Endowments
The Endowment for the Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Numismatics
The American Numismatic Society is currently raising money to endow the curator position for Medieval and Renaissance numismatics. Originally begun with a significant gift from ANS Fellow Dr. Howard Minners in 2014, the fund now stands at more than $562,000.
You can help us meet our goal of reaching a full endowment of $2,000,000 for this position by donating to this campaign.
One concrete result that has already been achieved by this drive is the employment of David Yoon as Associate curator of Medieval and Renaissance Coins. In this position, David has greatly strengthened our research and publications in early European numismatics. And as one of the editors of the American Journal of Numismatics, he is actively working to enhance its coverage of Medieval and Renaissance topics.
He is also focused on improving the visibility of the ANS’s collection in this area. This past year he completed a survey of the more than 21,000 sixteenth- and seventeenth-century coins in our collection, and he continues to work closely with ANS photographer Alan Roche to get more of them photographed for our MANTIS database. Just as critically, David has been revising the database descriptions and revamping the too-long neglected cataloging of these coins to ensure that they can be reliably accessed by all interested researchers.
Over the past year some 1,000 coins from the Huntington collection were added to the Medieval Department. They include an extremely important group of early medieval Visigothic coins, but there is also much research potential among the lower-value late medieval Castilian coins, for which we are building a collection that includes considerable depth of typological variation.
Medieval and Renaissance coinage is an exciting and too-often overlooked part of the magnificent ANS collections, and we are thrilled that some of our most passionate supporters have taken up its banner. Join them today by making your gift to this wonderful campaign.
Donate to the Endowment for the Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Numismatics online via PayPal:
Reason for the Campaign
The Executive Director fills one of the most public roles of prominence for the Society and for all of numismatics. The position is a rather recent addition to the ANS roster—introduced only in 1997—when Leslie Elam, the long-time Director of the ANS, was first named to this newly created position. Unlike the Society’s curators, the Executive Director’s position was never an endowed one.
T
he Executive Director hires, guides, and oversees the staff, implements the strategic goals and objectives of the organization, and along with the chairman, enables the Board of Trustees to fulfill its governance functions. The Executive Director provides direction and leadership toward the achievement of the organization’s mission, strategy, and its annual goals and objectives. No position is more crucial to the continued success of the Society.
The Society’s distinction and well-deserved reputation for excellence is in large part attributable to its widely recognized curatorial and academic staff, who provide unparalleled academic standing to the Society and secure its leadership stature among numismatic institutions. Recruitment of such staff is highly dependent on the stature of the person at the helm. Looking toward the future, therefore, endowment for the key position of Executive Director is essential if the ANS is to continue to attract and maintain leaders of the highest caliber.
Kinds of Donations
We welcome donations of cash and stocks, as well as gifts of coins, medals, and other numismatics items that can be sold. Cash or stock gifts can be made outright, or pledged and then donated periodically over the five-year period of the campaign. Donations of coins, medals, books, or other items of numismatic value must be received by the end of December 2015. In accordance with US tax law, these items will be held for three years before being sold at an auction.
How to Donate
The American Numismatic Society has embarked on a five-year campaign to secure $4,000,000 to endow the Chair of the Executive Director. As a demonstration of their enthusiastic support for this initiative, the ANS Board of Trustees has already raised 25% of the goal.
To make a donation by check or credit card please download and return the form below. For more information on how you can contribute to this campaign via wire or stock transfer, or to make a pledge, please contact Eshel Kreiter, Director of Development, at 212 571-4470 ext 130, or email.
