"The Science of
Numismatics, " organized by the ANS in cooperation with the Chicago Coin
Club and the Chicago International Coin Fair, was a very successful event.
There were over 60 people in attendance on Wednesday, May 27, and the
accommodations, arranged by the Chicago Coin Club, were excellent - complete
with breakfast, lunch, and a reception. The talks, announced in the winter
ANSNewsletter,
were most interesting,
and the subscription dinner with opening remarks by ANS President, Arthur
A. Houghton III, topped the day off in style. A video of the entire proceedings
will be available - contact Harlan Berk in Chicago for more
information.
Library Notes
With the introduction of electronic mail to all departments of the Society, the library has experienced an increase in reference inquiries - both directly and through its subscription to numismatic lists such as NUMISM-L and BiblioNumis-L. While the time spent in answering these inquiries is not reduced significantly by the use of e-mail, other computer related developments have helped reduce time spent in finding bibliographic citations related to these inquiries.
The Numismatic Indexes Project (NIP) sponsored by the Harry Bass Research Foundation has made it possible to perform computer searches of the periodical indices thus far included. As more indices are added to this project, it will achieve a comprehensiveness which selective bibliographies and card catalogues cannot provide.
With a recently acquired cataloguing software program, Mitinet/Marc version 5, we are also able to print complete sets of catalogue cards in-house on our laser printer. In addition to reducing the time spent on typing cards, this software should enable us to update our card catalogue in a more timely fashion.
Previously, we have sent cards off-site for reproduction.
On February 24, in conjunction with the "Day of the Etruscans" conference, the librarians mounted an exhibition of works from the library's collection of eighteenth to twentieth century materials dealing wholly or partially with Etruscan numismatics. Among the works exhibited were Joann Baptist Passeri's De nummi etruscis paestanorum (Pesara, 1748), P. Raffaele Garrucci's Le monete dell'Italia antica (Rome, 1885), and Ernst J. Haeberlin's Aes Grave; Das Schwergeld Roms und Mittelitaliens (Frankfurt am Main, 1910).
The Library Fund has received generous donations from David Hendin, Nyack, NY, and Orestes Zervos, Corinth, Greece. Catherine Bullowa has donated several rare works from the library of the late David M. Bullowa. Our long-time Library Assistant, Pablo Arroyo, has taken a position in the library at Arthur Andersen, Inc. We all wish him well in his new job setting.
Among the publications generously donated by authors and publishers are Rainer Albert's Von der Idee zum Gepräge, Aus der Kunstprägeanstalt und dem MedaillenCabinet Victor Huster, Baden-Baden; Karl-Wilhelm Beinhauer, et al., Die Sache mit Hand und fuss; 8000 Jahre Messen und Wiegen, Museum für Archäologie und Völkerkunde i Reiss-Museum der Stadt Mannheim; Q. David Bowers, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.: King of Coins; H. Glenn Carson, Coinshooting 3; Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brazil. History and Money. Permanent Exhibition; Arnaldo J Cunietti-Ferrando, Historia de la Real Casa de Moneda de Potosi durante la dominacion hispanica 1573-1652; Howard A. Daniel III, The Catalog and Guidebook of Southeast Asian Coins and Currency, vol. 2, pt. 3, Democratic Republic of Viet Nam Coins and Currency; José Eduardo de Cara, Mitre en la medalla; Georges Depeyrot, Histoire de la monnaie des origines au 18e siecle, vol. 1, Introduction de l'antiquité au treizième siècle, vol. 2, Du quatorzième au sezzième siecle; vol. 3, Les dix-septième et dix-huitième siècles; Jean-Paul Divo and Hans-Joachim Schramm, Die deutschen Goldmünzen, 1800-1930, 3rd ed.; Steven C. Drake and John Veach, Coin Club Issues of Nebraska; Roland Elie, Jetons et medailles publicitaires français et coloniaux; Commerce et industrie, Artisanat, Professions liberales, Maisons de Tolerance; Roland Elie and Marc-André Reynckens, Jetons metalliques des cercles casinos français et coloniaux; Horace P. Flatt, The Coins of Independent Peru, vol. 4: The Pasco and Arequipa Mints; Robert Friedberg, Paper Money of the United States; a Complete Guide with Valuations; Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, Cien anos de historia: Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, 14th ed.; Michael Harlan, Roman Republican Moneyers and Their Coins, 63 B.C.-49 B.C.; George Hosek, 1996 Iowa Merchant Trade Token Town Rarity List, 4th ed., and 1996 Nebraska Merchant Trade Tokens, Town/Place Rarity Listing, and Other Exonumia, 6th ed.; Jorgen Steen Jensen, ed., Tusindtallets Danske Monter fra Den kongelige Mønt-og Medaillesamling (Danish coins from the eleventh century in the royal collection of coins and medals); P. O. Karyshkovskij and I. B. Klejman, The City of Tyras, a Historical and Archaeological Essay, transl. from Russian by H. Bartlett Wells; Vladimir Ivanovich Katz, Keramicheskie kleima Khersonesa Tavricheskogo (Ceramic stamps of Tauric Chersonesus), 2 vols.; Richard Lobel, et al., Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and U. K. Coins, 1066 to date; Gerard van Loon, Contemporary Numismatics, transl. Robert Turfboer (1993), ed. and graphics James O. Sweeny; James B. Lovette, Biblical Related Coins, Including Both the Old and New Testaments; Rodolfo Martini, Monetazione bronzea romana tardorepubblicana, vol. 2, Sextus Pompeius, Le emissioni hispaniche del tipo CNAG, le serie di Eppius e gli "assi" siciliani; Y. T. Nercessian, Armenian Coins and Their Values; Mechtild Overbeck, Romische Bleimarken in der Staatlichen Munzsammlung Munchen: Eine Quelle zur Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte Roms; Jens Pilegaard, Sieg's montkatalog 1994, 1995, 1996; Jack H. Robinson, Copper Quotes by Robinson, 14th ed.; G. Egerton Ryerson, Roman Imperial Genealogies, a Study of the Genealogical Relationships of the Roman Imperial Families from the Republican Period of Julius Caesar to the Birth of the Byzantine Era; Christoph Sommerfeld, Gerategeld Sichel: Studien zur monetaren Struktur bronzezeitlicher Horte im nördlichen Mitteleuropa; Donald Spencer, Looking at Casino Chips and Tokens, a Guide to Technical Terms and Casino Chip Collecting; Leandre Villaronga, Denarios y quinarios ibéricos: Estudio y catalogación; Robert Weller and Ernie Richards, Shipwrecks near Wabasso Beach, East Mast of Florida; Randolph Zander, The Alaskan Parchment Scrip of the Russian American Company, 1816-1867; Jerry Zara, Prison Tokens and Medals of the United States.
Anyone wishing further information about these publications should direct inquiries to the attention of the Librarian.
Thanks to a generous donation
from Shaykh Hamad al-Thani of Qatar, the American Numismatic Society is able
to offer the first Shaykh Hamad Fellowship in Islamic Numismatics for the
academic year 1996/7. The fellowship of $3,000 is for training in museum
work and research on Islamic coinage. The Fellow will serve as assistant
to the Curator of Islamic Coins at the Society in both routine and advanced
projects to identify, catalogue, label, and arrange Islamic coins, and in
other departmental tasks. The work in part can be in the student's special
area of interest.
The work is best suited for students with some graduate level training in
medieval Near Eastern history or a related field and with some knowledge
of Arabic. Normally the Fellow will be expected to work at the Society one
day a week, from 9:00 to 5:00, for 39 weeks, or the equivalent amount of
time on a different schedule. The Society's working week is from Tuesday
through Saturday, and the Fellow will presumably begin work in September.
The schedule of work will be worked out by agreement and can be changed as
necessary, but it is important to maintain a regular schedule.
Preliminary inquiries are welcome by phone or e-mail. It is hoped to select
the Fellow on June 29. Interested students should mail or fax a curriculum
vitae and covering letter before that date to: Dr. Michael L. Bates, Curator
of Islamic Coins, the American Numismatic Society, Broadway at 155th Street,
New York, NY 10032 (212) 234-3130, fax (212) 234-3381, e-mail address
bates@amnumsoc.org.
Nuxoll Discusses Robert Morris Papers
The Stack Memorial Lecture was delivered by Dr. Elizabeth M.
Nuxoll on April 13, 1996. The theme was a combination of the efforts being
made to publish the papers of Robert Morris and information about Morris
and the early American economy. Morris was one of only two Founding Fathers
who signed all three critical U.S. documents - the Declaration of
Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution.
He was Superintendent of Finance from 1781-84 and left a tremendous corpus
of material for researchers to use - diaries, correspondence, official
documents, and other private papers. Eight volumes have appeared so far,
one final volume is outstanding.
Morris was a vigorous and resourceful businessman. He put at the disposal of this fledgling country his personal reputation and his personal credit, cosigning debts for the hapless United States Government which had absolutely no credit. Morris's determination to create a stable economic environment for the country appears in a letter to his brother: "You may very truly tell your Antagonists that from one End of this Continent to the other I can obtain Whatever is wanted for the public Service, by a Scrip of the Pen."
Following the lecture, there was a reception for the speaker, the Stack family, and the attendees.
New Fellows Elected
Edoardo A. Levante of Paris, France, has been an Associate since 1961. A
businessman in the shipping business, Mr. Levante is a serious collector
of Cilician coins and has published two volumes of his collection as
SNG Switzerland. He has also written several articles on Cilician coins
appearing in the Numismatic Chronicle and elsewhere. He is now
collaborating on the Roman Provincial Coinage project. He was a welcome visitor
to the ANS in January 1996, working in the Greek Coin Room.
Ralph W. Mathisen, an Associate since 1962, is a Professor of History at
the University of South Carolina, Columbia. An alumnus of the Society's 1976
Graduate Seminar, he is the author of two books on later Roman history and
of several articles more specifically numismatic. With ANS Curator William
E. Metcalf, Mathisen hosts the NUMISM-L list on the Internet, which serves
as a discussion forum for research problems in numismatics.
The ANS welcomes these two dedicated members as Fellows of the Society, a
class of membership limited in number to 200.
Day Of The Etruscans
The third annual " Day of the
Etruscans" took place Saturday, February 24, 1996, at the ANS. The Etruscan
Foundation with headquarters in Grosse Point Farms, MI, and the Castle
Spannocchia, Italy, sponsored the day which consisted of the annual meeting
and luncheon of their Board of Directors, followed by an afternoon public
program. There were more than 75 people attending including many ANS members
and friends for the afternoon event. Dr. William E. Metcalf, Chief Curator
and Curator of Roman and Byzantine Coins, gave the welcoming remarks. The
main talk was presented by Professor Richard DePuma from the University of
Iowa. There was a wonderful reception afterward. We hope to be involved in
a similar event in late February 1997.
The ANS will again have
a table at the New York International Numismatic Convention on June 7, 8,
and 9 at the World Trade Center in New York. This is a new location and we
are looking forward to seeing you there. Please Contact Stephanie Cohen if
you want to volunteer to work at the booth and be sure to stop by and say
hello.
COAC in November
This year's COAC program will be jointly chaired by Del Bland and ANS Associate
Curator of Modern Coinage, John M. Kleeberg. The COAC Committee, chaired
by Donald Partrick, invites submission of topics for consideration. Those
wishing to present a paper, should send a summary of the proposed paper directly
to John Kleeberg at the Society. Those interested in exhibiting at the conference
should also contact John Kleeberg.
You have received your letter concerning Annual Giving and we hope
that each of you will become a donor. By making a $200 Annual Giving gift,
you will receive an ANS donor pin. This year we have sent a more personal
appeal to members and friends. As we have said so very often, we depend on
private funding for support. You, the members and friends, are the life support
of the Society. We are grateful for your loyalty. The Society is here to
serve you and we urge that you participate in any way you can.
June
July
20 Finance Committee meeting,
10:00 A.M.; Council meeting, 12:30 P.M.
August
October
November
7-9 International Numismatic Convention, New York Vista
Hotel
8 INC,Medieval Society to be addressed
by Graduate Seminar alumnus Bradley MacLain, "The English Short-Cross Sterling
on the Continent"
INC, Oriental Numismatic Society meeting,
5:00 P.M., Wayne Sales and William F. Spengler to discuss Turkoman coinage
11 Graduate Seminar begins
12-15 25th Congress of the Federation de la Medaille
(FIDEM), Neuchactel, Switzerland, Alan Stahl attending as USA delegate and
member of the Executive Committee
4 Society closed
10 Graduate
Seminar ends
14-18 ANA meeting in Denver, CO
12 ANS/ONS
Arab-Byzantine Forum
18-20 Annual South Asia meeting, Madison, Marie H. Martin to
attend
26 Finance Committee Meeting, 11:00 A.M.
Council Meeting, 12:30 P.M.
Annual Meeting, 3:00 P.M.
9 Coinage of
the Americas Conference, 10:00 A.M., U.S. Large Cents
