Whitman Publishing is among the companies hiring writers in the antiques and collectibles field. The publishing house is looking for a focused, creative, and detail-oriented editor to work on numismatic projects—the study of coins, paper currency, tokens, medals, and related objects. (Image © Siaivo / Shutterstock.com).
Today’s market is strong for rare coins, paper money, old medals, artistic sculpture, paintings, and similar objects of material culture. Over the past year and a half, retail and auction prices for many collectibles have risen—and in some areas even skyrocketed.
Coin dealers, antique shops, auction firms, and related businesses are hiring in this active market. In the realm of writing and publishing, I’ve seen interesting job postings, news, and online chatter in recent weeks. In particular, if you’re a writer, editor, or researcher, this is a very good time to pitch yourself for a job in antiques and collectibles.
Heritage Auctions has an opening in its Rare Books Department for an “Advanced Rare Book Cataloger” to write “bibliographically accurate descriptions of rare books, manuscripts, prints, maps, and related printed collectible materials for the preparation of auction catalogs.” The firm is also looking for an expert in vintage and modern timepieces to be responsible for “writing accurate descriptions of fine timepieces including, antique pocket watches, vintage wristwatches, and high-end modern watches.” Similar openings are in its Jewelry and Luxury Accessories departments. Heritage is big enough (the largest auction house founded in the United States) to have its own publishing force, and it’s also hiring for print-press assistance, digital-photography retouching, and similar production jobs.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries, another auction house well known in the numismatic field, is “seeking motivated, knowledgeable numismatists on both coasts to join our world-renowned staff of experts.” For its headquarters in Orange County, SBG is looking for writers and researchers in the fields of U.S. and world coins and paper money—”processing consignments and helping to prepare authoritative, interesting descriptions of rare coins, tokens, medals, and paper money for our auctions and other presentations.”
Numismatist Russ Bega started looking for a job in the field in August and landed a dream position in September.
All of this hiring made me think of Russ Bega, who posted in the American Numismatic Association’s Facebook group on August 9, 2021: “So, after a 13-year military career I’m looking at pivoting into the numismatic career field again.” (He’d worked in local coin shops in Texas and, in 2010 and 2011, for Heritage). “Anyone know of any companies looking?” This brought a robust conversation among various ANA members. I asked what kind of numismatic work he was interested in. “Most anything . . . I like to think myself a competent grader after several Summer Seminars; buying and selling isn’t outside my wheelhouse at all; and historical research has been a strong suit since college.” Fast-forward 11 weeks and Russ mentioned he was relocating to northwest Indiana—to work in Chicago with Harlan J. Berk Ltd.! He started in November and is writing, doing research, and dealing in U.S. coins and bullion.
HJB is well known for its numismatic library and has employed some of the best minds in the hobby since 1964. The firm is very communications-driven, with Harlan Berk himself publishing many articles online, as well as being the author of books like Whitman’s best-selling 100 Greatest Ancient Coins. Mike Nottelmann, known for his communications work in the numismatic field (including as host of “The Coin Show” and various podcasts) also works for HJB. Russ Bega is joining a good team, and his experience—searching in August, hired in September, and working in November—shows how robust the field is.
Books like the Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money aren’t the work of a single person—they need research, editing, art production, typography, and other specialized work. Hover to zoom.
Here at Whitman Publishing, we’re looking to hire a full-time editor to work on the Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money, by Q. David Bowers. We’ve published about 5,000 pages of groundbreaking research in this multiple-volume series, which covers currency issued by state-chartered banks in the 1700s and 1800s. We have plans to publish another 3,000 pages to finish the series off, and then update each volume in new editions. Bring your degree in English or communications—especially if you have a background in technical writing, scientific writing, or cataloging—and let’s talk!
If you like writing and research, and you’re looking for work, it’s a very good time to be in antiques and collectibles.
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