James Sego, founder and president of JMS Coins in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, has been selected as the new President of the Professional Numismatists Guild for the 2024-2026 term.
"James has served with distinction on the PNG Board of Directors for seven years. He is an accomplished business executive who understands the numismatic hobby, profession, and marketplace," said PNG Executive Director John Feigenbaum.
"Being elected President of the Professional Numismatists Guild is the greatest honor in my coin career. With that comes the responsibility to represent all 291 members from around the world and lead the organization through the next two years," said Sego. "I look forward to the progress our team can make over the next two years."
Other PNG officers and board members for the 2024-2026 are: Vice President John Brush of David Lawrence Rare Coins; Treasurer William J. Gale; and Secretary Dustin Johnston of Heritage Auctions.
Board members are Greg Allen of Greg Allen Coins; Former PNG President Jeff Garrett of Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries; PNG Immediate Past President Wayde Milas of RARCOA; Don Rinkor of Rinkor Rare Coins; and Andrew Salzberg of RARCOA.
"Under PNG Bylaws, member-dealers of the organization elect the board members at large, and then the elected board members select the officers from within their group," explained Feigenbaum.
"I’m really excited about James Sego as the new PNG President. James is highly respected by his peers for his numismatic knowledge ranging from classic coins to the modern era," added Feigenbaum.
Sego collaborated with John Wexler and Kevin Flynn on the book The Authoritative Reference Guide to Eisenhower Silver Dollars.
Prior to becoming a full-time professional dealer, he was as an executive of The Quaker Oats Company for two decades.
"My predecessor as PNG President, Wayde Milas, did some heavy lifting and we will continue to move forward with his initiatives," said Sego.
He outlined three goals he wants to accomplish in his new role.
Continue to represent the PNG as the premier organization for full-time coin dealers and as a trusted source for consumers to purchase rare coins.
Create more value for member dealers. That involves more direct marketing of the PNG Brand, getting more visibility for the PNG and its member-dealers in the news media and at shows. Additionally, we need to create more tangible benefits for member dealers.
The third goal is education.
"This involves many areas; however, one program will receive significant focus over the next few years, nexGen, which has been generously funded by Mark Salzberg and is being run by Amanda DiPace (née Blattel)," he explained.
"This program is designed for future coin dealers and is open to all potential dealers under the age of 25. It’s a program that pairs the younger dealers with experienced PNG Mentors to help educate them about becoming coin dealers. There are also dedicated lectures by industry leaders on specific areas of education, such as security, finance, and grading, among other topics.
Founded in 1955, the Professional Numismatists Guild is a nonprofit organization composed of many of the country’s top rare coin and paper money experts who undergo a background check, must adhere to a strict code of ethics in the buying and selling of numismatic items and who guarantee the authenticity of the numismatic merchandise they sell. The PNG mission statement is: Ensuring integrity, instilling confidence, and promoting professionalism for the benefit of all numismatic collectors and professionals.
You do not have to be a dealer to be affiliated with the Professional Numismatists Guild. There are three PNG membership categories: Gold for full-time dealers; Gold Associate intended for employees of Gold category members; and Silver intended for non-dealers who are involved in numismatic-related projects such as marketing, museums, trade shows, and other work.
A directory of PNG member-dealers and PNG Accredited Precious Metals Dealers is online at https://www.pngdealers.org/af_memberdirectory.asp.
For additional information, visit online at www.PNGdealers.org, email at info@PNGdealers.org, or call the PNG headquarters in Murietta, California at 951-587-8300.
For just a moment there I thought that the new head of the Professional Numismatists Guild had branched out into laundering coins for some small-time version of the mob.