The annual American Numismatic Association Summer Seminar remains one of the best deals in our shared hobby. Where else can you attend classes in your choice of several dozen subjects taught by experts in their fields and attended by people just like you — collectors with a passion for learning?

That is why I was surprised when Deb Muehleisen, director of communication and marketing for the ANA, contacted me in the second week of February with the announcement that applications for scholarships to the 2023 Summer Seminar were well below expectations. She asked that Coin World help spread the word that the ANA had extended the deadline for scholarship deadlines until Feb. 28. We quickly posted that news online Feb. 9 and I follow up in the March monthly issue of Coin World.

If the ANA Summer Seminar is the best bargain in the hobby when you pay to attend, think how amazing it would be to get to attend the seminar for free, with someone else picking up the tab for the seminar class of your choice, plus lodging and food at the campus of Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado, adjacent to the ANA headquarters, museum and library. There could be no better deal.

I attended my first ANA Summer Seminar decades ago as a 20-something staff member of Coin World, probably in 1977 or 1978, taking the beginner’s class in coin grading, as I recall. I have been back to take new courses a couple of times, most recently to learn more about Colonial coinage.

For the more than 50 years the seminars have been held, the classes have been taught by top experts in their respective fields, with names any numismatist would recognize, many them the authors of standard reference books or the leaders of major numismatic firms or the most knowledgeable graders and authenticators. Your fellow classmates will share your love and interest for all things numismatic.

When I first attended the seminar in the 1970s, it was just one week in duration. A few years ago the ANA doubled up and held two week-long sessions, back to back, in the classrooms on the college campus. This year the ANA will hold its first session from June 17 to 22 and the second session from June 24 to 29.

Once you have completed your first Summer Seminar course, you will find yourself wanting to come back year after year. Indeed, the ANA states in the course catalog, “Rarely do students or instructors attend just one Summer Seminar. More than 70 percent of them come back time and time again for the unparalleled education, priceless friendships and spirited camaraderie. There is a reason why those who attend are so loyal to and excited for Summer Seminar.”

The seminar offers more than just classroom instruction. “Optional tours, seminars and special events round out a perfect week (or two) of numismatic immersion,” the ANA states.

Students and instructors often gather after the completion of a class, or in the cafeteria during breakfast, lunch and dinner, to share their interest in the hobby.

The ANA Summer Seminar is aimed at all age groups from teens onward. “While the majority of students are adults, more than 40 young numismatists (YNs) — ages 13-17 — attend Summer Seminar each year, bringing youthful enthusiasm and new perspectives to campus. Over the years, many of these YNs have become hobby leaders, and numerous Summer Seminar veterans have played a key role in encouraging their success. YNs stay in a Colorado College dormitory with counselor supervision. During the week, YNs have the same opportunities as adult students. They attend class during the day and can take mini-seminars or tours in the evening. YNs also organize and conduct a benefit auction, with all proceeds directly benefiting the YN Summer Seminar Scholarship Fund, which helps dozens of youth attend this prestigious event every year,” the catalog explains.

You can opt to live and dine on campus during the seminar. “These are basic dorm rooms with shared bathrooms and no air-conditioning, though each double and private room has window fans on a first-come-first-served basis,” the ANA states.

What are you waiting for? Go to here to learn more about this year’s ANA Summer Seminar.

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