BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE SWINGS INTO ACTION; OUTLINES ANA BUILDING FUND DRIVE

The American Numismatic Association (ANA) "Target 2001" fund-raising committee proposes to raise $3 million over the next year to remodel the ANA's Money Museum and Library, and upgrade other facilities at the Association's 33-year-old headquarters building.

"At our late October meeting in Colorado Springs (Colorado), committee members saw how cramped the ANA Museum and Library are and recognized the need to not only remodel those areas, but to update and improve other facilities at the headquarters building," says Committee Chairman/ANA Governor Barry Stuppler. "By modernizing all service areas, the Association will be in a much better position to meet the demands of today's growing membership and better prepared to handle the collecting interests and technological changes of the future."

Remodeling the ANA Money Museum will give flexibility to display a wider variety of the more than 300,000 items in the ANA's collection. The project also will allow the Association's web site to offer enriched virtual tours of both permanent and changing exhibits.

The library expansion and remodeling will provide the staff with much-needed room to handle its more than 40,000 books, catalogs, periodicals and audio-visual programs available for loan to ANA members for the cost of postage and insurance. The amount of material in the library has grown four-fold since the building was expanded nearly 20 years ago. The project also will increase the variety of library references accessible on the ANA's web site (www.money.org).

The remodeling is scheduled to begin in December, with structural work set for completion by June 1, 2001. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 14 (at the conclusion of the ANA's two-week Summer Seminar) will be followed by a gala black-tie dinner, featuring celebrity guests and a silent auction of special numismatic material. In addition, a live - "once-in-a-lifetime" - auction will be webcast on the Internet. Stuppler anticipates that the formal dinner and auction will be the "numismatic event of the decade."

The ANA Target 2001 fund-raising committee also is proposing to strike 2,001, one-ounce silver medals to be given as premiums to those making substantial donations to this project.

The committee has established the following donation/pledge levels and premiums:

- Platinum ($10,000+ ) - two VIP numismatic tours with ANA Executive Director and raconteur Edward C. Rochette; designation as "honorary general chairman" of an ANA convention of the donor's choice; two tickets to the gala black-tie dinner and auction; recognition on a "donor wall" to be erected in the remodeled entry plaza; a recognition plaque an early entry pass to the next three years of ANA convention bourses; two limited-issue ANA commemorative silver medals; recognition in The Numismatist; and a banner ad on the ANA donor web page.

- Gold ($5,000+ ) - two tickets to the gala dinner and auction; recognition on the donor wall; a recognition plaque; an early entry pass to the next two years of ANA convention bourses; two commemorative medals; recognition in The Numismatist; and a link on the ANA donor web page. (Additional tickets to the gala dinner can be obtained for each additional donation of $2,500 made at the "Gold Level" and above.)

- Silver ($1,000+ ) - recognition on the donor wall; an early entry pass to the next year's ANA convention bourses; one commemorative medal; and recognition in The Numismatist and on the donor web page.

- Bronze ($500+ ) - recognition on the donor wall; one commemorative medal; and recognition in The Numismatist and on the donor web page.

- Copper ($25+ ) - recognition in The Numismatist and on the donor web page.

The top three donors of $500,000 or more will be named "ANA Grand Benefactors" and qualify to have their names noted prominently on and associated with the ANA Museum, Library and remodeled entry plaza, creating a living legacy at ANA headquarters in Colorado Springs. Those pledging $25,000 or more will be recognized as "ANA Benefactors" on the donor wall and be permitted to exhibit numismatic material in the Museum's rotating displays. Benefactors and Grand Benefactors also will receive the Platinum Level premiums.

Donations of numismatic material and securities valued at $500 or more will be accepted; the museum may retain the items for its collection or they will be sold at auction. Contributors can use their credit cards, including VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover, to charge their donations, and can make payments over a two-year period. Donors who obtain matching funds from their employers and other organizations will be credited with the total donation amount.

Joining Stuppler on the ANA Target 2001 committee in early October were co-chair ANA Governor Patricia Finner; Q. David Bowers, president of Bowers and Merena Galleries; F. David Calhoun, vice president of the Harry Bass Foundation; Andrew Coleman, director of Vertical Marketing at eBay Inc.; Donald W. Doyle Jr., chief executive officer of Blanchard & Co.; David Hall, chief executive officer of Collectors Universe; Leon E. Hendrickson, president of Silver Towne; Chester L. Krause, founder of Krause Publications; Dwight N. Manley, managing partner of the California Gold Marketing Group; Jerry L. Morgan, numismatist at Scotsman Coin and Jewelry; Harvey G. Stack, senior member of Stack's; Martin D. Weiss, president of PandaAmerica Corporation; and Harlan White, professional numismatist. Steve Eichenbaum, chief operating officer of Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, joined the fund-raising committee at the end of October.

For more information about ANA Target 2001, contact ANA Governor Barry Stuppler at 5855 Topanga Canyon Blvd., #330, Woodland Hills, CA 91367; fax 818/594-8599; or E-mail ANA2001@coinmag.com.