The American Numismatic Association announced the winners of the 2012 Young Numismatist Literary Awards Competition on Thursday night in Colorado Springs, Colo. Winners were presented with substantial cash prizes and gift certificates to build their personal libraries, courtesy of contest sponsor Whitman Publishing.

Awards were presented in three categories: the Bill Fivaz Young Numismatist Literary Award, for writers ages 8-12; the Q. David Bowers Young Numismatist Literary Award, ages 13-17; and the Kenneth E. Bressett Young Numismatist Literary Award, ages 18-22.

Chad Nevins, 10, of Las Vegas, flew to Colorado Springs with his father, Russell, to accept the Fivaz Award in person from Fivaz himself. He received a plaque, a $500 cash prize, and a $500 voucher for numismatic references published by Whitman.

Nevins’ article, “How I Found Freedom with a Pocket Full of Change,” arose from a school assignment about Ellis Island. He and his father selected world coins from their collection, and Chad used them to tell the story of a 20-year-old Polish immigrant who passed through Ellis Island in the late 1930s.

“We wrote about a woman who collected coins with her grandpa. We thought writing about the coins would make the article more special,” Chad said.

Garrett Ziss placed second for “Historical Coin Changes” and Frederic Fosco took third for “The 1969-S Double Die Obverse Lincoln Cent.” Second and third place winners receive $200 and $100 Whitman Publishing book certificates, respectively.

Ian Garcia won first place in the Bowers category for “The Mysteries of Numismatics: Explicit Art Tokens.” Q. David Bower’s son, Lee, read a personal message from his father before presenting the award to Garcia, who likewise received $1,000 in cash and prizes.

Ermin Chow took second for “Canada Enters a World of Polymer,” and Cole Schenewerk placed third for “The Myriad Metals Used in Coinage.”

In the Bressett category, John McKearney received third place for “The Rise of Virtual Currency: How ‘Bitcoin’ Revolutionizes the Future of Numismatics.” No first- or second-place awards were given.