Daniel Parish, Jr.

Daniel Parish Jr. (1842–1914) was the son of a wealthy New York City businessman. He devoted his life to his interests in history and numismatics, becoming an important patron of numerous cultural institutions. In 1865 he joined the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society (as it was then called) and quickly became one of the core members, serving as an officer for most of his life. Over a period of 49 years he held the offices of Corresponding Secretary, Librarian, Vice-President, President, and Governor.

Parish built a wide-ranging numismatic collection including United States medals and tokens, early modern European coins and medals, and ancient coins. Over the last three decades of his life he gradually donated this collection to the Society; this was the first really important body of material to be added to the ANS cabinet, and it remains important, especially in areas such as early Dutch and English historical medals and German thalers. Parish was also an important donor to the library, building up its holdings on diverse topics such as ancient Roman coins and American auction catalogues.

For more information see the ANS Archives.