The ANA World's Fair of Money in the heart of the Bible Belt
In 2025, the American Numismatic Association took its World’s Fair of Money to Oklahoma City. The decision was highly controversial among coin dealers. Would enough people attend? Ursula Kampmann was there.
Oklahoma City? It took me a while to figure out how to get there. The local airport is small. There are no international flights. Even domestic flights are few and far between. I learned this from American colleagues when I tried to arrange to meet up with them.
Many of them decided not to attend because of this. I, on the other hand, found Oklahoma City an interesting location. Finally, a different corner of the United States. I had never been to the Bible Belt, but I know that conservative America likes to invest in numismatic assets. So it was potentially a promising venue.
The Omni Group’s conference hotel was new, comfortable and located directly opposite the convention centre. I was more than curious when I checked in on Tuesday afternoon with a whole crowd of coin dealers. We were all served extremely quickly and extremely friendly by competent staff. Everyone got their room, even though we were all three hours early. Other hotels charge a surcharge in such cases. That was not the case in Oklahoma City. Because here, they still have that old-fashioned virtue called hospitality.
Location Oklahoma City
I experienced this time and time again! I would like to mention Jes, the head of security, who not only helped me get my safe up and running, but also provided me with all kinds of tourist information. When she found out that I had to skip lunch, she personally brought me a tray of fruit, nuts and chocolate to satisfy my hunger. I have never experienced this on any of my trips to the United States. It is easy to see how Oklahoma City earned its nickname ‘The Big Friendly’.
It wasn’t just the warmth of the people of Oklahoma City that impressed me. I also found the location of the convention centre unbeatable. The venue was only a 10-minute walk away from Brick City, a pleasant entertainment district. Those who wanted to get some fresh air in between had the choice between Scissortail Park with all its sporting activities and the botanical garden – both less than a 5-minute walk away. However, there was no supermarket to be found. It was a good thing that the hotels provided their guests with free water and that ANA had organised a delivery service for hungry traders. It wasn’t exactly haute cuisine, but it was ideal for filling you up.
Few dealers, good business
In other words, Oklahoma City offered numerous advantages as a venue for a coin exchange, at least from a European perspective. The location thus proved to be a welcome alternative to the Convention Centre in Rosemont near Chicago, which could not be more conveniently located in terms of transport, but offers no distraction from the exchange itself. The nice thing is that the World’s Fair of Money is changing its location. Rosemont enthusiasts will have another chance in 2027.
It’s a shame that so many dealers didn’t give Oklahoma City a chance. The hall could have accommodated many more participants. Why was that? Certainly not because of the foreign dealers. All the usual suspects had made the long and complicated journey. In contrast, the American coin section was smaller this year. Several local dealers decided not to participate.
Their mistake. Because those who did come did excellent business precisely because of the reduced dealer presence. Everywhere I looked, I saw satisfied faces. Sales were good; purchases too.
Some coin dealers were even happy to get new customer addresses, as many visitors were attending the World’s Fair of Money for the first time. Often quite by chance, like our waiter at the Omni. He found out about the coin exchange from his guests. Word of mouth is still the best form of advertising. However, it is not particularly reliable. The ‘Okies’ I spoke to had all heard nothing about the World’s Fair of Money being held in Oklahoma City for the first time. Apparently, there had been little or no effective local advertising. What a shame! The ANA missed a great opportunity. There would certainly have been even more interested parties.
When it comes to the question of ‘why?’, we are probably dealing with the classic chicken-and-egg problem: there was too little (local) advertising because the World’s Fair of Money’s budget was not sufficient. And because exhibitors couldn’t rely on the halls being full, they stayed away, and the ANA missed out on the very revenue it needed to advertise more.
Lack of support from the mints
But that’s complaining on a high level. As I said, the dealers were very satisfied. A long queue even formed in front of the US Mint’s stand for hours. This was because Silver Eagles with a laser-engraved mint mark were being sold there for the first time.
The US Mint was more or less the only mint that came to Oklahoma City with a wide range of products and a large staff. In contrast, the corner where the remaining mints from around the world set up their stands was embarrassingly small. With the exception of the state-owned China Gold Coin Incorporation – of all places! – there were only private mints and coin distributors. The large mints such as the Royal Canadian Mint, the Monnaie de Paris and the Austrian Mint saved themselves the cost of a stand. Not that their representatives were absent. They were all sitting in the lobby of the neighbouring Omni Hotel, doing business with American bulk buyers.
It is a pity that the ANA, unlike the Berlin World Money Fair, is unable to market itself as a central location for acquiring new customers. After all, mints with their large, prestigious stands would be lucrative customers who would increase the appeal of the coin fair, especially for newcomers. But while many mints now finance their stay in Berlin by selling exclusive products tailored to the German market, this is not possible within the framework of the ANA.
The question remains as to why this is the case. After all, many foreign producers say that the American market is of central importance to them. Is the ANA failing to inform these customers about the event and make a visit appealing to them? Does the traditional collectors’ organisation that is the ANA have reservations about contemporary numismatics? Or are customers of investment products put off by the cost and effort involved in visiting the World’s Fair of Money? Perhaps the ANA also wants to protect its dealers from competition from foreign mints?
The Coin of the Year Award
Despite the conspicuous absence of mints from the stock market, the COTY – the Coin of the Year Award – has been presented again at the World’s Fair of Money since 2023. The Austrian Mint was the narrow winner on points. It won in three categories (Most Historically Significant, Best Bi-Metallic Coin, Most Artistic Coin) and took home the heavy globe for Coin of the Year. The Monnaie de Paris also scored in three categories (Best Contemporary Event Coin, Best Circulating Coin, Most Innovative Coin). Germania Mint provided a winner for the first time with the Best Crown Coin, which it had minted on behalf of Malta in honour of the Maltese bee.
You can find out more about the goose bump moments during this award ceremony in our article about COTY 2025.
Future events
The venues for the next two years have already been decided. In 2026, the World’s Fair of Money will be held in Pittsburgh from 25 to 29 August; in 2027, it will return to Rosemont from 10 to 14 August.
Text and images: Ursula Kampmann
