February 2020 eNews
February 2020
Upcoming Events & Announcements
Upcoming Money Talks | Before the Coinage Act of 1857: How Americans Spent Foreign Coinage
Join Assistant Curator of the Coins and Currency of the Americas Dr. Jesse Kraft for a Money Talks on March 14. At various times, coins from Spanish-America, Great Britain, France, and Brazil held legal tender status and formed a majority of the hard-money supply in the United States. This talk discusses these objects and the methods that American consumers and merchants used to navigate the system of foreign coinage in the United States. More…
Medal on Loan to the Westport Library
The ANS loaned a bronze “Better Babies” Medal of The Woman’s Home Companion to the Westport Library for Westport’s Suffragists—Our Neighbors, Our Crusaders: The 19th Amendment Turns 100. The medal is by Laura Gardin Fraser—sculptor, suffragist, and Westporter. The names and contributions of Westport women central to the “Votes for Women” campaign and ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 remain nearly forgotten. This exhibit focuses on the Westport suffragists who helped change the course of history for American women for generations to come. More…
Ancient Gems and Their Connection to Coins: An Introduction
Join Paweł Gołyźniak on March 11 at 5:30 for Ancient Gems and Their Connection to Coins: An Introduction. This lecture will give an overview of the study of ancient engraved gems and their relationship to coins. Various engraving techniques and materials will be discussed, placing these precious objects in their historical and political settings. A subscription dinner will be held following the event for $85 per person. RSVP to Emma Pratte at membership@numismatics.org. More…
Old Regime France and its Jetons: Pointillist History and Numismatics
Available for pre-order! Old Regime France and its Jetons: Pointillist History and Numismatics, by James E. McClellan III delves into the history of non-monetary tokens of Bourbon-era France, including their origins, hidden messages, and the people who engraved them. $70 for ANS Members. More…
Lucia Carbone will attend the Classical Association of the Middle West and South Meeting
On March 26 Assistant Curator for Roman Coins Dr. Lucia Carbone will attend the CAMWS Meeting in Birmingham, AL.She will present Coinage and Literature: Two Complementary Approaches to Roman Civilization as part of a panel called Numismatics and Narratives: How a Classicist Can Read Coins which aims to bridge the divide between literary texts and numismatic evidence in the study of the Classical World and demonstrates the ways in which Classicists can integrate numismatic evidence into their scholarship. Dr. Carbone’s paper will specifically focus on the contemporaneous rise of Roman literature and the emergence of Italian and Roman coinage in the third century BCE. ANS members welcome.
ANS Library Acquires Robert Martin Notebooks on Connecticut Coppers
Through the generosity of Syd Martin, Roger Siboni, and Tony Terranova, the ANS library has acquired the Robert Martin notebooks on Connecticut coppers. They have been digitized at the ANS and are now available on Newman Portal. As described in a Stack’s auction catalog, “These eight binders represent Robert’s life’s work—nearly five decades of research on the Connecticut copper series.” More…
The 2019 AJNs will arrive in March!
The American Journal of NumismaticsVolume 31 (2019) will be arriving on your doorsteps in March. Articles include The Medal of Honor of the Union League of Philadelphia by Frank Kovacs, The Spearhead and Monogram Coinage of Ptolemy V by Eric Carlen, Made in Etruria: Recontextualizing the Ramo Secco by Charlotte Potts, and Samarqand’s Cast Coinage from the Early Seventh to the Mid-Eighth Century AD: An Assessment Based on Chinese Sources and Numismatic Evidence by Qi Xiaoyan.
2020 Whitman Coin Baltimore Spring Expo
Executive Director Dr. Gilles Bransbourg, Trustee Mary Lannin, and Membership Manager Emma Pratte are representing the ANS at the Whitman Coin Baltimore Spring Expo from March 19–March 21. Stop by the booth to renew your membership, say hello to our new Executive Director, or sign up a friend! More…
April Money Talks | Antony and Cleopatra: A Match Made on Coinage
New date: this lecture will now be held on April 4. Join Dr. Lucia Carbone for Antony and Cleopatra: A Match Made on Coinage. Coins represented a central element in Mark Antony and Cleopatra’s dynastic propaganda. Their monetary policy in the East represented a real ‘revolution.’ In the iconography, the medium, and the weight of their coins, Antony and Cleopatra introduced radical changes that became the norm in the Imperial Age. More…
February in Review
February Money Talks | Coinages in the Persian Empire
The first “Money Talks” of 2020 took place on February 29 with a full house. Chief Curator Dr. Peter van Alfen and Research Curator Dr. Ute Wartenberg led a discussion on new research on coins of the Persian Emprire. Including a consideration of the historical and administrative aspects of the coins, while also examining the iconography and portraiture. More…
“Shallow Relief”—Contemporary Medallic Sculpture By Mashiko
“Shallow Relief” by ANS Fellow and 2019 J. Sanford Saltus Award winner Mashiko is currently on view at Medialia … Rack and Hamper Gallery in New York City. The exhibition is on display now through April 18. More…
Keith Barron on the 17th Century trail of Ecuador’s Lost Gold Mines
ANS Trustee Dr. Keith Barron was featured in the Miami Herald about his decades long quest to find two Spanish conquest-era gold mines lost in Ecuador’s forests. Now, with a team of geologists, he may have just found them—or at least the road that connects them. “This is not a tale of treasure island, this is something very real—people lived and died there and lots and lots of gold was produced,” he said. “It’s still back in the forest somewhere to be found and now we are very much hot on the trail.” Read the article.
Latin Classes visit from Riverdale and Chapin Schools
On February 19 a group of 18 students from Riverdale School visited the ANS. The students were accompanied by their Latin teachers and were introduced to the coinage of Caesar by Dr. Lucia Carbone, Assistant Curator of Roman coins. Another group of 20 students, this time from the Chapin School, visited ANS on February 28. Dr. Carbone presented an overview on the history of Roman coinage, with a special focus on Caesar, Octavian, Mark Antony and the Civil Wars.
A Jewelry Design Class visits from Pratt Institute
On February 11, medallic arts expert Scott H. Miller and Jesse Kraft hosted a jewelry design class from the Pratt Institute led by Professors Russell Jones and Katrin Zimmerman. The class is taking part in an institution-wide design competition for a distinguished teacher medal to present to a faculty member at commencement. They came to the ANS to learn about the history of medallic arts with an emphasis on the design process. Mr. Miller emphasized that sculptors have always created medals that reflected the art of their generation, and suggested the class think in terms of the modern medal rather than recreate a style of the past.
Jesse Kraft attended the Long Beach Expo
From February 20 to 22 Jesse Kraft attended the Long Beach Expo in Long Beach, California. As one of the largest coin, currency, stamp, and collectible shows in the country, the ANS used this as an opportunity to expand our presence to the West Coast. Thank you to Taryn Warrecker, the Show Coordinator for the Expo.
NYU Graduate Class Visits the ANS
On Friday, February 21, Prof. Robyn d’Avignon from New York University brought her graduate history class on Wealth and Economies in African Worlds to the ANS to see our collection of traditional African currencies and valuables. Associate Curator David Yoon discussed how they were used in the context of different societies and economies.
Garfield Miller Retires
This month we bid farewell to our longest serving member of the administrative staff, Mr. Garfield Miller. He has been with the ANS since 1980 and we could not be more grateful for his decades of dedication to the Society. We wish him all the best in his retirement!
