May 2018 eNews

UPCOMING EVENTS

The 2018 Fowler Lecture

The 2018 Harry W. Fowler Memorial Lecture, The Great Alternative?, will be presented by Prof. Walter Scheidel, on June 12. The lecture will discuss how the ancient world produced two major independent traditions of coinage: one in the Aegean and the other in early China. More…

Upcoming “Money Talks” | The Art of Photographing Coins

On June 16, Alan Roche, the Society’s photographer, will present “The Art of Photographing Coins.” Roche will consider the various aspects involved in the production of high-resolution images of coins and banknotes. A hands-on photographic demonstration will show how you can photograph your own coins like a pro. More…

Journal of Early American Numismatics

The inaugural issue of the Journal of Early American Numismatics (JEAN) will ship to subscribers in early July. It will replace The Colonial Newsletter. Edited by Christopher McDowell, the 240-page journal includes five articles: “Fiscal Paper and the Financing of the Revolutionary War: The Link between Speculation in Public Securities and Connecticut Coppers” (Christopher McDowell), “(Re-)Discovery: Yale’s Second and Third Noe II-A New England Shillings” (B. D. R. Hellings), “The Evolution of Spanish Colonial Coinage and its Influence on the United States” (Brian Stickney), “Higley Tokens: The Value of Three Pence” (Joseph Daragan), “The Mysterious Auctori Plebis Tokens” (Jeff Rock). New subscribers are always welcome, and the ANS encourages readers of the new journal to recommend it to their libraries. To subscribe (or to renew a subscription), contact Emma Pratte, ANS Membership Assistant, at 212.571.4470 x117, or membership@numismatics.org. Subscriptions are US $60.00 (two issues/year).

2018 Mid-Year Appeal

Things that bring you joy: summertime and numismatics. Before you head out for that summer holiday, consider giving to the ANS Mid-Year Appeal! You can vacation peacefully knowing that your donation will help the Society to continue to promote and advance the study, research, and appreciation of numismatics. More… 

July “Money Talks” | A Numismatic Walking Tour

On July 14, we will be hosting a unique “Money Talks”— Monuments, Medals, Metropolis: A Numismatic Walking Tour Of Lower Manhattan. Over the years, Chief Curator Peter van Alfen has developed a walking tour that illustrates the many connections between numismatic and medallic art of the 20th century and the architectural and free standing sculpture found throughout lower Manhattan. More…

Point your coin-loving friends our way!

Not only will you be helping your Society, but when you introduce a friend as a new member, you will receive a $50 discount to use to purchase any ANS publication(s) costing $50 or more. Choose any book(s) you like. Just be sure to tell us who your friend is, and we will apply the discount to your purchase.

The second ANS Magazine of 2018 will be out soon!

Issue 2 of the ANS Magazine is at the printer and will ship to Members in June. Articles include “Giovanni Dattari and His Fabled Collection of Alexandrian Coins” (Lucia Carbone), “Notes on a Numismatic Manuscript from the Trivulzio collection in the ANS Library” (Hadrien J. Rambach), “The Archaeological Excavations at the Ancient Town of Akrai in Southeastern Sicily” (Roksana Chowaniec and Tomasz Więcek), plus news of the library and collections, book reviews, and an obituary for Stephen H. Corn. Magazine subscribers will also receive our new ANS Publications catalogue.

2018 World’s Fair of Money

From August 14–18, Ute Wartenberg and members of the ANS staff will represent the Society at the 2018 World’s Fair of Money, held by the ANA in Philadelphia. Members are welcome to stop by the table and visit. If you would like to volunteer to help, let us know! More…

MAY IN REVIEW

The 2018 Saltus Award

Dutch artist Geer Steyn became the fifty-seventh recipient of the J. Sanford Saltus Award for excellence in medallic art at the biannual conference of the International Art Medal Federation (FIDEM) in Ottawa, Ontario on May 29, 2018. Donald Scarinci, Chairman of the Saltus Award Committee of the American Numismatic Society presented the award at the American Delegation reception in the Canadian Museum of Nature. More…

Philodoroi: Friends of Greek and Roman Art from the Met

On May 1, ANS staff including Ute Wartenberg, Peter van Alfen, Gilles Bransbourg, and David Hill, and welcomed the Philodoroi: Friends of Greek and Roman Art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a special behind-the-scenes tour of the ANS library and special collections and the curatorial section.

The Arete Award to Prof. Roger Bagnall

The Paideia Institute, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support and spread the teaching of Latin and ancient Greek language and classical culture, has collaborated with the ANS on a number of projects. Representatives of the ANS attended the Paideia Institute’s first annual Benefit Dinner on May 14, where the Arete Award was presented to Leon Levy Director Emeritus and former ANS Vice President and Trustee Roger Bagnall in honor of his “long career of teaching, scholarship, and institutional leadership devoted to the study of the ancient world.” Joining this celebration were Lucia Carbone, Ute Wartenberg, Gilles Bransbourg, Mary and Kenneth Edlow, and Sebastian Heath. More…

May “Money Talks” | Reading Arabic on Coins

On May 12, Jere L. Bacharach gave a presentation in our series “Money Talks” where participants learned how to identify different Islamic coins without knowing a word of Arabic. Jere L. Bacharach, Professor Emeritus of Middle East History at the University of Washington, Seattle. He has been a member of the ANS since 1966 and has served as an ANS Trustee.

7th Annual European Coin Find Network/Nomisma.org Meeting

Director of Data Science Ethan Gruber attended the 7th annual European Coin Find Network / Nomisma.org meeting in Valencia, Spain from May 3-5. He led a workshop on using OpenRefine, an open source software application for cleaning data, with a specific focus on linking coins to Nomisma.org IDs and Roman imperial coin types in Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE). He also presented on the ANS’ recent advancements in high-resolution image publishing and our eventual annotation of Greek monograms on these images. More…

Coin Circulation in the Ancient Greek World

May 17–18, Lucia Carbone, Peter van Alfen, and Gilles Bransbourg presented papers at the Coin Circulation in the Ancient Greek World: Mapping and Networks conference at the University of Chicago in Paris. Organized by Prof. Alain Bresson, the conference focused on various aspects of coinage circulation in the Greek world from the Classic to the Roman period. More…

A Visit from Dwight School

As part of the Society’s outreach program to schools, on May 29, the ANS welcomed a group of 30 third-graders from Dwight School. The students learned about the nature of money as a medium of exchange with Peter van Alfen. Gilles Bransbourg introduced them to concepts such as the gold standard, paper money, and inflation. Lucia Carbone challenged the students’ knowledge with an ad hoc quiz, focusing on the topics discussed earlier in the morning. They were show a variety of examples ranging from African cowrie shells, ancient Roman coins to the Zimbabwean 100,000,000,000,000 bill.