PCGS SPONSORS WITTER COIN UNIVERSITY 2022

PCGS, long a leader in numismatic education, is supporting a cause led by Seth Chandler of Witter Coin in San Francisco, California, to help dozens of young numismatists learn the ropes of the hobby and discover the boundless opportunities in the hobby. Witter Coin University is a weeklong educational camp for young numismatists that, now in its second year, will bring together 40 collectors aged 13 through 21 for eight days of numismatic enrichment and camaraderie from July 23 through July 31, 2022. A sponsor of the program, PCGS is contributing to the cause through financial donations to the Witter Coin Scholarship Fund and by sending key personnel to join a roster of instructors who will educate the YNs about the hobby.

We've been fortunate enough to put together a team of leaders who don't see this as work but as a responsibility to the young people in our hobby, says Chandler. We enjoy doing this. PCGS Director of Numismatic Education and Grading Team Leader Steve Feltner will join an esteemed panel of instructors who also include Legend Rare Coin Auctions President Jessica Berkman and gold coin expert Doug Winter.

Witter Coin University instills lessons on everything from coin grading to leading coin auctions with an emphasis on knowing how the business side of the hobby works and ensuring the young numismatists build friendships with those around them. Along with the educational lessons comes team building by way of pizza nights and trips to the famous San Francisco Mint building endearingly dubbed The Old Granite Lady.

Chandler hopes the YNs, who are geographically diverse and mostly coming from small towns throughout the United States, will realize the many opportunities in the hobby to turn their love for coins into lucrative careers. To that point, Chandler notes that, about half of the YNs in this year's group want to become coin dealers.

One of the many goals Chandler has with Witter Coin University is to capitalize on the passion the YNs have for the hobby while helping them know how to avoid misinformation and learn good practices and dealer ethics. He believes that, whether young or old, knowledge is the key to success in numismatics.

There's an important shift happening in the hobby, Chandler explains. Fellow dealers are noticing it, too… There are more and more young collectors on the bourse floor these days who are highly knowledgeable about coins. Many of them are branching into world coins, which is something rarely seen among YNs when I was growing up in the hobby in the 1980s

Chandler's innovative university program is an endeavor that PCGS wholeheartedly backs. I'm grateful for the financial support and educational resources PCGS provides, among them the incredible talents of Steve Feltner. Chandler laughs, don't tell the other instructors this, but Steve is my favorite.

Equally enthusiastic about Witter Coin's YN program is Steve Feltner, who says he is, blessed with some incredible and memorable experiences, in his numismatic career and shares why the Witter Coin University course is so impactful to him.

Since I can remember, likely starting when I was 13 or so, all I have ever heard from older dealers and collectors regarding the future was something like, ‘there aren't enough young people getting into the industry. There will come a time when numismatics will dwindle if something isn't done about it.' I would hear this over and over and, from what I could tell, the people who were saying it weren't doing anything to change their perceived outcome. I am here to tell you, based upon my experiences, that the hobby and future of numismatics is alive and well. There are simply different places that the youth of today are hanging out, not just at coin club meetings and coin shows.

To read the complete article, see:
PCGS Sponsors Witter Coin University to Teach and Inspire Young Numismatists (https://www.pcgs.com/news/pcgs-sponsors-witter-coin-university)

The Roaring Twenties.

The market continues to be upbeat. Reports from regional shows demonstrate strong demand from retailers and their customers. It's clear the strength of the market is broad-based. This is true with virtually all equities. But I believe coins have crossed a special line and become more mainstream. After 35 years of certification and a strong grassroots following in the coin market, we've hit a perfect storm of growth. An early indicator was an entire class of new young dealers starting about 6-7 years ago. For a long time, the main group of dealers was those that came into the business on the heels of the 1979-1980 metals run-up. Today's growing crop of young dealers is a clear sign of a renaissance in our demographic. New blood in the coin market. The pandemic would show up during the maturation of this influx to supercharge the cycle. The creation of a larger and more vibrant market for numismatists of every stripe is the new normal. I believe this market will continue to surprise on the upside with new innovations and record pricing across the board.

To visit the website of Harry Laibstain Rare Coins, see:
http://hlrc.com/

 

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