Dr. Bland Receives 2017 Huntington Award
Press Release
August 24, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY
The American Numismatic Society Awards its 2017 Archer M. Huntington Award for Excellence in Numismatic Scholarship to Dr. Roger Bland.
The Trustees of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) have voted to award Dr. Roger Bland the 2017 Archer M. Huntington Award in recognition of his outstanding career contributions to numismatic scholarship. The award ceremony will be held on Friday, 20 October 2017 at 6:00 P.M. at the American Numismatic Society, 75 Varick Street, floor 11, in New York City. The event will include the Silvia Mani Hurter Memorial Lecture by Dr. Bland, entitled “How Coin Finds are Changing the face of Roman Britain: the Contribution of the Portable Antiquities Scheme,” which will be preceded by a reception in his honor.
Roger Bland retired in 2015 as Keeper of the Departments of Prehistory & Europe and Portable Antiquities & Treasure at the British Museum. He was formerly a curator in the Department of Coins and Medals and was seconded to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport from 1994 to 2003. Dr. Bland founded the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a project to record all archaeological objects found by the public in England and Wales, and is responsible for the operation of the Treasure Act. He is Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester, Vice President of the Royal Numismatic Society and a Fellow of the MacDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge. He was President of the British Numismatic Society from 2011–16.
Dr. Bland completed his Ph.D. on The Coinage of Gordian III from the mints of Antioch and Caesarea at University College London in 1991 and has since published more than 200 books and papers on numismatics. Among the many honors and awards conferred on him are the Royal Numismatic Society Silver Medal in 2014, the French Numismatic Society’s medal in 2013 and the President’s medal of the British Academy in 2016. He was made an Officer of the British Empire in 2009.
“Dr. Bland’s research and published work on Roman Britain and its coin hoards has set new standards for numismatics and archaeologists,” says the Chairman of the Society’s Huntington Committee, Dr. Jere Bacharach. “The committee was particularly impressed by Dr. Bland’s ability to combine outstanding research with a heavy load of administrative work. The quality of his scholarship made him an obvious choice for this prestigious award. All of us in the numismatic community are indebted to him for his numerous contributions to our field of study, and we are delighted to present him with the 2017 Archer M. Huntington Award.”
The lecture will begin at 6:00 P.M. It will be preceded by a reception at 5:30. RSVP required to membership@numismatics.org, or 212-571-4470. ext. 117. Government issued photo I.D. required for entry.
A subscription dinner will be held following the event at a nearby restaurant. Pre-registration is required. Contact membership@numismatics.org for details.
The Archer M. Huntington Award, first presented to Edward T. Newell in 1918, is conferred annually in honor of the late Archer M. Huntington, ANS President from 1905 to 1910, in recognition of outstanding career contributions to numismatic scholarship. The medal was designed in 1908 by Emil Fuchs to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the American Numismatic Society.
The American Numismatic Society, organized in 1858 and incorporated in 1865 in New York State, operates as a research museum under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is recognized as a publicly supported organization under section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) as confirmed on November 1, 1970.
