Tom DeLorey Named Numismatist of the Year

Thomas K. DeLorey has been selected as the American Numismatic Association’s 2009 Numismatist of the Year. The 37-year member will receive the award August 7 during the ANA World’s Fair of Money® in Los Angeles.

DeLorey grew up in suburban Detroit. His first position was staff writer and eventual editor of “Collectors’ Clearinghouse” for Coin World in Sidney, Ohio. He was at one time a serious collector of tokens and medals issued by Thomas L. Elder, one of the foremost U.S. coin dealers of the first half of the 20th century. DeLorey also was big on coins of the Republic of Honduras. (He authored award-winning articles on both topics for The Numismatist in the 1980s.) He credits his father with igniting his interest in numismatics.

DeLorey moved to Colorado Springs in 1978 to be an authenticator for the ANA’s Certification Service. Today, he works in Chicago as a senior numismatist for Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., a position he has held for the last 20 years. His research and published articles are well-known in the hobby for their high quality and entertaining style.

Profile at a Glance

• Writer, Coin World (1973-78)
• Authenticator, ANA Certification Service (1978-84)
• Editor, TAMS Journal, Token and Medal Society (1981)
• Senior numismatist (U.S. issues), Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. (1989-present)
• SOB of the Year Award, Society of Bearded Numismatists (1981)
• Clemy Award, Numismatic Literary Guild (1999)
• Five-time winner, ANA literary award
• Two-time winner, ANA World Series of Numismatics
• Associate member, Professional Numismatists Guild
• Member, American Numismatic Society, Chicago Coin Club,
Liberty Seated Collectors Club and Michigan State Numismatic Society

John Eshbach to Receive Farran Zerbe Memorial Award

Decorated exhibitor and judge John Eshbach is the recipient of the American Numismatic Association’s 2009 Farran Zerbe Memorial Award. The award is the ANA’s highest honor, and is presented annually in recognition of numerous years of outstanding, dedicated service to numismatics. Eshbach will receive his award Aug. 8 at the 118th Anniversary Convention banquet in Los Angeles.

The 88-year-old Eshbach was born and raised in Lancaster, Penn., where he still resides. He joined the Marines in 1942 and served four years in the South Pacific, finishing his tour of duty at Camp Pendleton. It was there he met and married Corporal Evelyn E. Henry in 1945, and together they raised a son and a daughter. Evelyn passed away in 1995. Eshbach was a longtime supervisor at RCA in Lancaster, retiring after 36 years with the company.

Eshbach became involved in numismatics through his daughter and her school coin club. He joined the ANA in 1962 and is just three years shy of receiving his 50-year membership medal. Eshbach has been a devoted member of the Club Representative Program, and has spent several months at ANA headquarters in Colorado Springs working with the museum staff in accessioning and cataloging the collection.

Since 1960 Eshbach has been an active and respected exhibitor and exhibit judge. In 1999 he and close friend Jerry Kochel taught a course about exhibit preparation at the ANA’s Summer Seminar; it was a success and the two have returned several times to teach the course. In 2007 he received the Joseph E. Boling Award for Excellence in Judging. Eshbach still volunteers his time as a judge at ANA and other conventions.

John Eshbach is an active member of Lancaster’s Red Rose Coin Club, and promotes the hobby locally. He has previously won the ANA’s Outstanding Club Representative Award (1987), Glenn Smedley Memorial Award (2000), Medal of Merit (2001) and countless accolades for his exhibits

David Lange, Diane Piret to Receive Lifetime Achievement Awards

Hobby contributors and advocates David W. Lange and Diane Piret will both receive the American Numismatic Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Aug. 8 during the World’s Fair of Money® in Los Angeles.

Lange resides in Florida and is a numismatic researcher and author who serves as Research Director at Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. His studies of U.S. coin series have received numerous awards, and his books have become standard hobby guides. An ANA member since 1978, Lange has written a monthly column for The Numismatist since 1988 and has taught at numerous ANA Summer Seminars. He has received the ANA’s Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Award (1999), as well as exhibit awards (1988 and 1991). He was named a Numismatic News Numismatic Ambassador in 1994.

Piret, of Belle Chasse, Louisiana, has worked in the precious metals and numismatic field for more than 30 years and currently is director of industry affairs for the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA). During this time, she has served as a numismatic advocate at state and national levels. Piret serves on the ANA Convention Committee and co-chairs the Government Affairs Committee. She has received the ANA Presidential Award (1995), Glenn Smedley Memorial Award (2002) and Medal of Merit (2005).

Julian Leidman to Receive Inaugural Harry J. Forman Dealer of the Year Award

Maryland dealer and ANA Life Member Julian Leidman is the inaugural recipient of the Harry J. Forman Dealer of the Year Award. The annual award is presented to an ANA member dealer who shows uncommon dedication to strengthening the hobby and the ANA, and displays exemplary ethical standards as a dealer. The award is named in honor of Harry J. Forman, a Philadelphia coin dealer, author and ANA Life Member who died in 2008.

Julian Leidman began his career as a dealer and consultant over 40 years ago. He has an unbroken record of attendance at every major U.S. coin auction since 1968, and has handled some of the most important and valuable U.S. coins. Leidman assisted in the completion of the finest collection of double eagles ever assembled, was involved with the 1973 sale of the renowned Wilkison collection of gold pattern coins, and has assembled specialized collections of all early U.S. coins by die variety.

Leidman consults with corporations, dealers, and collectors to build world-class collections and advance the hobby of numismatics. He is a member of the Professional Numismatists Guild and has received its Lifetime Achievement Award. Leidman is recognized around the country as a respected and ethical dealer, a top-level expert on U.S. issues, and an experienced and entertaining presence on any show’s bourse floor. He resides in Silver Spring, Md., where he runs his business.

Medals of Merit Awarded to Dillard, Swindling

The American Numismatic Association presents its Medal of Merit annually to members who have dedicated years of service to the ANA and the hobby. This year, Raymond W. Dillard and Jeffrey Swindling will be recognized during an awards ceremony Aug. 7 at the ANA World’s Fair of Money® in Los Angeles.

Dillard, of Fenton, Michigan, began creating elongated coins in 1982 and went on to produce eight designs for local historical sites. In 2000 he estimated he had rolled more than 2 million coins. His creations have included those for The Elongated Collectors (TEC) and ANA anniversary conventions.

Dillard has served the hobby as a member or officer in numerous clubs, including TEC, Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS), Florida United Numismatists, Flint Flying Eagle Coin Club, Original Hobo Nickel Society and Maryland State Numismatic Association. He is a recipient of the ANA’s Presidential Award (1995), Outstanding Club Representative Award (2003) and Glenn Smedley Memorial Award (2005). Dillard’s other honors include the CSNS Medal of Merit (2002) and George Hatie Memorial Award (2008), and his naming as a Numismatic Ambassador by Numismatic News in 1993.

Florida resident and ANA Life Member Swindling was named ANA Young Numismatist of the Year in 2003. While attending the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, Swindling received an impressive mix of hobby awards, including the ANA Century Club Award (2005), Glenn Smedley Memorial Award (2007), Member Booster award (2008) and Outstanding District Representative award (2008), as well as a Presidential Award for Outstanding Service from the Greater Jacksonville Coin Club (2002) and CONECA’s Bill Fivaz Literary Award (2003).

Since 2007, Swindling has chaired the ANA’s YN and Scout Committee. As an ANA convention volunteer, he has been instrumental at Boy Scout Merit Badge Clinic Workshops, dealer registration and various YN programs. Since 2000, he has attended numerous ANA Summer Seminars, serving as a YN chaperone in 2008 and 2009.

Mark Olanoff Receives Government Service Award

Mark Olanoff of Reisterstown, Maryland, will be honored with the American Numismatic Association’s 2009 Outstanding Government Service Award. He will be presented his award Aug. 7 at the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money® in Los Angeles.

An ANA member since 2002, Olanoff has served with Diane Piret as co-chair of the ANA Government Affairs Committee for four years. In this position, he has helped advance the hobby in Washington, D.C., and kept the ANA apprised of federal and state legislation that could impact numismatics.

Olanoff has a decade of lobbying experience at the federal and state level. A retired command chief master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, he is a Congressional affairs analyst and legislative strategist at the National Guard Bureau and first vice president of the Armed Forces Top Enlisted Association.

Szasz to be honored With Numismatic Art Award

Merlin Szasz is the 2009 recipient of the American Numismatic Association’s Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture. The Rhode Island artist will accept the honor Aug. 8 at the ANA World’s Fair of Money® in Los Angeles.

Born in Lima, Ohio, Szasz earned a bachelor’s degree in art education from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award for Sculpture (1964-65) and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) John R. Frazier Award for Excellence in Teaching (1996). Szasz is currently a professor of design in Foundation Studies at RISD.

The artist’s preferred medium is the struck medal. His body of medallic work is largely the result of commissions, public and private, from the late 1960s to the present. Szasz draws heavily on classical imagery, incorporating intelligence, harmony and refinement.

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