Worth Its Weight

Recorded live on the bustling bourse floor of the 2026 ANA World’s Fair of Money in Pittsburgh, the premiere episode of Worth Its Weight brings five leading voices in numismatics together for a lively, candid conversation about coins, collecting, and the future of the field.

Host Caroline Turco poses BIG numismatic questions to a panel whose expertise spans American, ancient, and early American numismatics, grading, museums, markets, publishing, and historical research. Along the way, the conversation moves from spirited debate to personal stories about the objects that have meant the most to each panelist.

You’ll hear the activity of the World’s Fair of Money unfolding around them: collectors talking, deals being made, and an entire community gathering to celebrate history you can hold.

Meet the panelists:

Jeff Garrett is one of the country’s foremost authorities on United States coinage, an author and longtime professional coin dealer, and a past president of both the American Numismatic Association and the Professional Numismatists Guild. He is also the co-author of the Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins and a senior editor of the Guide Book of United States Coins, better known as the Red Book.

Dennis Tucker is an award-winning numismatic author, researcher, and lecturer. During his nineteen years as publisher at Whitman Publishing, he helped guide the publication of twenty editions of the Red Book and scores of books exploring coins, medals, banking, and American financial history.

John Kraljevich is a nationally recognized authority on early American coins, medals, currency, and historical objects. An acclaimed researcher, writer, cataloger, and longtime ANA Summer Seminar instructor, he was named the ANA’s Numismatist of the Year in 2016.

Douglas Mudd is a historian and museum professional who served as curator of the ANA’s Edward C. Rochette Money Museum for more than two decades. Before joining the ANA, he managed the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, and he has written and lectured extensively on money and its place in world history.

Tyler Rossi is a professional numismatist with Shanna Schmidt Numismatics and Numismatica Ars Classica USA, where he specializes in auction representation, collection management, and numismatic research. His interests span ancient and pre-modern coinage, politically charged currencies, propaganda on banknotes, and historical counterfeits. He is also a longtime numismatic writer and has served as editor of NENA NEWS and as a board member of the Chicago Coin Club.

Whether you’re a lifelong collector or simply curious about the stories money can tell, join us in Pittsburgh for the conversation that launched Worth Its Weight.

Worth Its Weight is an ANA production from the Money Museum, where history adds up—with interest!

To learn more, explore show notes, and discover more stories carried by money, visit money.org.

Follow the money. Literally.

In God We Trust. 

Four little words. Big theological baggage. Carried by money.

In this special sneak-peek episode of Worth Its Weight, follow the surprising journey of America's national motto from its beginnings as a Civil War memorial to its unexpected role in the fight against communism—and discover how money tells some of history's most remarkable stories.

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Numismatic References:

Coins

• 1864 Two-Cent Piece – The first United States coin to bear the motto In God We Trust.
• 1865 Three-Cent Nickel – One of the earliest additional denominations to receive the motto.
• 1866 Shield Nickel – Among the first circulating coins to permanently adopt the new inscription.
• 1866 Liberty Seated Quarter, Half Dollar, and Silver Dollar – First silver denominations struck with the motto.
• 1866 Liberty Head Gold Eagle, Half Eagle, and Double Eagle – First gold coins to display the motto.
• 1907 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle – Designed without In God We Trust at Theodore Roosevelt's request, sparking public criticism.
• 1908 Indian Head Eagle and Half Eagle – Also introduced without the motto before Congress required its return.

Paper Money

• 1957 $1 Silver Certificate – The first U.S. paper currency to carry In God We Trust.
• 1963 Federal Reserve Note – Marked the beginning of the motto's appearance on Federal Reserve Notes.

Tokens

• 1863 Straight's Elephantine Shoe Store Token (Albany, New York) – A whimsical Civil War store card depicting an elephant wearing boots on all four feet. Issued by Straight's Shoe Store at 398 Broadway, Albany, it illustrates the wide variety of patriotic and commercial tokens that circulated during the Civil War coin shortage. 
• Civil War Tokens (1861–1865) – Privately issued merchant tokens that helped ease the nationwide shortage of small change and often featured patriotic, political, or religious themes.

Curious what these objects look like? Visit the Money Museum website to see many of the coins and notes discussed in this episode, along with thousands of other objects from the ANA collection.

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Sources

Books

• Bierly, William R. In God We Trust: The History of an American Motto. Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2019.
• Burdette, Roger W. Renaissance of American Coinage, 1905–1908. Great Falls, VA: Seneca Mill Press, 2006.
• Taxay, Don. The U.S. Mint and Coinage. New York: Arco Publishing, 1966.

Primary Sources

• Letter from Rev. Mark R. Watkinson to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, November 13, 1861.
• Act of April 22, 1864 (13 Stat. 54).
• Act of March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 517).
• Act of May 18, 1908 (35 Stat. 164).

Government Resources

• U.S. Mint Historical Documents
• Library of Congress
• National Archives

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Worth Its Weight is an ANA production from the Money Museum, where history adds up—with interest!

To learn more, explore show notes, and discover more stories carried by money, visit money.org.

Follow the money. Literally.