On October 13, 2016, the United States Mint hosted a daylong forum with industry stakeholders at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Thepurpose of the forum was to open a dialogue between the Mint and the industry in order to find ways to improve the quality of its products andservices with the goal of increasing enthusiasm for coin collecting.

About 80 industry leaders and members of the collecting public were in attendance. Participants included representatives from the AmericanNumismatic Association (ANA), the Smithsonian Institution and executives from the two largest coin grading services: Professional Coin GradingService (PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC).

Representing the hobby's publishing and media sector were CoinWeek, Coin World, and Whitman Publishing.

The Mint's own presence at the event was robust. Principal Deputy Director Rhett Jeppson was on hand, as well as Acting Associate Director of theNumismatic and Bullion Division Jon Cameron, Philadelphia Plant Manager Marc Landry, Director of the Office of Corporate Communications TomJurkowsky, U.S. Mint Curator Dr. Robert I. Gohler and Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart.

Curator of the National Numismatic Collection Dr. Ellen Feingold gave an important update on the conservation and cataloging efforts ongoing atthe Smithsonian. CoinWeek joined Dr. Feingold and Jeff Garrett in Washington, D.C. last week to film an upcoming segment about the collection.

The morning's events wrapped up with a panel discussion with industry leaders, led by Garrett. The topic was "Invigorating the Coin CollectingHobby".

Those in attendance had many ideas concerning the growth of the hobby and outreach beyond the coin collecting community. Mass market coincollecting starter kits were proposed, as was an idea to seed new circulating coinage using classic designs like the Buffalo nickel and WingedLiberty dime into bags of current mint product for kids (and collectors) to discover. Another idea involved the ANA and Whitman teaming up to donateRed Books to public schools in the communities that host ANA conventions.

After lunch, the Mint split the attendees up into seven working groups. Each group was assigned to deliberate on a particular issue. The topicswere: Packaging; Mintage/Household Order Limits; Medals; Who is our Customer of the Future/Customer Engagement; Working with Youth; Historic DesignReproduction; and America the Beautiful (AtB) Follow-on.

To read the complete article, see:
U.S. Mint Seeks Industry, CollectorInsights at Numismatic Forum (www.coinweek.com/us-mint-news/u-s-mint-seeks-industry-collector-insights-numismatic-forum/)

As the Mint approaches its 225th anniversary of coinage (which will be celebrated in 2017), it faces a recent trend of declining collectorsales and a diminishing mailing list. The Mint sees this Numismatic Forum as the beginning of a strengthening relationship with the entire community,to reverse those trends and reinvigorate the hobby.

Mary Burleson and I went to the forum as, respectively, the president and publisher for Whitman Publishing-maker of the annual "Red Book" and acompany that obviously has a very keen interest in the hobby, with experience going back to the collecting boom of the early 1930s. I alsorepresented the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, along with three other members in attendance: Donald Scarinci, Thomas Uram, and CCAC chair MaryLannin.

The Numismatic Forum was an enlightening, productive event, and one that should produce valuable results (with ongoing work and dedication). Itbrought together diverse voices and viewpoints, from big-time coin dealers to museum curators to active collectors, and everyone in-between.

In a series of articles beginning this weekend, I'll introduce you to some of the Mint officials and others who participated in the Forum, andI'll share some of the ideas and discussions that came out of it. Coin packaging; mintage and household order limits; medals; customer engagement;youth involvement; historic design reproduction; and the future of the golden dollar and quarter dollar programs were some of the themes explored.Stay tuned-and I welcome your comments and ideas.

To read the complete articles, see:
Invigoratingthe Coin-Collecting Hobby: United States Mint Holds a Numismatic Forum in Philadelphia(http://mintnewsblog.com/2016/10/invigorating-the-coin-collecting-hobby-united-states-mint-holds-a-numismatic-forum-in-philadelphia/)
"Invigorating the Coin Collecting Hobby," Part 2: Get to Know the People at the United States Mint, the Smithsonian, and the American NumismaticAssociation(http://mintnewsblog.com/2016/10/invigorating-the-coin-collecting-hobby-part-2-get-to-know-the-people-at-the-united-states-mint-the-smithsonian-and-the-american-numismatic-association/)