FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2000
CONTACT: Stephen L. Bobbitt

EXHIBITS BEING ACCEPTED FOR ANA WORLD'S FAIR OF MONEY

Special One-Year "Peace" Exhibit Opportunity
Judges Familiarization Program Offered

Members of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) are welcome to prepare exhibits showing their expertise and enthusiasm for the hobby for the ANA World's Fair of Money 2000 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, August 9-13.

A special, one-year-only competitive exhibit class will be judged for material featuring "Peace as Recorded in Numismatics." Created by the ANA Board of Governors, with funding provided by the Lewis M. Reagan Memorial Foundation, the focus of the display must be "Peace" and/or "The Year 2000." According to ANA Governor Tom Hallenbeck, who proposed the idea, "The theme lends itself to a variety of interpretations, limited only by your imagination. An exhibit could feature anything from ancient coinage bearing olive branches (a recognized symbol of peace) to American Indian Peace medals or modern commemorative coins."

All exhibits - competitive and non-competitive - are eligible for the Rodger E. Hershey Memorial People's Choice Award, which is selected by those who viewed the exhibits at the convention.

All competitive exhibitors are eligible for the Howland Wood Best-in-Show Exhibit Award, while those who are new at competitive exhibiting at an ANA convention also qualify for the Thos. H. Law Award for First-Time Exhibitors. The ANA also presents the Derek Pobjoy Award for Best Exhibit of Modern World Commemorative Coins for numismatic material issued at face value during the 20 years preceding the convention.

Twenty-four other competitive exhibit categories cover United States coins, paper money and obsolete paper money; United States and foreign gold coins; medals; tokens; military medals, decorations, orders and badges; foreign coins issued prior to and after 1500; foreign paper money; Latin American numismatics; Canadian coins and currency; private mint issues since 1960; western Americana; numismatic errors; love tokens; local interest material; issues of Israel; primitive, odd and curious money; numismatic literature; casino chips and gaming tokens; and elongated coins.

Young Numismatist (YN) exhibitors age 17 and younger also are eligible to compete for the Charles H. Wolfe Sr. Award for YN Best-in-Show and seven additional competitive awards covering United States and foreign coins; paper money; Israeli or Judaic numismatic material; medals and tokens; medieval and ancient material; and errors and varieties.

Deadline for receipt of applications at ANA headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is June 12.

To request an exhibit application and rules for competition, contact the Convention Department at 818 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3279; telephone 719/632-2646; fax 719/634-4085; E-mail anacvn@money.org. Applications also are available on the ANA's web site at www.money org.

To maintain a corps of qualified judges who support the high standards of exhibit competition, the ANA sponsors the Judges' Familiarization and Certification Program. Those who satisfactorily complete the training are certified as ANA judges. Exhibitors who wish to learn more about the judging process also are invited to participate.

ANA Chief Judge Joseph E. Boling will supervise this year's program, offered in conjunction with the ANA convention in Philadelphia. The first segment, beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 9, is a procedural class in which applicants receive practice judging sheets. On Friday, August 11, participants submit the sheets for evaluation by program staff. The final session of the program is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday, August 12, when participants receive the completed evaluations and notification of results.

Those wishing to attend the Judges' Familiarization and Certification Program at the ANA convention in Philadelphia should contact Joseph Boling at P.O. Box 4718, Federal Way, WA 98063-4718; telephone 253/839-5199; fax 253/839-5185; or E-mail joeboling@aol.com.