After graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1973, I made it my goal to carve my name eternally into the numismatic community. My first milestone in accomplishing this goal was the establishment of my flagship business called R & I Coins, which began operating in 1981.
Ten years later, in 1991, I published the book which gave me my reputation as the “Cameo King.” This book, called Cameo and Brilliant Proof Coinage of the 1950 to 1970 Era, eventually led to the creation of the Cameo, Deep Cameo, and Ultra Cameo designations awarded by NGC and PCGS. Six years after that, I published my second book, The Complete Guide to Franklin Half Dollars, which birthed the Full Bell Line standard for Franklin Half Dollars.
In 2014, I became a founding member of Rare Collectibles TV where I created Rick’s U.S. Coin Show. My goal this time was to provide both beginner and expert numismatists with beautiful, high quality coins as well as valuable knowledge, statistics, and history regarding their prized collections. Now with 38 years of experience, I finally feel comfortable saying that I’ve made my mark on the numismatic community.
JACK MCNAMARA
My first memories of numismatics were as a seven year old boy in New Jersey, playing Lincoln Cent bingo with my grandfather Howie. During our games of bingo, Grandpa Howie would tell me stories about my great-great grandfather who was a renowned coin salesman in the 1800s.
After graduating from Rutgers University in 1996, I was forced to choose between my two passions: music and numismatics. Thinking back to my treasured memories with my grandfather, and my family’s long history of numismatic tradition, the choice became easy. I was soon offered a position at the legendary Stack’s auction house in New York City. In no time, my passion for numismatics drove me to become one of the top coin buyers in the country.
In 2014, I partnered with Rick Tomaska, and together we founded Rare Collectibles TV. As Senior Coin Buyer of RCTV, I spend most of my time hunting down great deals on valuable coins as well as personally inspecting each and every one to make sure that they meet my high standards. When I’m not inspecting coins, I dedicate my time to creating educational television presentations, with the goal of passing down Grandpa Howie’s numismatic passion to the next generation.
ASH SAMUEL HART
My passion for numismatics began in 2014, when I started working at Rare Collectibles TV. I was endlessly fascinated by the stories woven by each of the American coins we placed in collections. This pushed me to learn about American coins in my free time. Jack McNamara, RCTV co-owner and coin buyer, noticed my dedication to numismatics and became my mentor, teaching me all the valuable numismatic knowledge I'd need to build collections as a Private Advisor.
Over a decade later, I have now placed some of America's greatest rarities in top collections across the country. I am especially proud to have handled numismatic legends like the first Silver Dollar ever struck in United States history, the finest known example of the 1849 Pacific Company Gold Half Eagle, and one of only 20 examples of the originally intended Ultra High Relief Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle. These three coins are among the most significant American treasures struck in the history of our country, dating back to the creation of the U.S. Mint.
Currently, I am an RCTV Television Host as well as the Vice President of Numismatics for Rare Collectibles TV's Private Advisory Coin Team. Under my guidance and expertise, PACT has built a number of the most impressive, world-class collections our country has ever seen. My hope is to pass on the numismatic knowledge that Jack has instilled in me to everyone who seeks to know more about American coinage.
