FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 28, 2000
CONTACT: Stephen L. Bobbitt

THREE ANA INTERNS BEGIN ASSIGNMENTS

Three interns have begun working and studying at American Numismatic Association (ANA) headquarters until mid August.

Chris Shappell of Bear, Delaware, is working with the ANA's Museum Services, Education Department and Library. John W. Stepp of Lincoln, Nebraska, is learning coin grading and counterfeit detection during his time with the ANA Authentication Bureau and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation in Parsippany, New Jersey. Jake Wood Jr. of Havertown, Pennsylvania, is working for the Education Department as Summer Seminar assistant.

As part of their internships, both Shappell and Stepp will attend two sessions of the ANA Summer Seminar, July 1-14. All three interns will work at the ANA World's Fair of Money 2000 in Philadelphia in August.

A graduate student in museum studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Stepp holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the same institution. He first became interested in coins when his grandmother gave him some old Liberty "V" nickels, Indian Head cents and odd-denomination coins. Today, his favorite pieces include Islamic coins and medieval European issues.

Shappell really became involved in numismatics after attending the 1990 ANA convention in Seattle. He has one semester left to complete his degree at the University of Delaware with a major in psychology and minors in linguistics and East Asian studies. This summer, he will be working with the ANA's Coole collection of Chinese coins.

Wood entered numismatics when he was 12, looking for a hobby that held his attention. He has completed his first year at Merrimack College and is majoring in mathematics and computer science.