The American Numismatic Society
NEWS RELEASE
96 Fulton Street
New York, 10038
Tel: (212) 571-4470
Fax: (212) 571-4479
http://www.numismatics.org
The American Numismatic Society NEWS RELEASE |
|
96 Fulton Street New York, 10038 Tel: (212) 571-4470 Fax: (212) 571-4479 http://www.numismatics.org |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Juliette Pelletier, Membership and Development Manager
Phone: (212) 571-4470, extension 1311
email: Pelletier@numismatics.org
Nation-wide Audience to Explore the Early History of Numismatics through "Treasures in the ANS Archives"
The American Numismatic Society's archivist Joe Ciccone will present "Treasures in the ANS Archives." This program will relate intriguing stories of the early history of coin collecting and scholarship, illustrated with rare letters, photographs, reports, meeting minutes, and research notes from the Society's archives--a collection of manuscripts and other materials that document the history of the organization and the field of numismatics as far back as the 1850's. This presentation, the third in the series of programs titled "Numismatic Conversations," will be held on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at 6:00 PM in the ANS headquarters, 95 Fulton Street in New York City, for a live audience as well as participants from around the country who will view the program on the internet.
The ANS Archives was formally established in 2004 to preserve the institutional records of the Society, as well as the personal papers of former staff, such as Edward T. Newell, Howland Wood, Agnes Baldwin Brett and Sydney P. Noe who were pioneers in the professionalization of numismatics in the early 20th century. Ciccone also will discuss the process the ANS undertook to setup the archives and use selections from the archives to demonstrate the uniqueness and depth of the collection.
The ANS recently instituted the "Numismatic Conversations" series as a means of bringing together experts on various numismatic topics with collectors, dealers and scholars in widely dispersed locations. This series of roundtable discussions--each dealing with some particular aspect of the history of coins and currency, or related topics such as medals and decorations, tokens, art medallions, and the history of the field of numismatics--will involve more than just an audience gathered from the metropolitan New York City area, taking part in person at the ANS headquarters. Through the application of teleconference and Internet technology, these programs will reach out to interested persons who can't attend in person, as a part of the Society's ongoing effort to use technology to serve its members who are spread throughout the United States and overseas.
Previous installments in the series have included a presentation on "Connecticut Coppers" with ANS Curator of North American Coins and Currency Robert Hoge, and a program on U.S. Military medals from the Civil War until he eve of WWII, with military historian and ANS Development Director Geoff Giglierano. These experiments were successful and well received by those who took part. The audience particularly enjoyed the close-up video views of the coins and medals themselves, which were shown both on a screen in the room and on the webcast. As the programs are being videotaped, the Society plans to make these sessions available to an even wider audience by offering an edited version on DVD and/or as a download from the ASN web site. The artifacts featured in the discussions represented either important new acquisitions by the ANS, or rare and exceptional examples that had been in the collection, but which have not been on public exhibition in recent years. There is no charge to attend, but seating in the live audience is limited to thirty individuals and reservations are encouraged. To make reservations, or for information on how you can connect and view the webcast, please contact Juliette Pelletier at 212 571-4470, extension 1311.