American Numismatic Society facts for kids
Logo from a 1918 publication
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| Founded | 1858 |
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| Type | Museum and Research Institute |
| Focus | Numismatics |
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President
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Ute Wartenberg |
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Executive Director
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Gilles Bransbourg |
| Affiliations | American Council of Learned Societies, American Alliance of Museums, International Numismatic Council, |
The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is an organization based in New York City. It is all about studying coins, money, medals, tokens, and other similar items.
It was started in 1858. The ANS is the only museum in America just for keeping and studying these kinds of objects. Their collection has almost one million items! This includes medals and paper money. They also have the biggest library in the world about numismatics. Numismatics is the study of money and coins.
The current President of the Society is Dr. Ute Wartenberg. She used to be the Executive Director for 20 years. Dr. Gilles Bransbourg took over her role as Executive Director.
Contents
What is the American Numismatic Society?
The American Numismatic Society studies coins, money, medals, and tokens. They look at these items from all over the world and from different times in history.
The main office of the Society is in New York City. It holds the best collection and library in the United States for studying numismatics. These resources help experts, collectors, and anyone interested learn more about money history. The ANS is part of bigger groups like the American Council of Learned Societies.
Why the ANS Exists
The main goal of the ANS is to be the top place for studying and helping people learn about coins, money, medals, and other related items. They see these items as important historical and artistic objects.
Where the ANS is Located
The Society and its collections have been in several places in New York City. At first, meetings were held in people's homes, like that of Augustus B. Sage in 1856.
For many years, the ANS rented spaces in different buildings. These included the Cooper Union and the Bible House. In 1907, with help from Archer Milton Huntington, the Society moved to its own special building at Audubon Terrace.
Later, in 2003, the ANS moved to a building at Fulton and William Street. Since 2008, the ANS has been at its current home. You can find it at 75 Varick Street near Canal Street in downtown Manhattan.
Amazing Collections of Money and Medals
The ANS has a huge collection of over 800,000 coins, medals, and paper money. These items come from all time periods and cultures. In many areas, the ANS has the most complete collections in the world.
Their collection includes very old items from Ancient Greece and the Roman Republic. They also have many coins from America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia, and Islamic countries. These coins range from 700 BCE (Before Common Era) to today.
The collection also has paper money and other non-coin money. There are also medals and decorations that date back to about 4000 BC. The experts at the ANS take care of, study, and record this huge collection. They keep their online database, MANTIS, up-to-date with new information and pictures. MANTIS is a great tool for studying numismatics because it's so big and anyone can use it.
Online Resources for Learning
The ANS shares a lot of its research and resources online. They work with other groups to do this. For example, they teamed up with the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. Together, they made OCRE, which stands for "Online Coins of the Roman Empire." This project aims to list every known type of Roman Imperial Coin. It also links them to examples found in big online collections.
The ANS also helps with Nomisma.org. This is a project that helps organize information about numismatics online. It makes it easier for people to find and use this information. Another project, called HRC (Hellenistic Royal Coinages), is doing something similar. It's collecting information about all coins from the empire of Alexander the Great and the kingdoms that came after him. This includes the Seleucids in the Near East and the Ptolemies in Egypt.
See Them in Exhibitions
The ANS has a small area at its New York City headquarters where they show some items. This space is open to the public. The ANS also lends items from its collection to other big museums and exhibitions.
You can find many ANS objects at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. But you can also see items from the ANS in exhibitions all over the world.
A Huge Library of Money History
The ANS library has over 100,000 items. It is one of the most complete collections of books and writings about numismatics. This includes books, magazines, auction catalogs, and old papers.
A special part of the library is the Rare Books Room. It has a unique collection of very old books about coins and money.
Special Awards and Honors
The ANS gives out several awards to people who help numismatics and the Society.
The Huntington Medal Award is given every year. It honors Archer Milton Huntington, who was very important to the ANS in the early 1900s. This award celebrates people who have made amazing contributions to numismatic studies throughout their careers. The first award was given to Edward T. Newell in 1918.
The Saltus Medal Award is named after J. Sanford Saltus. He started this award in 1913. This award goes to sculptors "for great work in the art of making medals." At first, only American artists could get this medal. But since 1983, artists from other countries can also receive it. The 2011 award went to Portuguese artist João Duarte. You can see past winners on the List of Saltus Award winners.
Learning About Numismatics
In 1952, the American Numismatic Society started the Eric P. Newman Graduate Seminar in Numismatics. This is a special training program about numismatics that happens every summer. Many people who have gone through this program now work as scholars in universities.
How the ANS Started
The ANS was started by a group of collectors in New York City in 1858. This was a time when many new learning societies were being formed. The first meeting of these collectors was in March 1858. But the Society officially began on April 6, 1858. That was the day they approved their first rules and plans. In the same month, the Society got its first coin for the collection.
In 1865, the Society became officially known as the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society (ANAS). But in 1907, they changed the name back to the original one.
Early leaders wanted the Society to study numismatology (the science of coins) and American archaeology. They also wanted to collect coins, medals, and old artifacts. Later, the ANS decided to focus mainly on all parts of coins and medals.
Under the guidance of several strong and generous presidents, the ANS grew a lot. It became a major international center for numismatic research. One of these presidents was Archer M. Huntington. He was from a rich family and was a serious collector. He gave the Society land at 155th Street and Broadway. He also helped pay for a new building, which opened in 1908. In 1929, Huntington helped expand the building, making it twice as big.
Another important president was Edward T. Newell, who led the ANS from 1916 to 1941. He was an expert in Greek coins. He helped the Society become famous worldwide. He also gave his huge personal coin collection to the Society.
In the second half of the 1900s, the Society became the top numismatic research place in the United States. Its collection of almost one million objects is one of the biggest in the world. It's a fantastic resource for anyone studying history and art. Their unique library of over 100,000 items is the most complete collection of numismatic books and papers anywhere.
The Society's Eric P. Newman Graduate Seminar in Numismatics, started in 1952, still trains new experts today. Many people who attended this program are now scholars in universities. The Society also offers different grants and awards. These help support research in numismatics and encourage people to use the collections.
People Who Made a Difference
- Agnes Baldwin Brett
- Ernest Babelon
- Harry W. Bass Jr.
- Abram Belskie
- Granville Carter
- Eugene Daub
- Thomas Dunn English
- Roger Curtis Green
- Philip Grierson
- Kenneth W. Harl
- David Hendin
- Robert Hewitt Jr.
- Urban T. Holmes Jr.
- Archer M. Huntington
- Edward Theodore Newell
- Eric P. Newman
- Stephen Hyatt Pell
- Russell Rulau
- William Herbert Sheldon
- Ute Wartenberg
See also
- List of Saltus Award winners
