War on fakes gets leader

The battle against fake coins launched last year by the Industry Council for Tangible Assets will be waged by a new non-profit created by ICTA. Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation (ACEF) is…

Scott Spitzer

The battle against fake coins launched last year by the Industry Council for Tangible Assets will be waged by a new non-profit created by ICTA.

Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation (ACEF) is the new non-profit organization recently formed to receive contributions to support the work of ICTA’s Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force.

It will be steered by a seven-member board headed by Scott Spitzer, chief executive officer of Manfra, Tordella & Brookes, Inc.

Spitzer as president will be joined by Gary Linthicum of Universal Coin and Bullion, who will serve as vice president.

Board secretary will be Greg Allen of Greg Allen Coins.

Former Mint director Philip N. Diehl will serve as treasurer. Diehl’s current firm is U.S. Money Reserve.

Rounding out the board are Robert Brueggeman, executive director of the Professional Numismatists Guild; Larry Baber, treasurer of the American Numismatic Association, and Robert Harwell of Hancock & Harwell Rare Coins.

ICTA’s board of directors approved the formation of the new non-profit for the purposes of receiving contributions from individuals, other 501(c)(3) organizations, local and regional coin clubs, grants, eBay for Charities, and government agencies.

Donors should make checks payable to the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation and mail to P.O. Box 237, Dacula, GA 30019.

“While we shall be forever grateful to those who stepped forward in our first year to support the work of our task force, we have come to realize that we can’t move forward by drawing from the same small well year after year,” said Diehl, who also serves as chairman of ICTA.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force was originally formed in January 2017.

Its mission is to mobilize law enforcement to defend the nation’s coinage by educating officials about the economic impact and growing threat counterfeits pose to the marketplace and the public.

To support ACTF, send checks made payable to the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation to ICTA, P.O. Box 237, Dacula, GA 30019.

For information, contact Beth Deisher at 567-202-1795 or email beth.deisher@ictaonline.org.

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News Express. >> Subscribe today

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