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Archive August 2023
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PNG Honors Past President Gillio For 50 Years of Membership and Service
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) August 8, 2023 – The Professional Numismatists Guild (www.PNGdealers.org) has presented a 50-year membership plaque award to dealer Ronald J. Gillio of Santa Barbara, California. Gillio served as the organization’s President from 1991 to 1993, and earlier served as its Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
The plaque was jointly presented by new PNG Executive Director John Feigenbaum and long-time PNG member-dealer Kevin Lipton of Beverly Hills, California at the American Numismatic Association Pittsburgh World’s Fair of Money® on August 8, 2023.
According to Feigenbaum, “It is an amazing honor and a cornerstone of my new tenure as Executive Director to have the opportunity to present Ron with his 50-year plaque. Ron’s participation in the PNG for six decades represents the perfect example of the enduring value and legacy of this vital organization. The PNG stands for ‘knowledge, integrity, and responsibility’ of its members, and nobody encapsulates these virtues better than Mr. Gillio.”
Gillio is immensely proud of his career-long membership in the PNG and said it has been an honor to be a member-dealer for 50 years.
“I joined in May 1973 at the young age of 27 as member number 204. A few years later I was elected to the Board of Directors and served continuously for 17 years, never missing a meeting. During my tenure as President, I formed many consumer protection committees and organized various meetings with the ANA and other groups to discuss ways to help collectors and dealers. After my years on the Board, I was still very active in the 1990s on different committees, doing whatever I could for the PNG,” Gillio explained.
In 1995, he received the organization’s Abe Kosoff Founders Award, a distinctive honor that is named after the PNG’s 1955 Founding President.
“Plain and simple Ron Gillio is one of the greatest coin dealers in modern history! I have known Ron for almost 50 years. He has taught me a tremendous amount of life and business lessons along the way. When it comes to maintaining long-term relationships Ron is second to none. Honest and loyal he has been the unofficial ‘diplomat’ of our profession for years and years,” declared Lipton.
“He has done more mega deals than almost anyone in numismatic history. This is a fact very few people know as he does these deals uber discreetly behind the scenes. Ron is well known as a dealmaker all throughout the world. He is at home doing business in Switzerland, New York, Hong Kong, or the Long Beach coin show, a true man of the coin world,” Lipton emphasized.
The Professional Numismatists Guild is a nonprofit trade association composed of the country’s top rare coin and paper money dealers who must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics (www.PNGdealers.org/code-of-ethics) in the buying and selling of numismatic merchandise.
For additional information about the PNG, email info@PNGdealers.org or visit www.PNGdealers.org.
PNG Member Michael Fuljenz Honored With ANA’s Highest Award
(Beaumont, Texas) July 31, 2023 – Long-time Professional Numismatists Guild member Michael Fuljenz, president of Universal Coin & Bullion (www.UniversalCoin.com) in Beaumont, will be the recipient of the highest honor bestowed by the Congressionally-chartered American Numismatic Association (www.money.org), the largest organization of coin collecting enthusiasts in the United States.
Fuljenz has been a PNG member for 30 years, since 1993. The ANA announced he will receive the organization’s 2023 Chester L. Krause Distinguished Service Award at the 2023 World’s Fair of Money® (www.WorldsFairofMoney.com) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 11.
According to the association, the “highest honor conferred by the ANA, the Chester L. Krause Distinguished Service Award, is given in recognition of numerous years of outstanding, dedicated service to numismatics.” Fuljenz also is being recognized with the association’s 2023 Philanthropy Award. In 2021, he was named Dealer of the Year and he received the organization’s Medal of Merit in 2014.
“No recognition like this happens without the tremendous support of many others in the American Numismatic Association, in the hobby and profession, and my wonderful family. I sincerely thank all those who have helped me help others,” said Fuljenz who is known as America’s Gold Expert®.
A cover photo and a story about the award in the August 2023 issue of the association’s monthly magazine, The Numismatist, states: “Crime fighter Mike Fuljenz is as much an advocate for the Golden Rule as he is for all things related to precious metals… His unflagging efforts to eradicate numismatic crime, campaign for collectors’ rights, provide fiduciary support for educational programs, and spread the joy of the hobby are a testament to his upstanding character.”
He has received dozens of awards from the Press Club of Southeast Texas and the Numismatic Literary Guild for his four books, weekly newsletters, and television and radio appearances about rare coins and precious metals.
Over the years, Fuljenz has also received awards from the PNG and the National Coin and Bullion Association for his consumer protection work combatting counterfeits in the marketplace. He has been a significant contributor to consumer alerts released by the Federal Trade Commission, the Attorney General of Texas, and the Better Business Bureau.
Active in many community, education, and youth sports groups in Beaumont, Fuljenz currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the local Crime Stoppers organization. McNeese State University recognized his literary, business, and civic achievements and decades of service to the university by presenting him with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2015, and Lamar University recognized him with a 3T (Time Talent and Treasure) Award in 2007.
Universal Coin & Bullion has been recognized as Business of the Month by the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce.