|
Scouts Get ANA Welcome
by Numismatic News With
its Irving, Texas, headquarters nearby, it was a
natural to have a formal launch of the Boy
Scouts of America commemorative silver dollar
March 27 at the American Numismatic Association
National Money Show in Fort Worth, Texas.
Collectors witnessed first hand the importance
the organization attaches to the new coin in a
special ceremony conducted in a theater section
in a corner of the bourse floor.
Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca said, “the
partnership with the U.S. Mint is going to be
huge” and was already speaking as if all 350,000
coins were sold, earning $3.5 million for its
BSA National Foundation to use to start troops
in underserved areas.
Mint Director Ed Moy took great pride in
revealing that as of the ceremony, 200,000
silver dollars had been sold since they first
became available March 23. (As of March 28,
sales were 214,673 pieces.)
Moy gave Mazzuca a special shadow box containing
both a proof and an uncirculated example of the
new silver dollar.
Mazzuca also singled out former ANA President
Bill Horton and former ANA Vice President Patti
Finner for the support they had given to the
idea of a Boy Scout coin even before authorizing
legislation was introduced in Congress.
Also addressing the crowd were Scout adult
adviser Jeff Swindling, who chairs the Young
Numismatist and Scouting Committee for the ANA,
and Paul Porter, a sixth-grader and Scout from
South Lake, Texas.
After the ceremony, when Mazzuca was asked what
he would say if he could address all of the
nation’s coin collectors, he replied, “Thank you
for welcoming the Boy Scouts of America into
your dedicated and enthusiastic community. The
passion and excitement was evident at the
National Money Show, and we were glad to be a
part of it. The BSA centennial silver dollar is
a significant recognition of what Scouting has
offered our country during the last 100 years,
and it’s a beautiful keepsake to take with us
into our next century of service.” |