At the recent Whitman Expo in Baltimore the first day of issue of the 2017 Guide Book of U.S. Coins took place on Thursday, March 31. This is the 70th anniversary edition.

Forty-eight copies had been signed in advance by editor Ken Bressett, and later by valuations editor Jeff Garrett and by me as research editor. I numbered the copies from 1 to 48 and inked in “First Day of Issue, March 31, 2016.”

At 2 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday drawings were held in which convention attendees who filled out tickets were awarded, 10 each day, to numbers drawn at random. Some numbers were set aside by Dawn Burbank, who with Michelle Hudson manned the Whitman display, No. 1 to be sent to Charles Anderson who was instrumental in the Whitman acquisition years ago. Others will be sent by Dawn to Jeff Garrett, Ken Bressett, and some other Whitmanites.

At the drawing on Thursday the 31st I cautioned each of the 10 winners to be careful with their free copies as, who knows?, they might become valuable collectibles!

Mega Red arrived Thursday this week. I kept saying “Wow” for fifteen minutes as I leafed from section to section. Coin collectors: By studying this book you can become a numismatist!