Newman Numismatic Portal at Washington University in St. Louis | Comprehensive Research & Reference for U.S. Coinage

Numismatic News

The “Num News,” in coinspeak, was founded by Chet Krause as a monthly trader newspaper for U.S. coin collectors in 1952. The two dollar per year subscription fee included free classified ads, a long time hallmark of the publication. News was added as the 1950s progressed and the frequency increased, though it did not become a weekly until 1969. Tom Fruit served as the first editor, though it was Ed Rochette, holding the post from 1960 to 1966, who made it a true newspaper. Coverage broadened to include world coins and paper money, and this in turn spawned sister titles such as World Coin News, Bank Note Reporter, Coins Magazine and Coin Prices Magazine. Writers have included R.W. Julian, Paul Green and David Ganz. Cliff Mishler joined the staff in 1963 and forty years later retired after serving as CEO. Other editors include Mishler, David Harper, Ed Reiter, Arnold Jeffcoat and Aryln Sieber.

October 1952 - January 1959: published monthly

February 1959 - December 1962: published twice per month

January 1963 - December 1968: published every two weeks

January 1969 - December 2013: published weekly [later issues not yet cataloged]

Note, the January 2, 2018 issue is misdated 2017 on the cover. Interior page dating is correct.

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