PHILIPPINE FORUM AT 2026 PITTSBURGH ANA

Book reviews and market reports on many aspects of Philippine history and collectibles are part of the annual Forum. (Pictured: Dennis Tucker with recent publications by Eldrich Yap and Janssen Bantugan; Desiree Ann Cua Benipayo; Earl Honeycutt and Sandy Lichauco; Kenneth J.E. Berger; Q. David Bowers; and The CDN Monthly.)

The Philippine Collectors Forum will hold its annual gathering at the American Numismatic Association's summer convention (the World's Fair of Money) on Friday, August 28, 2026, in Pittsburgh. The PCF meeting is free and open to the public. Highlights include custom ANACS-slabbed commemorative coins for the first fifteen attendees, and Philippine money–related door prizes, including bronze and silver coins and Japanese Invasion currency from World War II. Educational features include a keynote lecture, market and auction reports, book reviews, and research updates from experts in the fields of Spanish and American Philippine coins, tokens, medals, and paper money.

Limited-edition slabbed coins are distributed to early attendees of every Philippine Collectors Forum meeting. Pictured are examples from 2017 and 2018.

PCF Secretary John Riley has noted the very strong market in U.S./Philippine currency in recent years, as well as active research in all aspects of related numismatics.

PCF founding member Dr. Earl Honeycutt continues to add more and more material to his book Philippine Medals and Tokens 1780–2024 (fourth edition coauthored with Sandy Lichauco, 2024). He observes: "Buying and selling Philippine medals continues to grow in popularity in Manila. High-quality and rare medals and tokens are bringing record prices at auctions. To keep collectors abreast of the latest pricing information and new medals, the 84-page ‘Edition 4.5' (2026) was just released."

The keynote speaker of the 2026 Philippine Collectors Forum symposium is award-winning author and former ANA executive director Jeff Shevlin. He will share information on the hundredth anniversary of the famous "Wilson Dollars" (originally minted in bronze, silver, and gold in 1920 to celebrate the opening of the Manila Mint). Shevlin will also show the original dies rescued from the rubble of the destroyed Mint after World War II and eventually used to strike commemoratives of the Mint's centennial.

Former Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee numismatic specialist Dennis Tucker will present an appreciation of the late Joel Iskowitz, designer of the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal. Iskowitz passed away in April 2026 after a prolific career in corporate, military, and book illustration, coin and medal design, and the creation of more than 2,000 postage stamps for forty nations.

Dennis Tucker was the keynote speaker at the 2025 Philippine Collectors Forum symposium in Oklahoma City. He presented on Filipino coin designer Melecio Figueroa, "The Saint-Gaudens of the Philippines."

Additional Forum speakers will include The Honorable Steven M. Bieda (giving an update on the former Manila Mint), Dr. Earl Honeycutt (on the current market for Philippine exonumia), coin dealer and researcher Kyle Ponterio (on a major two-part auction of Philippine medals and exonumia that will begin in October), and Secretary John Riley, with others to be announced. Reports from dealers and collectors in the Philippines will also be presented, along with show- and-tell and a vibrant atmosphere of Kapwa (shared community).

The Philippine Collectors Forum is a club member of the congressionally chartered American Numismatic Association. Membership in the PCF is free, and attendees don't have to pay the convention's entrance fee to attend the 2026 annual meeting. It runs from 1:00 to 4:00 pm in Room 334 (above Hall A, near the Noresco Riverside Terrace) of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Readers can request a copy of the 2025 Report of the Philippine Collectors Forum by emailing John Riley (johnrriley@yahoo.com) or Dennis Tucker (dtucker@americannewsagency.org).

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