The Great American Coin & Collectibles Show will make its first appearance in the Chicago area Sept. 25 through 27. The show will be held in Hall F of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont.

Special attractions include artifacts from the fabled Ship of Gold, the S.S. Central America that sank in 1857, and an educational seminar about gold conducted by award-winning author and consumer advocate Scott A. Travers.

“This will be a golden event for visitors, with a display of retrieved treasures and an important educational program about buying and selling gold,” stated Larry Shepherd, president of Shepherd Expos Management.

Bob Evans, the chief scientist on Central America recovery missions, will meet with visitors at the show. On Thursday and Friday mornings, Sept. 26 and 27, Evans will be discussing the Ship of Gold with Greg Darnstaedt, an Illinois collector who is displaying recovered gold coins and miners’ gold dust treasures from the legendary ship. The display will also include fascinating ship and passengers’ Gold Rush-era artifacts that were retrieved from more than 7,000 feet under the Atlantic Ocean.

“The artifacts Greg has assembled tell much more of the S.S. Central America story than what can be understood by just looking at the wonderful gold coins and ingots. The value here goes beyond the mere monetary,” said Evans.

“There are fascinating items of clothing and a hairbrush from surviving passengers, possessions that were lost to the dark depths for 133 years, even though their owners were saved. Now these things speak to how the passengers on the Ship of Gold lived. And there are pieces of equipment from the steamship, an oil lamp, a broken washbasin cracked during the sinking, and a piece of the rope the sailors used to climb up into the rigging,” Evans explained.

Also on Friday, the executive director of the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation, Beth Deisher, will present the organization’s prestigious Alan Kreuzer Memorial Award to the 2025 recipient. The award recognizes the anti-counterfeiting efforts of collectors, dealers, law enforcement agents, or others who are diligently working to protect the numismatic marketplace. The award takes place at 11 a.m.

At noon on Friday, award-winning author, consumer advocate, and former vice president of the American Numismatic Association Scott A. Travers will conduct a consumer/investor seminar, “Gold, Gold Bullion, and the State of the Coin Market.”

The first 100 attendees each day will receive a complimentary 8-inch by 10-inch fine art print of coins from the PentaMint Collection. A series of five original coin illustrations was created by numismatic artist Robert Julian specifically for this event. On archival paper, the prints to be randomly handed out depict one of these rarities: the 1837 to 1842 Bechtler gold $5 coin, the 1853-O Seated Liberty, Arrows and Rays half dollar, the 1854-D Indian Head (or Indian Princess) $3 gold coin, the 1909-O Indian Head $5 gold coin, and the 1870-CC Coronet Liberty Head gold double eagle.

Heritage Auctions, the official auctioneer of the Great American Coin & Collectibles Show, will have lot viewing in the convention center before and during the show. Professional Coin Grading Service will offer on-site grading and authentication. Visitors to the public ceremony can also watch a live recording of the popular The Coin Show podcast with hosts Matt Dinger and Mike Nottelmann.

The show is sponsored by Shepherd Expos Management and Amos Media. It will be open to the public on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 25 and 26 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $10 for a three-day pass, and children 10 and under will be admitted free.

Connect with Coin World:  
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory  
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on X (Twitter)

Whether you’re a current subscriber or new, you can take advantage of the best offers on magazine subscriptions available in digital, print or both! Whether you want your issue every week or every month, there’s a subscription to meet your needs.