The annual convention of the Orders & Medals Society of America is coming to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in about five weeks time. Commonly known as OMSA, members of the numismatic/ faleristic specialty group collect, research and preserve award medals of all kinds, military and civilian, including Orders of Knighthood, decorations for bravery and medals for various types of service, the vast majority being award medals of the portable variety, that is, medals meant to be worn by the recipient. Related books on Orders, Decorations & Medals (ODMs) and the circumstances surrounding their award are also an important part of the hobby and are well represented at the convention. OMSA's annual meeting moves around the country and is sponsored by local medal collectors.

Highlights include a special exhibit in cooperation with The Soldiers & Sailors Museum, featuring a Medal of Honor to a soldier killed at D-Day, June 6th, 1944, see www.soldiersandsailorshall.org.

The OMSA convention may be unique among specialist collector conclaves insofar as it is a collector financed affair, the costs of the convention being paid by registered attendees, rather than bourse table holders, the latter method most common in the numismatic community. OMSA attendees pay a registration fee, this year $190. For that amount, they have access to the convention floor for the four-day bourse and exhibits, two days of seminars on faleristic topics, a donation auction, several meals and cocktail parties, including a lavish annual banquet.

As members subsidize the event, inexpensive bourse tables are available to any OMSA member registrant at only $65 (compare that to the cost of an ANA or commercial show table!), enabling members of all means to participate as a seller. The convention will be held at the Wyndham Grand Hotel, 600 Commonwealth Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, (412) 391-4600, from August 11 through 14, 2016 for OMSA member registrants.

The convention bourse floor and always fascinating exhibits will also be open to non-registered OMSA members and the general public but only on one day, Saturday, August 13, 2016 from 9am to 5pm, for a $6 admission fee. Those presently, or potentially, interested in learning about medal collecting are enthusiastically invited. For more information about OMSA, see www.omsa.org. Those wanting more information about attending this year's convention of the Orders & Medals Society of America, should email OMSA2016@medalnet.net.