"Dennis Tucker Will Speak on Semiquincentennial Coins at April 2026 NNP Symposium"
Dentuck
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Media Release 03/24/2026 — For immediate release.
Dennis Tucker Will Speak on Semiquincentennial Coins at April 2026 NNP Symposium
(Schaumburg, Illinois) — Award-winning author Dennis Tucker will speak in person at the three-day 2026 Newman Numismatic Portal Symposium in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois. His talk is scheduled for 5:00 pm Central on Friday, April 24, 2026. The NNP Symposium is accessible three ways: Visitors to the 87th Central States Numismatic Society convention can attend in person; the presentation will also be livestreamed via Zoom; and it will be archived online. There will be a Q&A portion at the end.
Tucker’s presentation is titled “The Semiquincentennial Coins: What’s Going Right . . . and What’s Going Wrong.” He will give a behind-the-scenes history of how the United States Mint developed its coinage and medals program to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. He will describe the direction the program was headed in for several years, how it dramatically changed just weeks before the Semiquincentennial, and what it all means for American numismatics.
“The 2026 Semiquincentennial is bringing new excitement to the coin-collecting hobby,” Tucker said. “It’s also ignited a firestorm of controversy and has threatened nearly 250 years of numismatic tradition.” He describes the scope of his NNP Symposium talk: “This isn’t so much a critique of individual designs, although there will be some analysis along those lines. It’s more of a study of how the coins’ themes and designs have been developed, later altered, and subsequently challenged.”
Tucker will update listeners on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request he submitted to the Treasury Department, and will discuss recent developments like the Donald J. Trump gold coin and the proposed Trump circulating dollar coin.
United States Mint Director Paul Hollis will also discuss the Semiquincentennial coins at the NNP Symposium; his talk is scheduled for Thursday morning, April 23.
The 2026 Central States Numismatic Society convention will be held April 23–25 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, close to suburban Chicago’s Woodfield Mall. This is the 87th CSNS convention. It features more than 425 coin dealer booths, free entrance for Society members and visitors under 18 years old, free entry to auctions and educational programs (including the NNP Symposium), club meetings, activities and giveaways for young collectors, and more.
Dennis Tucker is an author, numismatic researcher, and book publisher. He served as a Treasury Department Special Government Employee and numismatic specialist on the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee from 2016 to 2024. His book American Gold and Silver: U.S. Mint Collector and Investor Coins and Medals, Bicentennial to Date won “Extraordinary Merit” from the Numismatic Literary Guild. Tucker is a Life Member of the Central States Numismatic Society and recipient of the Society’s 2024 Q. David Bowers Award for his contributions to the hobby.
Comments
The "controversy" was that some people wanted to hijack the 250th anniversary program for a string of designs that celebrated things other than our nation's founding.
The other controversy is how the CCAC thought it could block some proposed designs by simply refusing to review them. (Their plan failed).
Somehow I suspect the speaker will be promoting a particular agenda.
"The "controversy" was that some people wanted to hijack the 250th anniversary program for a string of designs that celebrated things other than our nation's founding."
Bingo.
"The "controversy" was that some people wanted to hijack the already-approved 250th anniversary program for a string of designs that ignored the progress advanced by the people since the country's founding by white male slave owners."
FTFY
Geez, here we go again?
Most if not all of those things have already been depicted on coins. The proposed designs were nice enough and could have been issued later or in a separate program.
Your comments show a contempt for our nation's founding fathers, and that was the sentiment of many of those pushing for the other designs. That is the problem and the controversy.
If we can't celebrate our nation's origins on the 250th anniversary then when can we celebrate it?
note: edited
In honor of, to me rather surprising, even-handedness of recent moderation actions (this should be read to be self-depreciating, not moderator-depreciating or other_forum_member depreciating) I am editing my comment to include solely the link to the legislation at issue.
(A) Here is the text of the law. Section 3 is the part for 2026 coins.
Ed. S.
(EJS)
just fyi for those that don't seem to know:
the op DenTuck is Dennis Tucker and was once head of Whitman until it got bought out
" Let us be careful as to what it says, what we want it to say, and also our interpretations as to what it says. And any possible ambiguities in it."
Bingo again.
(F) One may want to consider practicing what one preaches...
Thanks for the clarification/reminder. I don't doubt Mr. Tucker's credentials, and I am happy that he is sharing his thoughts at the symposium. But I am not generally optimistic about the proceedings after having read an article recently where a CCAC member (no one who posts on this forum) made some very blunt and rather disturbing comments about their process.
I would be very happy if I were proven wrong in my assumptions about the upcoming presentation.
The 2026 NNP Symposium talks are archived online now. You can watch this one at
https://youtu.be/oroQV4dP8xU?si=20RF1fWbjT6xJGNg
in before the lock
Proud follower of Christ! I love the USA! Land of the Bright and Beautiful! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Great presentation.