Fuljenz to tell a classic story

At any given time, the world is new for someone.

When I was in kindergarten, the kids in my class made white hand prints on black paper.

Under the hand was the name of the child and the year.

It obviously was intended to be a memento, not the first course on a pathway toward a Ph.D.

Apparently, I wanted to put the prior year on my print. I even insisted I was correct.

How could I be a year behind?

My teacher figured out that I must have taken the prior year’s demonstration example and literally wanted to follow it exactly.

Well, I learned what the correct year was in the process as my teacher gently explained it to me.

New coin collectors are the same boat toward numismatics as I was to toward the world in kindergarten.

They have so much to learn. The wealth of American numismatic history must be told and retold as newcomers entering the hobby are exposed to what the old-timers take for granted. It is a good thing that learning these stories is both fun and interesting.

One such is the story of how “In God We Trust” came to be put on our coinage.

It appeared for the first time on the 2-cent piece in 1864 and there have been attempts to remove it from coinage in recent decades.

Texas dealer Mike Fuljenz will tell the story of the national motto in a 45-minute presentation entitled, “Should ‘In God We Trust’ Be Banned From Money?"

It is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Aug. 11 in room Avila A on the fourth floor of the Hilton Anaheim (California) Hotel during the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money.

Admission to the Fuljenz talk is free.

Perhaps before or after the talk, attendees will want to experience the full ANA event at the nearby convention center. It will cost $8 to get into the Aug. 9-12 event. Kids will be admitted free.

On Aug. 13, the last day, admission for everyone is free.

Check out www.WorldsFairOfMoney.com.

By following the link, a $2 admission discount coupon can be obtained.

It doesn’t take a knowledgeable numismatist to figure out that saving $2 is better than not saving $2.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper has twice won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."

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