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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