Sam Gelberd is the recipient of the Heritage Auctions Award for Excellence in Numismatics for 2017 for his Best of Show exhibit, “Great Beards on Coins,” displayed during the Jan. 5 to 8 Florida United Numismatists Convention in Fort Lauderdale.

Gelberd also receives the Heritage Auctions-sponsored scholarship to the American Numismatic Association Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs, Colo. The scholarship covers airfare, tuition, lodging, and meals for one week, up to a total value of $1,600.

Gelberd also won first place in the Miscellaneous exhibit category, for which he received an 1872 Seated Liberty dollar graded Very Good 10 by Professional Coin Grading Service.

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All individual exhibit awards contain numismatic items that are representatively tailored to the exhibit category and housed in multi-piece acrylic plastic holders with orange top plates bearing the FUN logo.

The People’s Choice Award was presented to Jerry Stubblefield for “American Ingenuity.” The People’s Choice award includes a 1-ounce .999 fine silver Proof 2017 FUN medal.

Stubblefield’s exhibit also won third place in the U.S. Coins category, for which he received an 1834 Capped Bust half dime. 

Exhibits Chairman Robert Russell said 46 ex­hibits from 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada were submitted, using 282 cases.

Other exhibit award winners, their categories and awards (in parentheses) are:

U.S. COINS

??First — Thomas J. Uram, “Cele­brating the Thirtieth Anniversary of the American Silver Eagle” (ANACS About Uncirculated 50 1844 Seated Liberty half dollar).

??Second — Tony Cass, “United States Gold Coins from the Carson City Mint” (1917-S Standing Liberty, Mailed Breast quarter dollar).

??Third — Jerry Stubblefield, “American Ingenuity” (1834 Capped Bust half dime).

PAPER MONEY

??First — Dennis Schafluetzel, “Chattanooga Iron Companies Scrip,” (Series 1923 $1 United States note, Very Fine/Extremely Fine).

??Second — Dany Rothfeld, “Each One Unique” (PCGS Currency Very Fine 20 Series 1917 $2 United States note).

??Third — Mack Martin, “Athens GA Antebellum Banking — the Early Days 1830s-1860s” (AU-58 Series 1923 $1 silver certificate).

MEDALS, ORDERS, DECORATIONS, TOKENS

??First — Brett Irick, “Personal Artifacts of John Honeyford Campbell, First Master of the Royal Canadian Mint” (anti-slavery 1838 Woman and a Sister Hard Times token).

??Second — Bill Jones, “Lincoln for President, a Selection of Tokens & Medals from his 1860 & 1864 Campaigns” (1837 Feuchtwanger’s composition Hard Times cent token).

??Third — Simcha Kuritzky, “Boy for Sale? Middle Eastern Ingots for the Redemption of the Firstborn Son” (A.C. Yates, Syracuse NY, “Sign of the Old Man With Specs” merchant token, Mint State 64).

FOREIGN COINS

First — James Zylstra, “Coins from the Seven Churches of Asia” (Byzantine Empire bronze solidus of Justinian I, 527 to 565 A.D.).

Second — Simcha Kuritzky, “Feline Species Numismatic Type Set” (1792 Peruvian 8-real coin of Charles IIII found in Turkey hoard of buried treasure with edge exposed, lustrous EF).

Third — Thomas J. Uram, “The Niobium Coins of Austria” (Brunswick-Lüneburg-Calenberg, Johann Friedrich 1665 12-marien groschen or one-third taler, one-year small flan type, toned EF).

ERRORS

First — Mack Martin, “State of GA 1862 $5 Currency Errors” (1901 Barber dime, 7 percent off-center, VF-30).

Second — John H. Miller Jr., “Wrong Design Dies on 20th Century Business Strike Coins” (1990-P Kennedy half dollar, 12 percent off-center, PCGS MS-66).

Third — Dany Rothfeld, “Errors Galore — Selected U.S. Error Coins” (large broadstruck 1979-P Anthony dollar, MS-63).

MISCELLANEOUS

First — Sam Gelberd, “Great Beards on Coins” (see above).

Second — James Zylstra, “Commemorative Primitive Money in Africa” (1915-S Panama-

Pacific International Exposition half dollar).

Third — Charmy Harker, “Penny Pots and Pins Made by Offenders and Defenders” (1788 Machin’s Mills copper halfpenny).

JUNIOR YN

First — Devon Webber, “Com­memorating Historic Space Flights” (1932-S Washington silver quarter dollar).

CLUBS

First — The Fort Lauderdale Coin Club.

Second — The Ocala Coin Club, “Past, Present, and Future.” 

More 2017 FUN Coverage:

FUN convention attendees caught up in the terror in Fort Lauderdale: Coin conventions, are annual gatherings of collectors and professional numismatists sharing mutual hobby interests. They can be chaotic, not life-threatening.

2017 Florida United Numismatists convention in the record books: The bourse floor of the Florida United Numismatists convention Jan. 5 to 8 in Fort Lauderdale was bustling with collector activity.