“The Medal Is the Message: Global Ideas in Handheld Sculpture,” an innovative exhibit at the Edward C. Rochette Money Museum, is closing on Sept. 15, and will be replaced by “A House Divided: Money of the Civil War,” opening on Oct. 9.

“Global Ideas in Handheld Sculpture,” which opened in Sept. 2007, features more than 1,400 works of art created by artists from 32 countries. The exhibit was created for the International Art Medal Federation (FIDEM) Art Medal World Congress, which was hosted by the American Numismatic Association in Colorado Springs. It was the first time in 20 years the prestigious event took place in the United States.

The theme of the Congress, Passages to Reconstruction, conveyed a message of hope following Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Many artists incorporated themes of tragedy and renewal in their work.

The Money Museum will celebrate the opening of “A House Divided: Money of the Civil War,” with a gala public reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 9. For more information, call 719- 482-9814 or e-mail museum@money.org

By Scott Purvis for CoinLink
A 154-year-old $20 gold piece known as the Kellogg Twenty will return to Baltimore next month for the first time in nearly 30 years.

This  one-of-a-kind California Gold Rush coin was once owned by Baltimore resident and diplomat John Work Garrett, and is considered by most collectors to be one of the finest American coins from the mid-19th century.

John W. Garrett (1872 – 1942) was the grandson of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad executive and one-time president, John Work Garrett (1820 – 1884), and the eldest son of T. Harrison Garrett (1849 – 1888), who began collecting coins as a student at Princeton. The coin collection grew extensively under T. Harrison’s sons, John and Robert (1875 – 1961).

Garrett donated the coin, along with his home, Evergreen House, to the Johns Hopkins University on his death in 1942. Hopkins sold the coin at the Bowers and Ruddy auction in 1980 for $230,000.

Subsequently the coin changed hands several times. Contursi has owned it twice; from 2002 to 2005, and since 2006, it is now valued at $3 million. The coin is graded Specimen-69 by Professional Coin Grading Service

“When you pick up this coin, you’re literally holding Gold Rush history in your hands,” said Steven L. Contursi, president of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point, Calif., the coin’s owner. “This is a homecoming. It’s the first time it will be publicly seen in Baltimore in 28 years.”

The coin was manufactured on February 9, 1854 by John Glover Kellogg, a former employee of the San Francisco U.S. Assay Office. He gave it to his friend and future business partner, New York City watchmaker, August Humbert, the former U.S. Assayer in San Francisco.

During most of the 20th century, the historic coin was part of the legendary Garrett Collection at Johns Hopkins University and kept in a vault in Baltimore, Maryland. (more…)

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will showcase 21 numismatic rarities from its National Numismatic Collection at the World’s Fair of Money convention hosted by the American Numismatic Association from July 30 to Aug. 3 at the Baltimore Convention Center. “Historic Rarities: Early United States Proof Coins,” will include the 1860 double eagle proof pattern with the Paquet reverse, a special design made by its engraver, Anthony Paquet, and a previously unknown variety of an 1818 proof half dollar as part of the traveling display.

Initially, the Philadelphia Mint made proof coins as showpieces to demonstrate American talent and innovation. These early proofs are recognized by their mirror finish and feature sharper relief than found on coins made for circulation. The coins in the “Historic Rarities” display are part of a larger collection transferred to the Smithsonian by the U.S. Mint in the 1920s.

“This traveling display provides an opportunity to showcase extraordinary and rare proof coins, including an 1818 silver half-dollar proof which our curator recently reclassified as unique as it is the only one made at the time,” said Brent D. Glass, director of the National Museum of American History. This display represents the museum’s second appearance at the Baltimore convention.

“NGC and NCS are immensely proud to be presenting sponsors of this exhibition; proof coinage and Paquet’s pattern demonstrate first hand the beauty of coinage and the active human role of designers and engravers. Showcasing these rarities is a wonderful opportunity for the numismatic community,” said Mark Salzberg, chairman of the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.

The display is divided into four sections: Early Proofs, 1843 Proofs, the Anthony Paquet double eagle pattern and Baltimore national currency proofs.The objects in the group of early proofs include coins of several denominations dating from 1818 to 1821. The coins were minted in several different metals, including copper, silver and gold. The group dated 1821 is likely the only such grouping in existence. (more…)

Early Anglo-Saxon coins from the De Wit collection to be displayed at the Fitzwilliam Museum

The period of the Conversion in the 7th-8th centuries was a vibrant time artistically, inspiring such treasurers as the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Franks Casket and the famous High Crosses. Yet these give mere glimpses of a much larger body of lost art. New finds of coinage and ornamental metalwork of this period have provided us with an alternative source of images which are artistically and intellectually outstanding.

This exhibition will show for the first time early Anglo-Saxon coins from the De Wit collection, recently purchased by the Fitzwilliam Museum with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund. These gold shillings and silver pennies display the most innovative range of pictorial and geometric designs drawn from Classical and Germanic sources.

Despite the small scale, their bold images of people, animals, plants and geometric motifs are both rich in detail and sophisticated in concept. The exhibition will juxtapose them with contemporary ornamental metalwork drawn from other museums in the region.

Fri 23 May 2008 to Sun 7 September 2008
Octagon Gallery (Gallery 10) (more…)

By KAREN W. ARENSON for the NY Times

When Stanley J. Seeger gave Princeton $2 million for Hellenic studies nearly three decades ago, the gift’s income paid for two courses in modern Greek and trips to Greece for five.

But the Seeger money, which must be spent only on matters Greek, is now worth $33 million, multiplying through aggressive investing like the rest of Princeton’s endowment. So the university offers Greek, Greek and more Greek — 13 courses this semester, including “The Image of Greece in European Cinema” and “Problems in Greek History: Greek Democracy,” as well as trips to Greece and nearby areas for more than 90 students and faculty members last year. The history department recently hired its second Byzantine specialist. And the fund paid half the cost of a collection of 800 rare coins from medieval Greece.

“Institutions do get shaped by the interests of donors,” said Robert K. Durkee, vice president and secretary of Princeton.

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