Spencer Kinkelaar of Morrow, Ohio is the winner of the Professional Numismatists Guild’s 2016 Young Numismatist Scholarship competition.
Courtesy of PNG, Kinkelaar can attend one of the week-long 2016 ANA Summer Seminar sessions in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The PNG scholarship will cover airfare and tuition.
Kinkelaar was "quite surprised" when the PNG notified him about the scholarship award.
"It was quite exciting that the PNG thought I’d be a good candidate to come out to Colorado Springs to learn about numismatics," he said.
His father, Mark, happily responded, "It didn’t surprise me too much. He’s quite competitive and I was pleased to learn about it. I think he’ll enjoy it. It’s the kind of experience a young man needs."
"We appreciate what the PNG is doing and the opportunity for Spencer. It’s a wonderful learning opportunity," Mark said.
Kinkelaar is one of triplet boys, and he credits his father with initially sparking an interest in coin collecting in all three boys.
"As a young child, I was always interested in numismatics. At a young age, my father showed me his collection, which he started as a child," Kinkelaar wrote in his application essay.
Kinkelaar will be a Junior this fall at Kings High School in Kings Mills, Ohio. His plans for college include studying economics and finance as an undergraduate, then attending business and law school for post-graduate degrees.
2016 marks the 12th straight year for the PNG YN Scholarship. The money to pay for it is administered from the PNG’s Gerald Bauman Memorial Fund.
"Mr. Bauman served for many years as a prominent coin dealer with Manfra, Tordella & Brookes in New York City, and he was a mentor to some of today’s outstanding numismatic professionals," explained PNG Executive Director Robert Brueggeman. "After he died in 2001, the memorial fund was created as an on-going legacy to him and his mentoring."
The Professional Numismatists Guild is a nonprofit organization composed of many of the top rare coin and paper money dealers in the U.S. and seven other countries. For additional information, visit the PNG’s website at www.PNGdealers.org.
