Get busy with your 2018 plans

Have you been thinking about what you will be doing in 2018?

I have.

My first trip to a coin show in the new year will be to the Florida United Numismatists convention Jan. 4-7 in Tampa.

I have started most years during my career at this show.

It is an event that should not be missed.

Thanks to the generosity of the FUN organization I will be present to host their third FUN Numismatic Ambassador Awards Breakfast Jan. 5.

This award program was originally founded by Numismatic News in 1974. We gave our last plaques in 2014.

From that point on, it has been entirely in the hands of FUN, specifically Tony Swicer. He has taken the award to new heights.

It will be my privilege to give out the awards to the next class of recipients.

These awards are voted on by all current holders of the award in an annual ballot.

I am sure the winners will be hobby volunteers and activists who will reflect credit on organized numismatics.

FUN is known for its extensive educational efforts.

Many talks have been scheduled for the Tampa gathering by Randy Campbell.

It takes a lot of effort to pin down all the speakers. Randy has enthusiastically done this for so many years nobody can remember a time when he didn’t do it.

My turn to speak comes after the awards breakfast, at 11:15 a.m.

My title is “Coins 2018: Stay Interested, Get Rich!”

I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts.

Less fleshed out is my trip to Berlin, Germany, for the World Money Fair.

It will be held Feb. 2-4.

It is my honor to host the Coin of the Year Awards ceremony there.

Who will take top honors? We will find out.

These awards also are determined by votes. In this case, it is by members of an international panel of judges.

These awards have been given every year since 1984.

Berlin became the award ceremony’s home in 2008.

My thanks go to the World Money Fair for making this possible.

So for me, 2018 will start off as a very busy year.

I do not yet know how many trips I will take in 2018, but as nice and interesting as talks and awards are, the main reason I go anywhere is to meet collectors.

I want to know what they are doing, what they are thinking, what they like and don’t like.

There is no substitute for these face-to-face interactions.

Besides, I enjoy them.

If you see me at these two shows, or any other, please say hello. Let’s have a conversation.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog for the third time in 2017 . He is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."

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