Pocket Change Numismatic History

Happy Birthday John Reilly!
   ANS    
Happy Birthday John Reilly!
By David Hill

Homemade birthday card from John Reilly’s daughter

A while back I stumbled onto this great homemade card in the John Reilly, Jr. papers and have been waiting for February 3 to wish Mr. Reilly a happy 141st birthday. It was made by his daughter Frances (born in 1912) sometime in the late 1910s. Two decades later, in 1937, she would formally donate his Far Eastern collections to the ANS. During World War II, Frances was living in Hong Kong with her husband when the city fell to the Japanese. She was imprisoned there for nearly a year, finally coming home in late 1942. She…

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Lesser known collector and dealer H. A. Ramsden left his...
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Lesser known collector and dealer H. A. Ramsden left his mark at the ANS
By David Hill

John Reilly’s membership certificate for the Yokohama Numismatic Society, signed by Ramsden

There are certain numismatic personalities I expect to encounter over and…

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Lindbergh Kidnapping Ransom Money
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Lindbergh Kidnapping Ransom Money
By David Hill

Poking around in the ANS’s Farran Zerbe correspondence last week, I stumbled onto a couple of letters on a topic that…

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Did Any Reprints of Zerbe's Lesher Article Survive?
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Did Any Reprints of Zerbe's Lesher Article Survive?
By David Hill

George Kolbe of Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers had an interesting question regarding my most recent column in ANS Magazine  (“Bumps in the Road…

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FINDING BAR KOKHBA COINS IN KENTUCKY (or NOT)
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FINDING BAR KOKHBA COINS IN KENTUCKY (or NOT)
By David Hendin

In the last few weeks, I have been preparing a gift of my personal coin collection to the American Numismatic…

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The Talented Mr. Wood
   ANS    
The Talented Mr. Wood
By David Hill

American Numismatic Society

Howland Wood: long-time ANS curator, Oriental coin authority, Huntington Award winner, and…illustrator? I must admit, I didn’t know…

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Conflict Antiquities and the ANS
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Conflict Antiquities and the ANS
By Ute Wartenberg

Ute Wartenberg Kagan, Executive Director of the American Numismatic Society, spoke about collecting coins and the conflict in Syria as…

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The Society's Inaugural Ledger
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The Society's Inaugural Ledger
By Matthew Wittman

One of the volumes that the curatorial staff often consults is a folio-sized hardbound ledger that records the first half-century…

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ANS at the World's Fair of Money
   ANS    
ANS at the World's Fair of Money
By Matthew Wittman

ANS, 1983.156.7

The American Numismatic Society will be at this week’s World’s Fair of Money in Chicago. If you have an inquiry…

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Joe Cowell's Numismatic Welcome to New York City, 1821
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Joe Cowell's Numismatic Welcome to New York City, 1821
By Matthew Wittman

Joseph Cowell (1792-1863) was a British comedian and theatrical entrepreneur who performed on both sides of the Atlantic. His memoir, Thirty…

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