American Numismatic Society
Encyclopedia
The American Numismatic Society (or ANS) is a New York City
-based organization dedicated to the study of coin
s and medal
s.
The collection of coins, medals and paper currency consists of over 800,000 objects drawn from all periods and cultures. In many fields its collections are the most comprehensive anywhere in the world. The Society's library, home to more than 100,000 books, journals, auction catalogues, manuscripts and archival documents, is the finest numismatic library in existence.
The Society publishes three journals, the American Journal of Numismatics, Numismatic Literature and the Colonial Newsletter, as well as books on coins and medals. The society also publishes The ANS Magazine.
The ANS's permanent exhibit, Drachmas Doubloons and Dollars: The History of Money, is on view at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
. Coin exhibits include a Brasher doubloon, an 1804 silver dollar
, and the 1933 Double Eagle
(on loan).
The Society awards the J. Sanford Saltus Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Art of the Medal (the "Saltus Award"). The 2009 award recipient was British medallist Ron Dutton.
The ANS is a constituent member of the American Council of Learned Societies
.
ANS should not be confused with the Colorado Springs-based American Numismatic Association
.
“The founders were Edward Groh, James Oliver, Dr. Isaac H. Gibbs, Henry Whitmore, James D. Foskett, Alfred Boughton, Ezra Hill, Augustus B. Sage, Asher D. Atkinson, M.D., John Cooper Vail, W. H. Morgan, Thomas Dunn English, M.D., LL.D., and Theophilus W. Lawrence. The corporators were Frank H. Norton, Isaac J. Greenwood, John Hannah, James Oliver, F. Augustus Wood, Frank Leathe, Edward Groh, Daniel Parish, Jr., and William Wood Seymour.” Benson Lossing in the History of New York City Volume II wrote in 1884 that “the prime objects of the society are the cultivation of the science of numismatology, the promotion of the study of American archaeology, and the collection of coins and medals and specimens of archaic remains.” Later, ANS changed its mission to focus primarily on all aspects of coins and medals.
Under the leadership of several dynamic, resourceful and generous presidents, the ANS grew to become a major international center for numismatic research. One of these presidents, Archer M. Huntington
, scion of the family who built the Southern Pacific Railroad and a serious collector, gave the Society land at 155th Street and Broadway
and contributed toward construction of the neoclassical building which opened in 1908. In 1929, Huntington underwrote the expansion of the building which doubled its size. As President of the ANS from 1916 to 1941, Edward T. Newell, a scholar of Greek coins, guided the Society toward making its mark worldwide. He also left his enormous personal coin collection to the Society.
It was in the latter half of the 20th century that the Society evolved into the foremost numismatic research institution in the United States. Its cabinet of nearly one million objects ranks with the largest in the world and is an extraordinary resource for students of the humanities. Its unique library of over 100,000 items is the most comprehensive collection of numismatic literature in existence.
The Society's Eric P. Newman Graduate Seminar in Numismatics, established in 1952, continues today as a training program in the discipline and numbers among its alumni many scholars now in academic positions including several of the Society's current curatorial staff. The Society administers a variety of fellowships and grants designed to promote research in numismatics and encourage use of the collections. The ANS is also an important disseminator of research, and enjoys a reputation as the largest non-profit numismatic publishing house in the world, issuing books, periodicals, catalogues, and audio/visual sets in a variety of series and special issues.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based organization dedicated to the study of coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s and medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s.
Introduction
The American Numismatic Society is an organization dedicated to the study of coins, currency, medals, tokens, and related objects from all cultures, past and present. The Society's headquarters in New York City has the foremost research collection and library specialized in numismatics in the United States. These resources are used to support research and education in numismatics, for the benefit of academic specialists, serious collectors, professional numismatists, and the interested public.The collection of coins, medals and paper currency consists of over 800,000 objects drawn from all periods and cultures. In many fields its collections are the most comprehensive anywhere in the world. The Society's library, home to more than 100,000 books, journals, auction catalogues, manuscripts and archival documents, is the finest numismatic library in existence.
The Society publishes three journals, the American Journal of Numismatics, Numismatic Literature and the Colonial Newsletter, as well as books on coins and medals. The society also publishes The ANS Magazine.
The ANS's permanent exhibit, Drachmas Doubloons and Dollars: The History of Money, is on view at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is located at 33 Liberty Street, New York, NY. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses New York state, the 12 northern counties of New Jersey,...
. Coin exhibits include a Brasher doubloon, an 1804 silver dollar
1804 silver dollar
The 1804 Silver Dollar is a United States dollar coin considered to be one of the rarest and most famous coins in the world, due to its unique history. Divided into "Classes," 15 specimens are known. Eight comprise Class I, which were minted in 1834. Two Class I specimens trace their lineage to the...
, and the 1933 Double Eagle
1933 Double Eagle
The 1933 double eagle currently holds the record for the highest price paid at auction for a single U.S. coin when it was purchased for US$7.59 million...
(on loan).
The Society awards the J. Sanford Saltus Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Art of the Medal (the "Saltus Award"). The 2009 award recipient was British medallist Ron Dutton.
The ANS is a constituent member of the American Council of Learned Societies
American Council of Learned Societies
The American Council of Learned Societies , founded in 1919, is a private nonprofit federation of seventy scholarly organizations.ACLS is best known as a funder of humanities research through fellowships and grants awards. ACLS Fellowships are designed to permit scholars holding the Ph.D...
.
ANS should not be confused with the Colorado Springs-based American Numismatic Association
American Numismatic Association
The American Numismatic Association was founded in 1891 by Dr. George F. Heath in Chicago, Illinois. The ANA was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics along educational, historical and scientific lines, as well as enhance interest in the hobby.The ANA national headquarters and museum is...
.
History
The ANS was formed by a group of collectors in New York City in 1858, at a time when many learned societies were created. Although the initial meeting of the collectors occurred in March 1858, the Society looks back to April 6, 1858 as its date of creation; that was the day on which the fledgling Society's first constitution and bylaws were approved by the membership. That same month, the Society accessioned its first coin. In 1865, it was incorporated as the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society or ANAS http://www.numismatics.org/governance/ANSCertificate.html. In 1907, the name was changed back to the original one http://www.numismatics.org/enews/Enews06-07.htm.“The founders were Edward Groh, James Oliver, Dr. Isaac H. Gibbs, Henry Whitmore, James D. Foskett, Alfred Boughton, Ezra Hill, Augustus B. Sage, Asher D. Atkinson, M.D., John Cooper Vail, W. H. Morgan, Thomas Dunn English, M.D., LL.D., and Theophilus W. Lawrence. The corporators were Frank H. Norton, Isaac J. Greenwood, John Hannah, James Oliver, F. Augustus Wood, Frank Leathe, Edward Groh, Daniel Parish, Jr., and William Wood Seymour.” Benson Lossing in the History of New York City Volume II wrote in 1884 that “the prime objects of the society are the cultivation of the science of numismatology, the promotion of the study of American archaeology, and the collection of coins and medals and specimens of archaic remains.” Later, ANS changed its mission to focus primarily on all aspects of coins and medals.
Under the leadership of several dynamic, resourceful and generous presidents, the ANS grew to become a major international center for numismatic research. One of these presidents, Archer M. Huntington
Archer M. Huntington
Archer Milton Huntington was the son of Arabella Huntington and the stepson of railroad magnate and industrialist Collis P. Huntington...
, scion of the family who built the Southern Pacific Railroad and a serious collector, gave the Society land at 155th Street and Broadway
Audubon Terrace
Audubon Terrace, also known as Audubon Terrace Historic District, is a landmark complex of approximately eight early 20th century Beaux Arts buildings in New York City...
and contributed toward construction of the neoclassical building which opened in 1908. In 1929, Huntington underwrote the expansion of the building which doubled its size. As President of the ANS from 1916 to 1941, Edward T. Newell, a scholar of Greek coins, guided the Society toward making its mark worldwide. He also left his enormous personal coin collection to the Society.
It was in the latter half of the 20th century that the Society evolved into the foremost numismatic research institution in the United States. Its cabinet of nearly one million objects ranks with the largest in the world and is an extraordinary resource for students of the humanities. Its unique library of over 100,000 items is the most comprehensive collection of numismatic literature in existence.
The Society's Eric P. Newman Graduate Seminar in Numismatics, established in 1952, continues today as a training program in the discipline and numbers among its alumni many scholars now in academic positions including several of the Society's current curatorial staff. The Society administers a variety of fellowships and grants designed to promote research in numismatics and encourage use of the collections. The ANS is also an important disseminator of research, and enjoys a reputation as the largest non-profit numismatic publishing house in the world, issuing books, periodicals, catalogues, and audio/visual sets in a variety of series and special issues.
Notable members
Notable members of the Society include:- Abram BelskieAbram BelskieAbram Belskie was a British-born sculptor.Belskie was born in London, England and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. At the age of 15 he was apprenticed to a painter and started classes at the Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1926. Prize money allowed him to study on the Continent. Upon his return...
- Roger Curtis GreenRoger Curtis GreenRoger Curtis Green was an American born, New Zealand-based archaeologist, Professor Emeritus at The University of Auckland, and member of the National Academy of Sciences and Royal Society of New Zealand...
- Philip GriersonPhilip GriersonPhilip Grierson, FBA was a British historian and numismatist, emeritus professor of numismatics at Cambridge University and a fellow of Gonville and Caius College for over seventy years...
- Kenneth W. HarlKenneth W. HarlKenneth W. Harl is an American scholar, author, classicist and numismatist. He received an undergraduate degree from Trinity College, a PhD from Yale University, and has been Professor of Classical and Byzantine History at Tulane University in New Orleans since 1978.Although he has a number of...
- David HendinDavid HendinDavid Bruce Hendin is America’s leading expert in ancient Jewish and Biblical coins and artifacts. He is also known for his earlier career as a medical journalist, newspaper columnist, publishing executive, and author...
- Robert Hewitt, Jr.Robert Hewitt, Jr.Robert Hewitt, Jr. was a successful real estate investor in Manhattan, New York, and a notable numismatist. Hewitt began collecting coins as a young man while serving a mercantile apprenticeship and compiled a comprehensive Abraham Lincoln medal collection considered by numismatists as one of the...
- Urban T. Holmes, Jr.Urban T. Holmes, Jr.Urban Tigner Holmes, Jr. was an American scholar focusing on medieval literature and romance philology.Holmes was born in Washington, D.C.. In 1916, he enrolled at the U.S. Naval Academy only to withdraw the following year due to health reasons...
- Archer M. HuntingtonArcher M. HuntingtonArcher Milton Huntington was the son of Arabella Huntington and the stepson of railroad magnate and industrialist Collis P. Huntington...
- Edward Theodore NewellEdward Theodore NewellEdward Theodore Newell was a U.S. numismatist. He served as the president of the American Numismatic Society between 1916 and 1941.- External links :* *...
- Stephen Hyatt PellStephen Hyatt PellStephen Hyatt Pell , or Stephen Hyatt Pelham Pell was the son of John Howland Pell and Caroline Hyatt. He was born in Flushing Meadows, New York and died in New York City, New York. Pell was married to Sarah Gibbs Thompson, the daughter of Robert Means Thompson, a mining investor and operator...
- Russell RulauRussell RulauRussell Rulau is an American numismatist. He has been involved in coin collecting for over 60 years. From his earliest days as a casual collector, Rulau has contributed to numismatics as a writer, editor and club organizer. His interest in world coins led him to create the "Coin of the Year"...
- William Herbert Sheldon
- Robert Vlack
- John WilsonJohn Wilson (Numismatist)John Wilson, Jr. grew up on the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was President of the American Numismatic Association from 2001 to 2003. In 2007, he was honored with the Farran Zerbe Memorial Award. It was an honor that was also given to his wife, Nancy Opitz Wilson.-Early life:Wilson...
External links
- American Numismatic Society
- American Numismatic Society's curatorial database of coins
- American Numismatic Society Magazine
- American Numismatic Society Publications