Ron GuThis a recognized authority on the United States and a specialist in German coins. He has written or co-authored numerous books, several of which have garnered awards from the Professional Numismatists Guild and the Numismatic Literary Guild. He is a lifetime member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and a member of many state and regional organizations. When asked to describe what he does for a living, Ron answers, “I facilitate participation in numismatics.”
A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Ron spent his formative years in St. Petersburg, Florida and began collecting in the early 1960s. His introduction to coin collecting came about through a friend who visited his house carrying a tackle box. However, the box contained old coins instead of fishing tackle. From that moment, he was hooked, Ron explains. Like many other young collectors, he spent many a Saturday morning at the local bank, turning in his small allowance for rolls of coins, which were searched diligently for old silver or obsolete coins.
Over the years, the focus of his collecting efforts changed, shaped by experiences and interactions with fellow numismatists. For example, the theft of his collection in the early 1970s required that he start his collection anew and in doing so, he narrowed his focus to U.S. Half Cents, which he collected by die variety. Another significant shift in his collecting took place in the late 1980s when he was presented with a collection of German coins.