Last Updated 2 December 2024

If you would like to exhibit at the January 2025 FUN Convention you can contact: Bob Russell at FUNExhibits@Gmail.com.

This exhibit is an educational showcase presenting the history of the tribute of the United States Mint to the men and women of the U.S. Military. It is a two part exhibit. The first part is a chronological timeline of commemorative coins dedicated to the various military units, individuals, and battles of the wars and conflicts of the United States, from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terrorism. The second part is a presentation of bronze medals produced by the United States Mint. These medals also honor various individuals, missions, associated military units, Native American Tribes, and those groups of allied military personnel by saying "Thank You For Your Service".

A look at U.S. historical events 1798-1857 through the use of half cents, large cents, and two cent pieces.

Class B: Paper Money

These are small bonds with small denominations of $5, $10, $20, and $50 that were issued or were supposed to be issued by the State of Georgia during the reconstruction period after the Civil War. These bonds are extremely rare as they were redeemed by Georgia into the 1900's.

Milwaukee Wisconsin had 13 National Banks that issued National Bank Notes. The exhibit shows selected notes from 10 of the 13 issuing banks. One bank has no known note, one bank has two known notes and another has only one known note. Bank exonumia is included.

Albert A. Grinnel (1865-1951) was arguably the greatest collector of United States Paper Money during the first half of the Twentieth Century. This exhibit includes a biography of Mr. Grinnel, how he went about assembling his collection over a 30 year period, and then, as he approached the 80th birthday, his plans for the disposition of his collection. His collection was sold in a series of auctions held between 1943 and 1947 by first B. Max Mehl and, later, Barney Bluestone. This exhibit tells the story of each of those sales and includes copies of every catalog, both soft bound and hardbound, from each auction session. Twenty-five years later, reprints of the original catalogs were produced and this exhibit includes copies of both reprint versions as well as the story behind their production. Finally, two Serial Number 1 National Bank Notes, which can be definitively pedigreed to the Grinnell collection, are included with the exhibit as well as the history of the banks behind the two notes.

The large size 1896 Educational Series silver certificates are considered to be some of the most beautiful notes ever designed and printed in the United States and are a favorite among collectors. This exhibit takes a closer detailed look at the vignettes used in designing these engraved masterpieces.

"To Counterfeit is Death" was a common motto printed on colonial currency. This exhibit will examine anti-counterfeiting measures colonists put in place to prevent counterfeiting of our nation's earliest attempts at paper currency.

When the liner Andrea Doria sank on July 26, 1956 off Nantucket after a collision with the Stockholm, her First Class bank safe went down with her. In 1981 the safe was finally salvaged from the wreck and opened on live TV in 1984. While thought to contain jewelry and gems the safe actually contained bundles of wrapped currency which were carefully separated and preserved. This exhibit displays the American silver certificates and Italian lira alongside other rarities recovered from the safe, such as an American $2 legal tender, Canadian dollars, and signed American Express checks - all displaying the effects of 25 years spent at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

Class C: Medal, Orders, Decorations and Tokens

This exhibit familiarizes the reader with the different deities and images commonly found on worship medals of the Hindus and their sister religions Buddhism and Jainism. The collection shown here presents an as-wide-as-possible selection of medals, both with respect to the deities and symbols portrayed, as well as the types and styles of medals. The exhibit is organized by the deity or symbols shown on the medals.

"Good for" token used in the 1960's for an Ice Worm Cocktail at the Portage Glacier Lodge. These tokens have a serial number on them which is not typical. The very rare S/N 1 types in both brass and sterling, are displayed.

This unparalleled showcase pays homage to the brilliance of Constantino Affer, a luminary whose artistry transcends the boundaries of engraving and sculpting. Immerse yourself in the delicately crafted medallions that bear witness to Afferl s extraordinary talent, showcasing a symphony of form, detail, and storytelling. From historical milestones to evocative portraits, each medallion serves as a testament to Affer's ability to capture the essence of his subjects with unparalleled precision. Join us on a journey through the masterful legacy of Constantino Affer, where each medallion stands as a gleaming testament to the harmonious fusion of art and numismatics by a true maestro of the craft.

This exhibit contains elongated coins related to fires, fire fighters, fire safety, and fire damage.

The exhibited medals offer insight into the role of zeppelins in the Great War. Also included are a few examples of trench art from England made from fragments of zeppelin wreckage.

Class D: Foreign Coins

Since 1958 Israel has issued commemoratives annually, in a wide variety of metal, denominations, and subject matter. Collecting or studying these coins (and associated notes and medals) can be overwhelming. This exhibit breaks down all commemorative coins, mint sets, notes, and bullion issues into a score of series, according to the forthcoming revised catalog by the American Israel Numismatic Association, to show the breadth of issues, and to encourage collecting by specializing in a particular series or creating a type set across series.

A history of Canada through silver dollars.

Highlighting coins of 1966 from all over the world with travel theme being coin education.

The modern Chinese Unicorn series was created during 1994-1997. The union of the majestic western-style unicorn on the obverse with the formidable eastern-style on the reverse creates a unique and highly collectible series. The relatively short-lived unicorn series, often overshadowed by the more popular modern Chinese panda series, is well worth collecting.This exhibit will examine examples from each year of the modern Chinese Unicorn series.

This exhibit will show a variety of coins struck in error, or possibly on purpose. All are extremely rare and cover the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine empires.

A look at the minting and design of the 1797 two pence.

This exhibit presents a carefully selected collection of coins, each one tangible evidence of the rich history and cultural exchange between Rome and its provinces in North Africa. Our journey begins in AD 193 with the rise of Septimius Severus, the first African emperor. It concludes as the empire ceded control of the province of Africa in the fifth century AD.

Class E: Errors

The intent of this exhibit is to show and explain the difference between what most numismatists consider to be genuine errors and those deliberately created but still labeled as "errors". In this exhibit are some very good examples of what an error produced at any of the U.S. Mints could look like, but after hearing the provenance any reasonable collector would have a strong feeling of doubt as to if they were true errors. With all the tokens on display in this exhibit it was simply a matter of asking the vendor to produce a specific error and it was done! Each token was carefully crafted to resemble an error that "might" have occured in the minting process of a mint. Well...., in most cases they were made to duplicate a true mint error, but some of them are very imaginatively created and would be nearly impossible to have originated in any of the U.S. Mints.

I found and purchased every Bank of Chattanooga Civil War error note I found in the past 27 years. I now have nineteen notes. The exhibit displays one of each of the nine types of the Bank of Chattanooga Civil War errors. The Union states currency during the Civil War had very few error notes because the northern banknote companies inspected the notes and destroyed all the error notes they found. There were multiple northern banknote companies and were chosen based on the quality of their notes. The Confederate states had very few banknote companies in the south, so their highest priority was to print many notes to support the war. As a result, there were many error notes issued.

In this exhibit we will learn how clips are made, what are the diagnostics of real clips, and see examples of common curved clips to the ultra-rare inside corner clip, and all types of clips in-between.

Class F: Miscellaneous

This exhibit has six engraved coins, each pair representing a particular major western monotheistic religion: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three religions have ancient roots in common, but differ greatly in ritual, liturgy, and even language, and some of these differences can be seen in the coins engravings.

This exhibit explores the diversity of both United States and foreign coins that celebrate a particular state of the United States.

Dr. Lewis Feuchtwanger was a German immigrant who came to the United States in 1829, He was a college educated medical doctor who had many scientific interests. In 1837 he devised a form of German silver which he called "Feuchtwanger's composition" or "American silver". He issued a large number of one cent pieces and a much smaller number of three cent pieces which circulated during the Hard Times perion from 1837 until the early 1840s. The U.S. Government never adopted Feuchtwanger's composition, but his proposed use of nickel in coinage planted a seed. During the civil war, Feuchtwanger tried to sell his metal to the government again. This time his tokens were limited to three cent pieces, which he produced in very small quantities. These pieces never reached circulation and were only intended to be patterns or samples. Collectors have greatly admired Dr. Feuchtwanger's 1864 three cent Civil War token for many years. Industrialist Joseph Wharton had far more political clout than Dr. Fuechtwanger. His proposal to use nickel in the three and five cent pieces was adopted by Congress in 1865 and '66. The U.S. Mint System has continued to issue the copper-nickel five cent piece to the present day.

The purpose of this exhibit is to dispel the stereotypes associated with the swastika symbol. The swastika has been around far longer than the stigma brought on by the Nazi's use during WWII. Most see the symbol as something to hate, but in all actuality it has been a good luck symbol dating back to ancient times. The Hindu Religion and the Native Americans have used various forms of the swastika. The swastika is a symbol of prosperity, good fortune, good luck, and is widely distributed through the ancient and modern world. The word is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, meaning "conductive to well being". It was a favorite symbol on ancient Mesopotamian coinage. Native Americans refer to it as a whirling log, a sacred image representing a legend that was used in healing rituals. It is my goal to allow the longstanding kindness of the symbol to overshadow evil.

Elongated coins were first commercially sold in large numbers at the 1893 Columbian Expo. This exhibit shows a sample of 1893 elongated coins with history on how they were produced.

Scrip used in schools was first issued in the 1850's as business schools and colleges sprang up across the United States. They were established to answer the need for an educated workforce. The Students learned the tasks of check writing, counting large quantities of cash, and entering the results in ledgers by actually doing the tasks. The schools produced their own cash or used a generic piece in their community. Collectively we call the money college currency.

Thomas I. Porter was a Special Agent in the United States Secret Service. As an agent handling most of the important National Bank robberies, counterfeiting cases and postal robberies of his time, he saw the need to invent items to protect our money. This is the story of Porter and these inventions.

Before tape and staples, straight pins and thread were used to repair torn paper. This exhibit takes a look at the fascinating history behind pinned and sewn notes of colonial America.

To encourage consideration of the cultural and symbolic meaning of coins, as shown in their use in jewelry making.

The exhibitor intends to inform the viewer of the varieties of weighing devices depicted on coins and assay medals of the U.S.

Group G: One Case Exhibit

This exhibit centers around a discovery piece, a World War One Armistice medal (So-Called Dollar HK-896) with an american flag crossed with a Zionist (now called Israel) flag. It gives historic context of the role of Zionism in the Allied war effort, including artifacts and commemoratives of Britain's Jewish Legion.

This year, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. To mark the event, this exhibit begins with the 1993 World War II Commemorative coin set which observed the 50th anniversary of the Second World War. This complete set contains six coins, uncirculated and proof. A supplement to this collection, "the young collectors' set", included an uncirculated commemorative half dollar and a reproduction of the World War II victory medal. This inspired your author to add the five award medals which were presented to all members of the armed forces who served during the war, Those pieces included the World War II victory medal plus awards for home front service, before and during the conflict, the European and North African, and the Pacific theaters. This is truly an "everyman's set" because the medals were given to a wide range of the members of the armed services. These medals are common and very collectible.

Medallic Art Company in 1959 under a State of Alaska contract, issued an official statehood medal. For the 50th anniversary of Alaska statehood in 2009, MACO reissued the medal in Bronze (with minor changes)

Since 1977, the tradition of Clemson University students and alumni stamping the iconic tiger paw on $2 notes and using them at away games has woven a unique narrative into the fabric of Clemson pride. The display showcases the emblematic tiger paw $2 note, delving into the history of the modern $2 note while exploring the deep-rooted traditions and rich history surrounding the Clemson University $2 note. This exhibition invites visitors to connect with the stories embedded in these currency symbols, symbolizing a vibrant blend of school spirit, tradition, and community engagement that has endured for decades.

In this captivating medallion exhibit, each exquisite piece serves as a tribute to the illustrious United States Coast Guard Barque Eagle, a sailing icon known for its majestic stature and rich naval legacy. The gleaming medallions on display encapsulate the spirit of this proud vessel, depicting scenes of maritime mastery, courageous seafarers, and the enduring commitment to safeguarding the nation's maritime interests. As you explore this exhibit, feel the winds of history and the salt spray of the open sea, honoring the timeless legacy of the U.S.C.G. Barque Eagle, a symbol of American maritime prowess and resilience.

An exhibit of 5 cent fractional currency, 3rd issue, SMC notes.

On exhibit is a unique American Banknote Co. "Santa Clause" souvenir card missing the red overprint.

This exhibit will take a close look at the Massachusetts "Sword in Hand" colonial note engraved by Payl Revere. The design is rich in history and tells the story of a nation destined for independence.

This exhibit will show an original copper token, and a copper on silver medal (both extremely rare) a copy with an original that has been gilded.

Exploration of meaning on a group of Roman coins depicting hunted wild boars.

Class H: Young Numismatists

This exhibit will include several U.S. coins with eagles in the design. I will showcase the artistic and historical aspects of each eagle.

My exhibit is about various Japanese coins. From small to large, these coins offer a glimpse into the history and artistry of Japan. These coins are very artistic and important to Japanese history.

The purpose of this exhibit is to explain the significance and meaning behind certain coins being left on gravestones.

This exhibit takes a look at sovereign 1 ounce silver bullion coins from around the world.

The exhibit will display common products from the past, their cost, and the coins from the time period that could have been used to purchase them.

The purpose of this WWII themed exhibit is to teach people about the greatest war ever fought by mankind. I also wanted to exhibit this so I could show people a cool piece of history, and explain the importance of metals during wartime. Lastly I wanted to explain the minting process of this interesting coin because it is different from most other coins we have handled.

Group I: FUN Member Clubs

This exhibit showcases the rich history of the Central Florida Coin Club"

This club exhibit provides information about TEC, what we consider to be the funnest club in numismatics!

Group J Non-Competitive

A few pieces of United States currency (and a bank check) bearing the signature of Francis E. Spinner, treasure of the United States.