ANA Summer Seminar — Session 2 Writeup (June 27 – July 2) (Lots of PICS!)

pcgsregistrycollector · July 11, 2026 7:40PM

I know I'm a bit behind on posting this, but I wanted to properly document my week at ANA Summer Seminar Session 2, because it was honestly one of the best weeks I've had in a while. Here's the full rundown.

I drove into George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston Texas) at around 6:30 am on Saturday. My flight departed at 9:30, so there was enough time to catch a brief breakfast and chill before boarding. The flight into Denver International Airport took around 2 hours and 3 minutes — and wow, that place is massive. If you've never been, it's worth seeing just for how sprawling it is. From there it was about an hour's drive down to my hotel in Colorado Springs, which gave me a little time to decompress and get excited for the week ahead.

I stayed at a joint about five minutes from the venue, which made the daily commute easy. Colorado Springs is a fairly small-ish town, so no stressing about traffic or getting up extra early to make it to class on time.

Food and Campus Life

Meals were at the dining hall, and I have to say, the food was pretty solid. There was a ton of variety, and something for everybody. There was pizza, drink stations, salad bars, ice cream, and different main dishes each day. It's a small thing, but when you're spending a full week somewhere for a class, having good food available really does make a difference.

**Hallenbeck's Coin Gallery and the Money Museum
**
One of the highlights of the week was heading over to Hallenbeck's Coin Gallery. They have a massive selection of everything from raw coins, both US and world, to modern bullion and coin books. I ended up spending a ton of time there, and also made my way through the Money Museum for the first time. Before, I'd only seen it in photos and it definitely didn't disappoint. I saw my first ever 1804 dollar, 1913 nickel, and 1792 half disme, among many others! Seeing that much numismatic history in one place, in person, hits different than looking at photos online. There's a level of detail and context you just can't get any other way.

**The Class: Grading US Coins Pt 2
**
The main event of the week was taking Grading US Coins Pt 2. A bunch of former attendees recommended the class, and it certainly lived up to expectations — informative, hands-on, and genuinely fun the whole way through. It was nice to see a mix of all age groups. There were young numismatists, seasoned veterans, and people from all different places! A few things that stood out:

Grading fundamentals — going deeper into the technical side of assigning grades, beyond just "looks good/looks bad"
Counterfeit detection — learning the tells and techniques used to identify counterfeit coins, which is a skill I think will stick with me long after the class ended
Matte and Roman proofs — learning how to distinguish these proof types was something I hadn't gotten into before, and it opened my eyes to a whole subcategory of coins I want to explore more
Wild coins — we got to see some incredible pieces during the class, many of which I had never seen in person (or sometimes even in photos) before. Pictures are included in the next post for anyone curious.

Overall, I walked away from the class with a noticeably sharper eye and a lot more confidence in evaluating coins critically instead of just going off gut instinct.

The People

Beyond the coins themselves, honestly one of the best parts of the week was the people. I got to talk with a ton of other attendees who were just as into numismatics as I am. I saw some amazing collections, talked coins, swapped stories, and shared meals together. It's rare to be in a room full of people who get excited about the same things you do, and Summer Seminar delivers that in spades.

Thank You

I want to say a genuine thank you to the ANA and everyone who puts Summer Seminar together: the organization, the instructors, the donors, kitchen staff, and everyone behind the scenes made the week run smoothly and made it easy to just focus on learning and enjoying myself. Thanks also to my fellow attendees for making the week as fun as it was; the conversations and camaraderie were truly a unique experience.

I'm really grateful I had the opportunity to attend. It was a fantastic week, I learned a ton, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in numismatics looking to level up their knowledge.

(Pictures from the week to follow/attached.)

Aerial shots of Colorado from the plane:

Money Museum: