Longtime NRA supporter and nationally known rare coin expert Dr. Michael Fuljenz, president of Universal Coin & Bullion in Beaumont, Texas, frequently writes about gold and silver. But his timely story about eliminating copper pennies earned him a major award at the recent 2025 World’s Fair of Money in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Numismatic Literary Guild presented Fuljenz with the prestigious James L. Miller Award for the best story of the year. He received the honor for his article, “Eliminate? Future of the Cent,” published in January 2025 simultaneously as the cover stories in editions of Coin World and COINage magazines. The story appeared weeks before President Trump issued his executive order to halt production of U.S. one-cent denomination coins.
“America has cut its lower denomination coins often in the past,” wrote Fuljenz. “We used to have the half-cent, two-cent, three-cent, and 20-cent coins. If you have any of these coins, they likely have a significant numismatic value. As for the penny, it made sense when it was first struck in 1793, but not now, over 230 years later.”
Fuljenz began writing about reasons for eliminating one-cent coins a decade ago. He now points out that while pennies are currently 97.5 percent zinc and only 2.5 percent copper to save money, it still costs about 4 cents to make each one.
“It’s no wonder the zinc lobby is the most powerful force behind continued penny production… We are long overdue in following the lead of many other countries that have successfully eliminated their lowest denomination paper money and coins,” he stated in the award-winning story.
“The Numismatic Literary Guild was established in 1968. Our nonprofit organization is composed of the top coin and precious metals writers and freelancers, editors, reporters, bloggers and content producers,” explained NLG Executive Director Jerry Jordan. “The important Miller Award is posthumously named after Jim Miller, an esteemed magazine publisher and longtime NLG benefactor.”
The independently judged literary awards are presented at the annual World’s Fair of Money events conducted around the country by the American Numismatic Association.
“This in-depth article was vitally important in educating people about the cost of our nation’s currency. Dr. Fuljenz has long believed that eliminating the penny could save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time, and shortly after his in-depth, highly researched work appeared in Coin World, President Trump issued his executive order,” said Jordan.
Fuljenz's award-winning work in the numismatic world extends beyond this year's award, though. In 2023, the American Numismatic Association honored him with the Chester L. Krause Distinguished Service Award, given in recognition of his many years of outstanding, dedicated service. In 2022, Fuljenz's writing was recognized at the Chicago World's Fair of Money, which named his reference book on historic 19th century gold coins as "Best Investment Book of the Year." He was also named "Dealer of the Year" in 2021 by the American Numismatic Association.
Fuljenz is also a recipient of the National Rifle Association's Ring of Freedom Award and has been designated the official bullion and rare coin expert of NRA Media.
