By David Ganz for Numismaster 

Battle of the learned societies has begun at the Hispanic Society of America launched a broadside against its former neighbor, the American Numismatic Society, seeking the return of 38,000 coins the ANS has been cataloging since the death of Arthur Milton Huntington in 1955 at age 85.

Huntington was a major benefactor, multimillionaire, and philanthropist who largely funded Audubon Terrace in New York City’s Washington Heights at the turn of the 20th century. Among the organizations that he sponsored were the American Numismatic Society, and Hispanic Society of America, the American Geographic Society, and other learned organizations dedicated to scholarly analysis of the arts and sciences.

In 1948, the Hispanic Society of America collection consisting of some 30,000 coins, many of which were hammer-struck, including many of the ancient world, was placed on deposit with the ANS, making it the finest collection of its kind in the Americas. That is the source of the 2008 legal controversy.

Founded in 1858, the American Numismatic Society celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2008, having recently moved to Fulton Street in the New York financial district. It is preparing to abandon the new building in favor of a downtown location on the west side of Manhattan.

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Not many people understand the connection between Edgar Allan Poe and the City of Baltimore, home to the 2008 World’s Fair of Money®. But anyone purchasing a 117th Anniversary ANA Convention medal will own a striking collectible and gain a greater understanding of Poe’s connection to the city where he lived, wrote, died and was buried. Artist Jamie Franki conducted countless hours of research on Poe, searching for images preserved in portraits, daguerreotypes and drawings – as well as numismatic items that may have celebrated the author and his genius. But for all of his efforts, he found just one lowrelief, traditional side-view medal of Poe – used as a literary award by the New York Public Library in the late 19th century.

“This is quite possibly the second medal ever struck with Poe’s image,” Franki said. “This should give the medal an unusual appeal and make it quite collectible – especially for anyone who is a fan of Poe or American literature.”

Franki’s design features a three-quarter view of Poe in high relief. The portrait on the obverse is inspired by an oil painting by Baltimore artist Oscar Halling and “informed by every image I could find,” said Franki. The word, “Nevermore,” immortalized in The Raven, circles the edge above Poe’s head and a small incused silhouette of a raven is perched on his signature, which was taken from an archival scan.

The reverse tells the tale of the annual “Poe Toast,” where for each of the past 59 years on Poe’s birthday, a black-clad figure visits the gravesite and raises a cognac toast. The toaster then leaves a half-bottle of cognac and three roses on the grave.

“Poe is an absolutely fascinating person to draw,” said Franki, a coin collector who teaches art at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte. “He was poor, sickly, a substance abuser and an odd character. His face is asymmetrical; his mouth is at a different angle than his eyes, and he has a misshapen, sunken nature to his features. I wanted his expression to reflect his wit and intelligence as well as the somewhat tortured life that he lived. I looked at so many paintings, drawings and daguerreotypes that I’m confident I produced a pretty fair likeness of the man.” (more…)

An online auction of ancient coins will be held in August 2008 to raise funds for ACCG legal initiatives.

An Ancient Coin Collectors Guild benefit auction is currently being organized to raise funds for anticipated legal expenses in opposition to State Department imposed import restrictions on ancient coins. The online sale, closing on August 17, 2008, will be hosted on the Vauction site as a fund raiser for anticipated legal expenses. Individuals wishing to donate coins for this sale may contact Wayne G. Sayles, ACCG Executive Director by telephone at 417-679-2142 or by email at director@accg.us for details. A goal of 150 lots has been established and some exceptional coins have already been pledged. All donations are welcome. Coins of lesser grade or value may be combined into multiple coin lots. All donations should be arranged as early as possible, but not later than June 15, 2008 in order to provide time for proper cataloging and processing.

Arrangements are being made to exhibit the benefit sale lots at the American Numismatic Association convention in Baltimore from July 30th through August 3rd. Specific lot viewing information will be posted on this site and in various announcements prior to the convention. The sale will also be previewed in a special pre-auction viewing section at the Vauction site http://www.vauctions.com with all lots being professionally photographed and cataloged. This is an excellent opportunity for all members and non-member supporters of the ACCG to demonstrate their support for the hobby in a way that is perhaps less taxing than cash donations. (more…)

The American Numismatic Association and the coin collecting community will celebrate the 85th annual National Coin Week, April 20-26, with the theme, “Money Makes the World Go Round,” a tribute to numismatics, youth and world unity.

The ANA has created a National Treasure Hunt built around this year’s theme to help attract new collectors. Special bookmarks and buttons have been developed to help generate interest and enthusiasm for the event. More than 50 member clubs are distributing the bookmarks at dozens of schools, libraries and other community organizations across the country. The bookmarks list the five objects needed to complete the treasure hunt:

• A coin with an animal
• The oldest coin you can find
• A coin from a different place (country or state)
• A coin from the year you were born
• A coin that’s not a coin (token, medal, etc.)

Treasure hunters have until April 26 to contact clubs or the ANA with their coins. Each person who completes the treasure hunt wins a world coin and is entered in a local grand prize drawing for a 2008 State Quarter Proof Set. Everyone across the country who completes the treasure hunt is entered in the ANA’s national grand prize drawing for a half-ounce gold coin and other prizes. (more…)

As a first-term governor for the American Numismatic Association, I have been involved with making a number of decisions that were complicated, necessary and sometimes not without controversy. The guiding principle that the entire board follows has always been that we will do what is right for the association and its members.

Choosing a new executive director was one such decision that we made during the recent National Money Show in Phoenix. The Search Committee had done its job by narrowing 37 applicants down to six persons who were interviewed in Chicago and then to two finalists who were interviewed by the entire board in Phoenix.

From my perspective, two attributes were critical. Did the individual have a good background in numismatics, ideally from both a collector and dealer viewpoint, and did the individual have a strong background in business (particularly finance and personnel aspects)? Frankly, I wasn’t sure we would be able to find an individual that filled both of my wishes.

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