Stack’s Bowers Galleries is accepting applications for its 2025 Professional Numismatist Program (PNP), a week-long immersive experience designed to develop the next generation of numismatic professionals. Scheduled for July 20-25 at the firm’s headquarters in Costa Mesa, California, the program offers hands-on training in advanced coin grading, wholesale trading, valuation, bullion trading, U.S. and world paper money, and the auction process.
Participants will learn from leading industry experts, including Devin Hipp, Greg Roberts, Jason Carter, John Kraljevich, John Pack, Kyle Ponterio, Peter Treglia, Aris Maragoudakis, and Dennis Hengeveld. The program is fully funded by Stack’s Bowers Galleries, covering all expenses, including travel, lodging, meals, and entertainment.
Past participants praise the experience for its deep industry insights and professional networking opportunities.
"I left with connections, competence, and confidence that I can step up my game in ways I did not realize were possible," shared PNP graduate H.H. Another graduate, C.N., emphasized the program’s impact: "The professional expertise shared with students was a significant part of the experience, as were building lifelong friendships, business connections, and real-life skills."
For those looking to turn their passion into a profession, this program offers an unparalleled opportunity to gain essential skills and industry connections. Exceptional students may also be considered for paid positions and internships with Stack’s Bowers Galleries.
Applications are due by May 1. For more details, visit Stack’s Bowers Galleries PNP.
California here I come?!?!?
@REB: Me too! It seems like the numismatic equivalent of finding the golden ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The both of you qualify in my book. The Numi passion is there…
Send in your Application, you never know!?
A downside? Vinnie you cannot keep the training samples!
And REB if you make it — You’ll be learning “hands-on training in advanced coin grading”
So You’ll need to work on disguising your “Eye Roll” Reflexes!
… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
lol.
Too bad Rick, that the vast majority of those of us that read Coin News daily, are not eligible for this Stacks’ and Bowers Professional Numismatic Program. “Admission Criteria
To be eligible for participation in the Professional Numismatist Program, applicants must be ages 18 to 25 years old at the time of the program.”
IMO, they should offer another program perhaps, partially funded(25% off), or meals included, with discounted airfare and lodging, called the, “Mid Life, Second Wind, Come Sail Away, Dream Weaver, Dust in the Wind” Professional Numismatic Program, for those 45-70. Just saying….
LOL. “… Golden Years” Professional Numismatic Program
Good idea, as you’d be an instant qualifier, given your vast experience & research in Numismatics over the years.
Good to hear from you Cali.
“Mid Life, Second Wind, Come Sail Away, Dream Weaver, Dust in the Wind” Professional Numismatic Program, for those 45-70. Just saying….”
lol. And I thought a girdle and some Just for Men hair dye would do the trick ….
Cali,
Its great to hear from you! I was thinking about you a few days ago. I thot and hoped you were still keeping up with CN’s. Pop on in a little more often, you’re missed. You have an ability to “dig deep” into issues/questions/observances, etc. and it’s very much appreciated not to mention your cents (pardon the pun) of humor!!!
Well, as always, Good Luck ALL!!!
REB, Speaking of Stack’s Bowers Galleries.
I wanted to run something by you before this thread is corrupted by Political Hate Jabs and Juvenile name calling from one unprovoked, unnamed individual here. This thread(only one of 10 lately), is happy and cheerful!
Also, my subject matter involves a Gold Coin in a TPG Slab, another Numi Product that he has come to despise. Bizarre. His opinion on Gold, Slabs, or Me falls upon deaf ears, so all is good.
Anyway…
It’s this coin in the pic below. The FHG Privy #148…
As you can tell from the photo above, it was in an auction recently, last Sunday in fact, at Great Collections Auctions. Privy #148, PCGS PR69DCAM was purchased two months ago at Stack’s for $26k. Last Sunday, in a legitimate, No Reserve Auction(like Stack’s was), sold for a robust $40,500 after all was said & done. Not bad. How does it feel to see that your Privy coin has gained at least $12,000 in value over the last 2 Mos? Below is a screenshot that I took today of the final sale page(yes, I bid on it to discover the… Read more »
I guess I’m not surprised. The coin is rarer than some of the Charlotte/Dahlonega coins from the mid-1800s that I looked at last weekend. The only reason that this coin wouldn’t skyrocket in the coming years is if the Mint conducts multiple comparably low mintage auctions in the near future. The 2020 AGE Privy appears to have hit a plateau lately in the $15-25K range. It seemed to be flying before the FHG Privy. When compared to the 230 mintage, the 2020 coin doesn’t appear as special anymore despite its 1,939 mintage. To paraphrase The Incredibles – if every coin… Read more »
Yes, I’ve heard that phrase before, same with that pair of jeans, a vinyl record, or that one girl. I’m a little surprised because this was no ordinary offering(besides the coin itself), meaning that with a few exceptions, the Flippers, Dealers, and Bargain Hunters were sidelined after prices surpassed $15k, they didn’t know what hit them!? I had a hunch all along that they would go for much higher than that. So I had concluded(when the auction concluded), that $25-30k(PF69), to $35-40k(PF70) would represent full retail pricing. I was a bit off, and so was Greysheet Wholesale Bid/Ask estimates. The… Read more »
The ones who are going to have the toughest time recouping their money are the purchasers of #1 and #230. $440k and $90k – sheesh!
On the flip side I can say that I have not been impressed with the performance of the standard non-privy FHG. Gold is rising, but the OGP FHG seems fairly stagnant. It seems like the US Mint premium plus dealer premium was so huge that it absorbed a lot of the PM growth. Luckily I bought it as a collector rather than an investor. The FHS medal seems more impressive from a percentage standpoint. Surprising for a medal.
As you suggested, the non-privy FHG is just not that rare. In 2024, the two gold commems (proof with unc), the L&B, three of the four AGE proofs, and the Buffalo proof all had lower mintages than FHG’s 10,000. Honestly, even though many liked the design, I was stunned that the thing sold out. 17,000, then 10k, seemed adequate to meet the demand.
The medal has been surprising. Perhaps the attachment to it is that it is minted in the same metal as the coin it honors … and it’s somewhat affordable.
@REB, IMHO the reason it sold out at 10k was because there was a significant portion of speculators in the 10k mix. That darn FHG nearly gave me a heart attack when the post office couldn’t find my package for a few hours. I like your qualifier “somewhat” affordable description of the FHS because cheap it was not. 🙂
You are correct on all points. I had to throw elbows for a couple of weeks on eBay to obtain the FHG after I calmed from the Mint’s “sellout”. I’ve always believed for “collectible” coins that the Mint should sell to demand. The L&B approach was mostly right (though they played some games with that one too).
Agree
Agree VinnieC…”because there was a significant portion of speculators in the 10k mix”.
Many of those fly-by-night flippers had no interest in keeping them. Give it some more time and the strong-handed collectors will absorb them. Also, in a year or two, the FHG has a strong case for a Coin of the Year award that could give it a bump. Perhaps a “Bronco Liberty” style bump!? Congrats on your “cheap” USM direct FHG buy!
“The medal has been surprising”
Yes it has, and in a good way. The FH program as a whole was a great success for the Mint imo.
When I suggested that the FHS Privy(1794 pcs) had some historical significance, I was pooh-poohed with the all too familiar “It’s only a Medal” routine. Yes, it’s definitely too early to predict anything longer-term for the FH Program, but it sure has been a great ride…
WOW!
And wasn’t that a Cracker Jack prize? Weren’t the privy medals sold randomly with the general population FHS?
REB, Right you are! I just saw a FH Medal, still sealed/unopened sell on EBay for $800 +. Might have been $899.00!! That Buyer “might” be lucky enough to get a Privy on it! I actually hope that Buyer does get a 230 Privy, a great gamble if he/she gets one!!! I purchased one on a Pre Sale, graded PCGS MS70 First Strike Flag Label, my goto label plus I purchased one directly from the Mint. I normally wouldn’t have opened the package it came in from the Mint as I normally hold onto my Mint purchases from the mint… Read more »
Sometimes you win … sometimes you don’t.
Be careful with those unopened shipping boxes, AK. Please see the discussion & Rick’s experimentation regarding tarnishing/toning in cardboard boxes. Sounds like you turn around coins (graded or still-sealed sold) pretty quickly though.
It was a prize! I used to love getting a box of Cracker Jacks as a kid, no matter the cheapness(or repetitiveness)of the prize itself. The Silver prvies were ‘salted’ amongst the entire “Authorized Mintage”, for now I’ll go with the 50k number. Speaking of ‘salt'(in a wound). It has been estimated that the chance of one winning the Silver Privy lottery ticket was 2.4%(higher w/50k vs 75k pcs?). Well, since the AP/Advanced Bulksters were able to purchase sealed & salted boxes of 100 Medals(9000 Medals in all), most of them were guaranteed 2 privies from the box of 100.… Read more »
As if the inside bulksters needed a fifth ace.
Rick, I couldn’t agree more with You!! I’m actually extremely surprised the FHG w/230 Privy has already grown Legs and Boy, have they grown LEGS!!! I’m SUPER happy for You, REB and any others that snagged one of these rare beauties! I sure wish I had pulled the trigger myself now!! I really thot that the Mint and SB’s made the money on these. I figured it would take years if it even did, go up in value or grow Legs!! I enjoy watching others take risks like I normally do and come out smelling like a rose! I feel… Read more »
Yes, I thought the legs had fully grown live that day and were done!
Stacks and the Mint made a ‘Mint’ either way.
Who knows, like what others have said, someday they’ll only be worth Spot.
I wonder what that would look like…
Here’s to Overpriced Privy Gold!…..
Interestingly, the V75 privy’s PCGS slab says “1 of 1945 Struck” when the actual mintage is 1939.
Question – How many slabs mention struck/mintage figures? None of the coins I saw in Charlotte did.
Well, I believe that all 1945 coins were struck(opinion). The final count(out the door) looks to have been reported as 1939. The missing 6 coins most likely were too damaged, mis-struck, or otherwise deemed ‘unsalable’, and therefore ultimately scrapped, culled, & melted. No ‘backup’ coins were struck? As far as the mintage mention on the label? I’d guess that that, is a marketing TPG ploy used for Modern Special/Limited Edition coins? They all use this mention, but not for the rarest of rare old strikes, re-strikes, ect.(they do mention important pedigree sometimes). However the seasoned(now you)collectors know where to get… Read more »
Thanks for the insights and information.
Rick, I’m so envious, lol! Congrats to You and thank you for sharing that pair!! Wow, absolutely gorgeous! As my wife would say, they are “Drop Dead Gorgeous”!! It’s very nice to have all the different collectors on here, sharing what they collect and it’s especially nice we get to see photos of coins of this caliber and we have collectors on this forum like yourself that collects high end coins! Myself and many others can’t go to Coin Shows and for me at least, I only get to see coins like those on my iPad so by you sharing… Read more »
Thanks AK,
We’ll see what the future has to say about these ‘Modern Rarities’, but for now it’s fun to take a chance, protect and enjoy them, while also feeling lucky to own them. Those are the centerpieces of my collection, along with a few others close behind.
I too, envy your collection of Gold, particularly the Modern Liberty Series. I’ve got a couple of them, and hope to add more to the coffers!
Good Day!
Tonight was auction night over at GC. A couple of interesting coins(to me)that I had been watching… One of them was the other FHG Privy over there. It was refreshing to see, since no Privies have been in a true, unreserved auction over at eBay as far as I know? So this allowed the current market to value the coin, not the seller. 1) FHG Privy #154, a PCGS PR70DCAM, sold for $34k at Stack’s debut. 2) The owner/agent decided to cross it over to TPG – CACg and sell it at auction. 3) It sold for a Robust $52,875… Read more »
The other coin, another dream coin, is an oldie but goodie.
At 230 years old, the 1795 Capped Bust Gold Eagle(13 Leaves variety)had a value of $10 back in the day. It was also the very first U.S. ten dollar gold piece. So tonights coin, a PCGS MS-65(Eliasberg Collection), one of 3 in the grade with 2 finer had sold for $1,338,750.00 tonight. $10 to $1.339M. An approx $1,338,740 gain in value. Not bad.