Archival Collections

The ANS maintains personal papers and collections of significant numismatists and numismatic organizations, including the following:

A-C

Edgar H. Adams notebooks, circa 1924, 1933-1962
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Four notebooks kept by Adams, with notes on early American and colonial coins and on the printing of serial and monograph publications for the American Numismatic Society.

John W. Adams collection, 1855-1972
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Correspondence, catalogs, notes, printed matter, and photographs primarily from the 1940s related to U.S. large cents. It includes correspondence by George Clapp, Homer Downing, Walter Breen, Henry Hines, Max Mehl, and Howard Newcomb, among others.

American Numismatic Society records, 1858-present
700 cubic feet
Contains curatorial, administrative, financial, governing, and library records of the Society. The bulk of the materials include correspondence files from circa 1905 through the late 1970s. Parts are restricted.

ANA convention photograph collection, 1908-1956
Contains the official photographs of various American Numismatic Association conventions which were held between 1908 and 1956.

P.K. Anderson notebooks, mid-1900s
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Notebooks with information on coins and tokens of Europe, European colonies, and the United States (first century B.C. to the 1900s), and a handwritten index to all four volumes of Numismatic Review (1943-1947).

Carmen Arnold-Biucchi papers, 1982-1997
3 cubic feet (3 boxes)
Papers include correspondence and memoranda generated by the ANS's first Margaret Thompson Curator of Greek Coins. Access is restricted.

James Atkins letters to Ralph Nelson, 1889
6 letters (1 file folder)
Six letters from James Atkins to Ralph Nelson concerning the exchange of information on British colonial coins and efforts to obtain coins for each other.

Charles E. Barber papers, 1880-1915
0.7 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Photocopies of correspondence and notebooks produced by Charles Barber. Originals are on deposit at the Smithsonian Institution.

Edward R. Barnsley papers, 1965-1985
1.7 cubic feet (3 boxes)
Notes relating to American colonial coins and Barnsley’s publishing activities, including work pertaining to The Colonial Newsletter. Includes what appears to be an inventory of his collection and photocopies of unpublished materials.

Michael L. Bates papers, circa 1971-present
6 cubic feet (6 boxes)
Notes, correspondence, and administrative files produced by Michael Bates during his tenure as curator of Islamic coins for the ANS. Access is restricted.

Bauman Belden papers, 1921-1931
1.3 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Correspondence, research notes, and manuscripts relating to Belden's books Indian Peace Medals and War Medals.

William Bischoff papers, 1987-1989
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Correspondence and administrative records related to William Bischoff's tenure as curator of modern coins at the ANS. Access is restricted.

Del Bland papers, 1955-2006
10.7 cubic feet (12 boxes)
Includes correspondence between Bland and other large U.S. cent collectors and dealers. They also include manuscript copies of the large cent condition census Bland helped compile in the 1980s and 1990s. Access is restricted.

Jeremiah Brady papers, circa 1976-1980
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Papers related to Brady, who served as ANS's curator of medieval coins and medals. Access is restricted.

Brand family papers
22 cubic feet

Walter Breen papers, 1949-1992
1.7 cubic feet (5 boxes)
Includes manuscripts, notes, letters, artwork and sketches written by Breen. Subjects include: colonial American coinage, large U.S. cents, and U.S. gold dollars. Access to portions may be restricted.

Victor David Brenner papers, 1895-1912
0.5 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Correspondence, drawings, catalogs, photographs, conference and exhibit invitations, and other materials, some relating to Abraham Lincoln that were possibly used by Brenner when designing the 1909 Lincoln cent.

Agnes Baldwin Brett papers, 1900-1954
6.7 cubic feet (39 boxes)
Correspondence and manuscripts generated by Agnes Baldwin Brett. They also include photographic images apparently taken by Brett during her trips to Bermuda and various European countries (Greece, France, Italy, Great Britain) from about 1907 through 1909.

David M. Bullowa papers, 1925-1990s
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Correspondence, clippings, publication page proofs of coin plates, research notes, pamphlets, and other publications collected by or otherwise relating to David M. Bullowa, a numismatist whose primary interests were in commemorative coins and paper money.

Etienne-Jean-Baptiste Cartier papers, 1830-1851
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
About 280 letters written by Cartier, the originator of Revue Numismatique, to the co-founder of the Revue Numismatique, Jean-Francois de Paule-Louis de La Saussaye.

Henry Chapman papers, 1870s-1940s
20.5 cubic feet (22 boxes)
Records related to the auction firm operated originally by both Henry and Samuel H. Chapman and, after 1907, by Henry Chapman. The records continue with firm activities after Henry's death in 1935. Included in the records is an extensive series of correspondence between the Chapmans and various clientele, as well as numerous auction catalogs with Henry Chapman's notations.

Chase Manhattan Bank Money Museum inventory, 1977
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Annotated photocopy of an inventory of the Chase Manhattan Bank Money Museum collection, with information on country, description, condition, catalog number, appraisal value, and acquisition date and cost.

George W. Cogan & Co. records, 1879-1880
0.2 cubic feet (1 box)
Scrapbook containing correspondence and invoices related to the coin dealing operations of George W. Cogan & Co.



D-F

John Stewart Davenport papers, 1954-1996
8.5 cubic feet (9 boxes)
Notebooks and files of research for Davenport’s work on European coins; page proofs, typescripts, and mockups of published works; maps; photographs of coins; plaster coin casts of crowns and talers; coin rubbings; invoices; and correspondence, much of which has to do with the publishing of his books and discussions of individual coins.

Damon G. Douglas papers, 1774-1793, 1943-1961
1.3 cubic feet (4 boxes)
Correspondence, notes, research transcripts, coin photographs and pictures, and original eighteenth century documents, all relating to Douglas’s research into post-1783 U.S. state coinage.

Henry Russell Drowne papers, 1888-1927
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Correspondence, research notes, and papers and reports prepared by Drowne on a variety of topics, but especially paper money (both U.S. and foreign) and fractional currency.

Paul R. Eden papers, circa 1960-1964
1 cubic foot (3 boxes)
Correspondence, research notes, and manuscripts related to a series of articles Eden wrote in the 1960s for the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine. Topics include mint production in many European and Latin American countries, as well as Southeast Asia. Additional subjects include the private minting companies of Gorsham (Providence, Rhode Island) and Scovill (Waterbury, Connecticut).

Robert J. Eidlitz papers, 1925-1935
1.5 cubic feet (3 boxes)
Correspondence maintained by Robert Eidlitz which documents improvements to his collection of medals. Included are photographs, reviews and correspondence related to Eidlitz's monograph, Medals and Medallions Relating to Architects. There are some brief materials related to Eidlitz's receipt of the Archer M. Huntington Award Medal in the late 1920s.

Thomas Elder papers, 1929-1933
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Correspondence and canceled checks relating to Elder's 1929 auction of the George A. Lawrence collection.

F. Munroe Endicott papers, 1925-1929 & undated
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Notes by Endicott on his collection of Roman and Greek coins and notes, catalogs, and invoices (1925-1929) regarding auctions from which Endicott purchased specimens for his collection. Endicott's collection was donated to the ANS in 1935.

Herbert J. Erlanger card index, undated
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Card index to Erlanger's extensive collection of medals.

DeWitt Clinton Falls papers, 1920s and undated
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Falls' notebooks on U.S. orders and decorations, as well as his notebook on New York National Guard emblems. Also an inventory of Falls' own collection of orders & decorations.

Arthur J. Fecht papers, 1934-1939
0.7 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Correspondence and newspaper clippings compiled by Fecht. They document his efforts to acquire gold coins, a collection which he later donated to the ANS. The papers also detail his involvement with both the ANS and American Numismatic Association.

George Fuld papers, 1956-1957, 1988-1993
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Correspondence, photographs, and research notes largely related to Fuld's 1956 Numismatist article on Benjamin Franklin School Medals.



G-I

T. Harrison and John Work Garrett papers, circa 1875-1942
5.3 cubic feet (20 boxes)
Correspondence of T. Harrison Garrett and John Work Garrett, and John Work Garrett’s handwritten card file documenting the Garrett coin collection.

Harrold E. Gillingham papers, 1915-1942
0.7 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Correspondence, notes, booklets, and drafts of writings on Central and South American medals and decorations. Also includes materials on peace medals and the WWI Victory Medal, and on the War of 1812 and early American silversmiths.

Harold W. Glidden coin collection index cards, undated
0.5 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Card index inventory of Glidden’s collection of coins that were bequeathed to the American Numismatic Society in 1990.

Henry Grunthal papers
2 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Correspondence and administrative files of the ANS curator of European coins.

George L. Hamilton papers, 1921-1922
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Some correspondence, along with notebooks (approximately 300 pages) in which English, U.S., Spanish, and Latin American medals are inventoried.

Horace Havemeyer notebook and letter, 1903 and mid-1900s
1 folder
Notebook containing notes handwritten in French describing Greek coins presented by Horace Havemeyer to the American Numismatic Society in February 1964, and a letter (February 18, 1903) from a coin seller to his grandfather, Henry (Harry) Osborne Havemeyer, which contains notes on a gold coin Henry had purchased.

Charles A. Hersh papers
12 cubic feet

Clifford Hewitt papers, circa 1930s
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs related to Hewitt's work as chief engineer for the Chinese mint in Shanghai.

Augustus F.R. Hoernle notebooks, undated
0.3 cubic feet (6 notebooks in 1 box)
Five notebooks containing an inventory and notes on Hoernle’s collection of 1,726 Indian coins, which were acquired by the American Numismatic Society in 1921.

Leonard Holland correspondence and card index, 1943-1959
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Correspondence and card index relating to Leonard Holland’s collection of large copper U.S. cents. Includes a copy of the list of coins, with price, from the auctioning of Holland’s collection in 1959.

Rose Chan Houston papers, circa 1971-1986
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Correspondence and other administrative files of the American Numismatic Society's associate curator of Far Eastern coins. Access is restricted.

Herbert E. Ives papers, 1944-1954
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Includes correspondence between Herbert Ives and others during his tenure as president of the ANS and chair of its publications committee.



J-L

Robert F. Kelley papers, 1943-1953
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Includes correspondence between Kelley and various coin dealers before 1953, along with coin lists annotated by Kelley.

Guido Kisch papers, 1937-1957
0.7 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Includes correspondence with and invoices from prominent dealers whom Kisch contacted as he accumulated his collection of medals, plaquettes, and tokens related to law and the legal profession. Kisch's numismatic collection was acquired by the ANS in 2008.

George F. Kunz papers, 1894-1931
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Contains about 50 letters received by Kunz and added to his 'coinage files.' Topics discussed include the 1900 Paris Exposition, striking of medals, and matters of U.S. coinage.

Richard Hoe Lawrence scrapbooks, 1859-1907
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Two scrapbooks relating to coin and medal collecting and other numismatic activities. Contains flyers, price lists, booklets, invitations, announcements, and clippings from newspapers, popular magazines, and other publications.

Philipp Lederer papers, 1939-1943
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Mostly correspondence written in German to Philipp Lederer, but also contains photographs of coins and other research materials.

Kenneth Lee papers, undated
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Includes photographs and his research notebook on California fractional gold coinage.

Joseph N.T. Levick notebook and coin rubbings, probably late 1800s
1 folder
Notebook containing research notes on eighteenth and nineteenth century coins, and rubbings and other illustrations of coins and tokens from the United States, Canada, South America, and other locations.

Dana Linett postcard collection, undated
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Consists of postcards depicting the British Royal Mint’s branch in Pretoria, South Africa. That branch was in operation from 1923 until 1941 when it became the South African Mint.

Allen Lovejoy papers, 1952-1994
1.5 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Correspondence and other materials relating to Lovejoy’s efforts to buy, and later sell, American dimes. Includes invoices for coin purchases, lists of bids, and slides used to illustrate a lecture.

Lyman Haynes Low scrapbooks, 1827-1848
1 cubic foot (6 scrapbooks in 1 box)
Five scrapbooks contain printed cards, flyers, circulars, and other materials relating to Low’s numismatic activities. One scrapbook has correspondence, notes, and news clippings pertaining to research for Low’s book Hard Times Tokens.


M-O

Kenneth MacKenzie papers
6.3 cubic feet (7 boxes)
Research materials gathered by MacKenzie in the course of his own research into Ottoman numismatics.

Richard Margolis collection of printed and published materials, 1843-1924, 1950, 1977-1994
0.5 cubic feet (1 box)
Printed and published materials collected by Richard Margolis, most of which relate to numismatics. Includes price lists, catalogs, magazines, newsletters, and a videotape.

William T.R. Marvin papers, 1877-1900
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Correspondence and notes mostly relating to Marvin’s research on Masonic medals. Includes rubbings, wax impressions, photographs, and illustrations of coins and medals, as well as printed materials related to Freemasons.

William E. Metcalf papers, circa 1973-2000
15 cubic feet (15 boxes)
Correspondence, memoranda and other administrative files related to the ANS's curator of Roman coins (1973-2000) and chief curator (1979-2000). Access is restricted.

George C. Miles papers, 1939-1974
3.3 cubic feet (4 boxes)
Correspondence, lecture notes and research files generated by George C. Miles.

Bernard Morgenthau papers, 1932, 1940-1948
2 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Contains correspondence regarding Morgenthau’s efforts to obtain transportation tokens and information about them from various cities throughout the United States. Includes notebooks with clippings, notes, and check lists.

Stuart Mosher papers, 1933-1936
0.4 cubic feet (1 box)
Includes clippings from Mosher's 'Curiosities of Currency' column.

Robert I. Nesmith papers
0.5 cubic feet (1 box)

New Netherlands Coin Co. records, circa 1940s-1970s
15.7 cubic feet (13 boxes)
This collection contains the administrative files of the New Netherlands Coin Company. Included are photographic records for 19 of the 26 auctions New Netherlands held between 1946 and 1970.

New York Numismatic Club records, 1909-present
7.5 cubic feet (8 boxes)
Administrative files of the New York Numismatic Club from its inception through the present day. Access is restricted.

Edward T. Newell papers, circa 1905-1940
6 cubic feet (6 boxes)
Correspondence, research notes and notebooks, as well as manuscripts generated by Edward T. Newell.

Sydney P. Noe papers
2.7 cubic feet (3 boxes)
Includes correspondence (circa 1908-1918) and educational records related to Sydney P. Noe. They also contain Noe's manuscript and photographs for his monograph on the New England and Willow Tree coinage of Massachusetts.

R. Henry Norweb and Emery May Norweb ledgers and auction catalogs, 1867-circa 1984
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Five ledgers containing an inventory of the Norweb collection of United States, Canadian, Latin American, and English coins. Also includes auction catalogs and a portfolio of coin rubbings.

Oral history collection, 2005-present
5 cubic feet (12 boxes)
Audio recordings and transcripts of 22 interviews conducted by the ANS Archivist, Joseph Ciccone, with staff and associates of the ANS. Access is restricted.



P-S

Charles K. Panish papers, 1961-1987
5.3 cubic feet (6 boxes)
Correspondence, notes, articles, booklets, article reprints, and background information about various regions and coins of the world, but mostly pertaining to Panish’s work researching, publishing, and collecting in the area of South Asian coins.

Richard Picker papers
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Contains the photofile compiled by Picker of early American coins.

Adam Pietz papers, circa 1930s-1940s
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Contains artwork, sketches, and assorted other documents related to Adam Pietz, the Assistant Chief Engraver to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.

William Poillon ledger, probably late 1800s
1 ledger
Ledger containing a record of coin catalogs produced between the years 1764 and 1873. Most note date, number of sale days, seller, place, number of pages, lot number, catalog condition, and whether prices and names were included.

Presidential Coin & Antique Co. records
4 cubic feet (4 boxes)
Contains original photographs used in auction catalogs produced by Presidential.

John Reilly, Jr. papers, circa 1900-1931
4 cubic feet (4 boxes)
Correspondence and photographs related to Reilly's acquisition of Far Eastern coins, in particular the Henry Ramsden collection.

E.P. Robinson papers, undated
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Contains a notebook with a listing of coins presumably from Robinson's collection.

H. Elliott Rogers papers, 1939-1985
1 folder
Correspondence with the New Netherland Coin Co., and lists of U.S., colonial, and foreign coins, some with date, condition, and value.

Louis H. Schroeder papers, circa 1940s
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Includes an inventory of medals in Schroeder's collection and correspondence related to his efforts to amass the collection.

Hans Schulman records of an American Numismatic Society convention sale, undated
1 cubic foot (3 ledgers)
Three ledgers containing a record of an American Numismatic Society convention auction.

Warren B. Snow papers, 1946-1960
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Loose-leaf manuscript notebooks compiled by Snow. The notebooks contain information from auctions of large U.S. cents between 1946 and 1960.

Raphael E. Solomon papers, 1950s-1970s
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Correspondence and ephemera maintained by Solomon.

Alan E. Stahl papers
14 cubic feet (14 boxes)
Correspondence and memoranda generated by Alan Stahl, the ANS's curator of Medieval coins and medals from 1980 through 2000. Access is restricted.

Malcolm Storer papers
0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Storer's papers contain notes for his circa 1918 'numismatic bibliography' along with lists of abbreviations on coins.



T-Z

Margaret Thompson papers
1 cubic foot (1 box)

Bluma Trell papers
2 cubic feet (10 boxes)
Handwritten and typed drafts of a publication along with notes, drawings, and photographs of coins and ancient sites. Includes a card index to ancient coins containing information such as place and ruler. Some cards have photographs.

United States Department of the Treasury collection, 1875-1945
1 cubic foot (1 box and 5 bound journals)
Contains collected materials that relate to The United States Department of the Treasury, including items pertaining to Joseph R. Carpenter and 50 cent fractional currency, which he designed and printed. Also includes runs of Treasury Department circulars “Values of Foreign Moneys” and “Coinage Executed at the Mints.”

Nancy Waggoner papers, 1983-1988
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Papers related to the ANS curator of Greek coins. Contains correspondence and memoranda, as well as lecture notes from the Columbia University seminar Waggoner taught.

Robert A. Weinman papers, 1970-1992
0.5 cubic feet (1 box)
Contains Weinman's drawings for various medals including the ANS 125th anniversary medal.

Louis C. West papers, undated
0.7 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Four notebooks listing and describing ancient Roman coins, and a letter regarding a Gallienus aureus purchased from the Apostolo Zeno collection.

Raymond Williamson papers, 1950-1990
1 cubic foot (1 box)
Includes correspondence between WIlliamson and various notables, including Walter Breen. Access is restricted.

Casey A. Wood scrapbooks, 1926-1931
2 scrapbooks (1 folder)
Two scrapbooks containing correspondence and other materials relating to a hoard of silver coins (larins) found in Gampola Ceylon (Sri Lanka) that came to be owned by Wood.

Howland Wood papers, 1902-1938
15 cubic feet (17 boxes)
Correspondence, memoranda and research notes created by Howland Wood, the ANS curator from 1913-1938. Includes correspondence predating Wood's tenure at the ANS but related to his work with the American Numismatic Association.

Farran Zerbe papers, 1919-1942
10.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Correspondence between Zerbe and other prominent collectors primarily regarding "Bryan Money." Correspondents include: Howland Wood, Julius Guttag, Henry Chapman, and M.H. Bolender.

Please note that not all records are open to the public. Because of this, individuals interested in conducting research in the Society's archives should first contact the Society before visiting.