Draft:ANA World's Fair of Money Best-of-Show Exhibit Winners

 Since 1949, the American Numismatic Association (ANA) has given the best-of-show award to a single numismatic exhibit competing at the organization's yearly anniversary convention. This convention is known as the World's Fair of Money. In 1952, the association named the award to honor Howland Wood (1877–1938), a distinguished numismatist and curator of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) museum. The Howland Wood Memorial Award is the most prestigious award given to exhibitors by the ANA. From 1949 to 1951, "Best in the Show" was the top award.

Judges choose the best-of-show exhibit from the first-place winners in each numismatic class. Classes include United States coins, medals, paper money, and several others. On the evening before the last day of the convention, the best-in-show winner receives a ribbon, a plaque, a half-ounce gold coin, and an engraved gold medal manufactured by The Franklin Mint.

1952–2023
The Howland Wood Memorial Award for best-of-show exhibit has been given 70 times to 55 exhibitors, including 54 individuals and one organization. To qualify for the competition, exhibitors must be members of the ANA in good standing. Although membership in the ANA is open to citizens of any country, the only non-U.S. citizens known to have received the award are Frank M. Rose of Toronto, Canada (1983), and Georg H. Förster of Frankenthal, Germany (1998).

1949–1951
In 1949, the ANA began holding yearly convention-wide exhibit competitions. Individuals had previously exhibited their numismatic items only at individual coin club meetings during the show. From 1949 to 1951, ANA judges issued first, second, and third-place awards in each of the following categories:


 * United States Coins
 * Ancient Coins
 * Educational Exhibit
 * Originality of Exhibit
 * Foreign Coins
 * Orders and Decorations
 * Junior Exhibitors

During this period, the exhibit judged to be "Best in the Show" seems to have been chosen from among the first-place winners in these categories. Dr. J. Hewitt Judd, whose exhibit of U.S. pattern coins received "Best in the Show" at the first convention-wide competition held in 1949, was also the first recipient of the Howland Wood Memorial Award when "Best in the Show" was renamed in 1952. He is the only person to receive top exhibiting honors during both eras.

1949–2023
The most prolific recipient of best-in-show is Thomas H. Law (1918–2006), whose exhibits of English gold coins won the Howland Wood Memorial Award five times. Next are Steven J. D’Ippolito (b. 1964), Michael A. Kodysz (b. 1967), Lawrence Sekulich (b. 1945), and Michael T. Shutterly (b. 1952), each of whom have received the award three times. Five individuals are two-time best-in-show winners, including Dr. J. Hewitt Judd (1899–1986), who has received both the Howland Wood Memorial Award and the Best in the Show award.