Business executive and lifelong numismatist John Feigenbaum has been selected by the Professional Numismatists Guild (www.PNGdealers.org) Board of Directors to become the non-profit organization’s next Executive Director. He will begin a transition period in January with PNG’s long-time Executive Director Robert Brueggeman who will be retiring in 2023 after 28 years.
Brueggeman, 78, has been the organization’s appointed leader since 1995 and is credited with creating and implementing many projects to enhance the hobby and profession of numismatics, as well as increase consumer and investor education and protection in the marketplace.
Among his accomplishment is the creation of the PNG’s Accredited Precious Metal Dealer program; implementation of the PNG Quarterboard and Pennyboard projects to encourage beginning collectors; awarding college scholarships; the PNG Internship Program to help mentor young, prospective future dealers; his role with the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation Board in overseeing the ACEF’s important work; and successfully adjudicating complaints.
His business experience, including the mechanical engineering profession, the founding of security company Positive Protection, Inc. in 1981 as well as his work producing the annual New York International Numismatic Convention, the annual PNG Days, the United Jewelers Expo and Las Vegas Comic-Con, helped Brueggeman turn around the PNG’s financial situation.
"I inherited the Executive Director’s position in an organization with negative retained earnings, but presently it has approximately $400,000 in retained earnings to help our member-dealers and therefore also help collectors and investors, the clients of PNG dealers," he explained.
His retirement plans include spending more time with his family, including eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Feigenbaum, 53, has been attending coins shows since the age of 5 and grew up among coin dealers. He and his father built a rare coin company that was one of the pioneers in the field of mail order and online auctions with custom software designed to advance the hobby.
In 2015, he led an investment group to acquire the acclaimed Greysheet price guide newsletter. Under his leadership as Chief Executive Officer and President of CDN Publishing and what he describes as "an incredible, dedicated team," CDN turned an outdated printed price guide format into a data powerhouse for numismatics. The company now offers numerous new products from print media to a smartphone and tablet app, and application programming interface (API) connections for wholesale users.
"When the opportunity to take the reins of PNG Executive Director became available, I knew I could not turn down the role. The Professional Numismatists Guild is the most storied brand of its kind in numismatics with an incredibly rich history of organizing the top dealers in the field in the United States and other countries," Feigenbaum stated.
"Bob Brueggeman has been a tour de force in the PNG and I think there’s an opportunity here to continue to modernize the organization and expand our membership throughout the profession," said Feigenbaum. "Wherever potential members might be in the marketplace – at auction houses, in retail marketing firms, mail order companies, or small independent traders — we need to be inclusive and inviting to all the new faces. I aim to spearhead on that."
All members of the Professional Numismatists Guild and its Accredited Precious Metals Dealer program (www.APMDdealers.org) must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics in the buying and selling of rare coins, paper money, and precious metals. For additional information and a list of member-dealers, visit www.PNGdealers.org or call PNG headquarters in Temecula, California at (951) 587-8300.
