ANA World’s Fair of Money 2024: Waiting for the Election
by Sebastian Wieschowski
The US coin market proved robust at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Rosemont on the outskirts of Chicago, although sales remain below the peak levels seen during the Covid pandemic. When talking to dealers, it becomes clear that collectors in the United States are holding back on coin purchases in anticipation of the upcoming US election and its potential impact on the economy and the gold market. Another topic on the minds of many visitors was the perceived inflation rate in the US, which is much higher than actual inflation and impacting the budgets of collectors.
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This year’s ANA World’s Fair of Money took place on the outskirts of the US metropolis of Chicago from August 6 to 10. Photo: ANA / “Chicago Skyline” by mwalker973 from Getty Images Pro via Canva.
Pop Culture and History Come Together
At the show, the U.S. Mint unveiled an outreach to “pop culture” with a new partnership with DC Comics. The partnership is part of a larger strategy to attract younger audiences and revitalise the coin market in an era of declining collectors – and the numismatic community can help decide which superheroes will appear on future US coins. At the same time, preparations are underway for the Semiquincentennial, the 250th birthday of the United States in 2026, which will play an increasingly important role in numismatics in the upcoming months.
One of the many exhibits at the ANA: The 1804 silver dollar, often referred to as “The King of U.S. Coins”, is one of the most coveted and rare coins of the U.S., with only 15 specimens known to exist. Interestingly, no silver dollar coins with this date were actually minted in 1804, but only in the 1830s or later as gifts for diplomats. Photo: Wieschowski.
New Dealers and Games for Young Visitors
As we walked around the show, we kept noticing young dealers, either with their own booths or as traveling salesmen with briefcases (it remains to be seen whether there will be more “saleswomen” next year). Some of them had recently completed a sponsorship programme with the US retailer Witter Coin. These young players bring a breath of fresh air to the market and set innovative trends. Speaking of innovative accents: with Ernie’s Treasure Tree House, the ANA World’s Fair of Money 2024 was the first to offer a designated area to introduce young visitors to numismatics in a playful way. Through a variety of games and activities, children were able to earn Hoot Loot – a type of currency that they could exchange for numismatic items. Prizes included Liberty Head nickels, Indian Head cents, National Parks quarter albums, and much more.
Lady Liberty meets Wonder Woman: The United States Mint is getting the collector community in the mood for its collaboration with DC Comics’ superheroes. Photo: Wieschowski.
Modern Numismatics: Boxers and Wrestlers on Trading Card Coins
On the product side, there was only one special feature in the segment of contemporary numismatics this year: trading card coins in trading card format with motifs such as boxer Mike Tyson or wrestler Rick Flair caused quite a stir. These coins represent an innovative combination of coin and collecting culture and could set a new trend in numismatics. On the other hand, the popular trend in 2023 of “goldback notes”, i.e. souvenir banknotes in the style of the “zero euro bills” that are popular in Europe, seems to have already lost its significance.
Contemporary numismatics was represented at the show with many new issues reinterpreting iconic US coin designs – another harbinger of the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. Names such as John Mercanti and Emily Damstra, both highly respected artists in the coin world, were particularly prominent. Partnership issues continued to enjoy great popularity and dominated the new releases – the fact that the United States Mint is now jumping on the bandwagon with its superheroes shows that there is no way around pop culture in the USA. Also notable was the strong presence of vault boxes, which, as in the previous year, attracted a large audience.
The “Tyrants of the Nile” exhibition at the ANA World’s Fair of Money 2024 comprised around 350 coins and spanned an arc from the first Egyptian coinage (around 350 BC) to a commemorative gold coin from 1980. Photo: Wieschowski
The Grading Market on the Move
Regarding the grading sector, an aggressive marketing campaign by a third-party grading service provider stood out. Despite intensive efforts, CAC (which had so far limited itself to verifying grading results of other service providers, and is now venturing to offer grading itself) has struggled to achieve the widespread acceptance of NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Company) or PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service). NGC is preferred in the USA, especially in contemporary numismatics, while PCGS is more in demand in the field of classical numismatics.
