contestants
will really get to show their creativity. Do you incorporate
something ancient or something modern? Something from the U.S. Mint
or from a world mint? A mix of all of the above? The possibilities
really are endless.
Picking the winner: This is the fun part -
you get to pick the winner. To enter, email your submission
to jsherlock@money.org by
the submission deadline of Friday, Dec. 7. On Monday, Dec. 10,
we'll post a gallery of all submissions for you to vote on here at
The Exchange. The top three vote-getters will receive the first-,
second-, and third-place prize packs we've put together (see below
for what's in each prize pack). Voting will close at 5 p.m.
Mountain Standard Time on Friday, Dec. 14. We'll announce the
winners on The Exchange on the morning of Monday, Dec. 17. We'll
also get those prize packs in the mail that morning so that the
winners receive them before Christmas.
What to include in your submission: First and
foremost, a good photo of your project will be paramount to
winning. So send along something that's high-resolution and large.
Multiple angles of your project are a good idea as well. Also, be
sure to include your full name (we'll post your name with the
photos of your entry), a short description of why you made what you
made (also for publication), and your contact information (not for
publication, but so I can let you know if you won).
So, pull together your arts and crafts kit, brainstorm some
ideas and have fun. In the end, you'll have yourself a new
decoration for the holidays, and you may even win a prize,
too.
Prize packs
First place:
- A 1962 silver proof Franklin Half Dollar
- A 2012 ANA special edition of "A Guide Book to
United States Coins" (the Red Book) with an error on the cover (the
type is doubled on the cover).
- A copy of Paul Hollis's book, "American Numismatist."
- A copy of David Akers's book, "United States Gold
Patterns."
Second place:
- A 2012 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set from the Denver
Mint.
- A 500-piece jigsaw puzzle of depicting Lute Player on a
1685 German silver 3 thaler, from Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel
- A copy of Paul Hollis's book, "American Numismatist."
- A copy of David Akers's book, "United States Gold
Patterns."
Third place:
- An uncirculated roll of 2012 one-cent euros
- A copy of Paul Hollis's book, "American Numismatist."
- A copy of David Akers's book, "United States Gold
Patterns."
