Collection of unusual pieces earns Deep Best-in-Show Exhibit Award
Exhibitors Recognized at 2011 ANA Fall National Money Show
Sam Deep doesn’t like to collect what the average coin-collecting hobbyist likes to collect. His collection of items from off the beaten path earned the American Numismatic Association member top honors in collector exhibits at the ANA’s first-ever Fall National Money Show.
Deep received the Radford Stearns Best-in-Show Exhibit Award for his exhibit, “Off the Beaten Numismatic Path” at the ANA’s 2011 Fall National Money Showsm, held Oct. 13-15 in Pittsburgh. He was also awarded the People’s Choice Award.
“What I like to collect are things you wouldn’t typically find in many dealers’ cases,” Deep said. “I did find four or five unusual pieces in Pittsburgh, but I also find them in places like antique stores.”
Deep’s exhibit evolved from a previous exhibit he called “101 Ways to Collect.” When he realized that his love for offbeat items was beginning to overshadow the more traditional collection items, he opted to rework the collection. The path in the “Beaten Path” exhibit still shows some traditional items, while the rest displays those items he found when he wandered off said path.
“I realized that some of the things in there were quite unusual, so I got rid of a lot of the usual pieces,” Deep said.
Among the more unusual items in the collection is a silver dollar puzzle coin, which is made from an actual silver dollar and includes interlocking pieces. He also displayed a sommelier wine-tasting cup, in which the bottom of the cup is the obverse of a French franc; a coin watch in which the face is the reverse of a half-dollar; and a gold medal awarded at the first-ever Pittsburgh spelling bee in 1908 that is hand-engraved.
“People really get enthralled by (the exhibit),” Deep said. “What gives me greater fulfillment than winning is knowing that people are looking at (the display), enjoying it and pointing it out to others.”
The first runner-up award was presented to Simcha Kuritzky for “Creating Modern Israel – The History of Zionism Shown through Numismatics,” and the second runner-up award also went to Kuritzky for “Boy For Sale? Tokens for the Redemption of the Firstborn Son.”
Awards were presented in six classes. This year, 23 competitive and 13 non-competitive exhibits were displayed in the Collector Exhibits area, including a few ANA traveling exhibits.
Class winners are:
Class 1: History and Politics (exhibits dealing with historical or political events)
• First place: Thomas Uram, “The Historically-Significant Two-Cent Piece 1864-1872.”
• Second place: Richard Jewell, “Erie Canal Completion Medal-1826 — A.K.A. So-Called Dollar HK-1, HK-1000, HK-1001″• Third place: Bryce Doxzon, “1860: A Medallic Tale of ‘Three Men Lost.'”
Class 2: Economics (exhibits dealing with monetary and financial systems or economic events such as panics and inflations)
• First place: Simcha Kuritzky, “Boy For Sale? Tokens for the Redemption of the Firstborn Son.”
• Second place: Richard Crosby, “Spanish Colonial Coinage of Mexico 8 Reales 1733-1821.”
• Third place: Nancy Wilson, “Ecuador Specimen Set – Series of 1928.”
Class 3: Geography (exhibits that describe natural or cultural assets, the distribution of populations, or exploration)
• First place: Simcha Kuritzky, “Creating Modern Israel – The History of Zionism Shown through Numismatics.”
• Second place: Sam Deep, “The 1989 ANA Convention Medal Progression Set.”
• Third Place: W. Corey, “Silver Cobs of the Major Spanish American Mints.”
Class 4: Common elements (exhibits showing material linked by design, such as elephants or bridges, or by theme, such as a world’s fair)
• First place: Sam Deep, “Off the Beaten Numismatic Path.”
• Second place: George Cuhaj, “The Pennsylvania Railroad’s Medal for Heroic Service.”
• Third place: Paul Schultz, “The Timelessness of Gold.”
Class 5: The Arts (exhibits that explore any aspect of fine or applied arts)
• First place: John Wilson, “Battleship Note.”
• Second place: George Latura, “Celestial Twins at the Heavenly Gates.”
• Third place: Gene Hynds, “The New Third U.S. Mint 1901.”
Class 6: Science (exhibits dealing with theoretical or applied science, including the technology of manufacturing numismatic items)
• First place: Josh Wadsworth, “It’s All About the Numbers on U.S. Small-Sized Paper Money.”
• Second place: John Eshbach, “Bank Notes of Canada – 1954 to Date.”
• Third place: Thomas Uram, “‘Morse Code’ on Money.”
The application deadline is April 13 to exhibit at the 2012 ANA National Money Show℠, which runs from May 10-12 in Denver. To obtain an application or for more information, call 719-482-9849 or email exhibits@money.org
Originally Release Date: October 24, 2011
ANA Contacts: Phone: 719-482-9814
Email: pr@money.org