The Whitman Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention slated for Nov. 16-18 will feature greater educational offerings in addition to its large bourse and official auction conducted by Bowers and Merena.

The American Numismatic Association will conduct two courses for which tuition will be charged. They are ?Understanding Die Varieties? and ?Coin Collecting 101.?

James Wiles teaches the die varieties class 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Rod Gillis will instruct the beginner class. It is a seminar format and will have the same hours as the varieties class.

Each course costs $145 for ANA members or $165 for non-members. To register, call (719) 482-9857, or register online at www.money.org (select ?School of Numismatics? from the ?Numismatic Events? drop-down menu).

Free meetings will be held starting at 9 a.m. Nov. 16 when the Liberty Seated Collector?s Club meets.

On Nov. 17, the Maryland Token and Medal Society meets at 11 a.m., Early American Coppers meets at 1 p.m., David Lange will talk about coin boards of the 1930s and 1940s at 2 p.m., and Joe Kaminski talks about varieties at 3 p.m.