Pocket Change Blog

Pocket Change is the official blog of the American Numismatic Society.

BVLGARI and the ANS
   ANS    
BVLGARI and the ANS
By Matthew Wittman

The ANS has a selection of rare Roman coins on display as part of an exhibition at Bulgari’s flagship store in New York City. “BVLGARI + ROME: Eternal Inspiration” reflects on the jeweler’s long association with the “Eternal City,” where the original shop was opened in 1884 by Sotirios Boulgaris. The exhibition includes a mix of contemporary jewelry and ancient Roman artifacts and coins.

Bulgari has from time to time also used actual ancient coins in its line as with this choker embedded with a tetradrachm  of Alexander the Great.  New York magazine has a wonderful slide show of some of the items on display.

The American Numismatic…

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Hair in the Classical World
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Hair in the Classical World
By Matthew Wittman

The  Bellarmine Museum of Art at Fairfield University has just opened a fascinating new exhibition with the theme of “Hair…

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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 New York Crystal Palace in Flames—October 5, 1858
   ANS    
The New York Crystal Palace in Flames—October 5, 1858
By Matthew Wittman

ANS, 0000.999.8214

On October 5, 1858, the New York Crystal Palace burned to the ground in just forty minutes after a fire…

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Mahlon Day's Originary Counterfeit Detecter, 1828
   ANS    
Mahlon Day's Originary Counterfeit Detecter, 1828
By Matthew Wittman

One of the most overlooked aspects of both numismatic and printing history in the United States is the ephemeral genre of serials…

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A Trade Dollar Song and Chorus, 1883
   ANS    
A Trade Dollar Song and Chorus, 1883
By Matthew Wittman

This week at the International Numismatic Congress in Taormina, I gave a presentation about the US Trade Dollar, a silver…

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New Festschriften from the ANS
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New Festschriften from the ANS
By Andrew Reinhard

The American Numismatic Society’s reception at the International Numismatic Congress this evening is being held in honor of Basil C. Demetriadi…

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GOP Debates the New $10
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GOP Debates the New $10
By Matthew Wittman

The ongoing discussion about changing the personages who grace US currency is one that we have covered before (here,  here, and…

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Ask a Curator: Object Numbers
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Ask a Curator: Object Numbers
By David Yoon

This is part an ongoing series that answers your questions about our collections. If there’s something you would like to know…

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Bryant Park Fountain 'Hoard'
   ANS    
Bryant Park Fountain 'Hoard'
By Gilles Bransbourg

For the Summer issue of the ANS Magazine, curator Gilles Bransbourg contributed a story that explored an interesting numismatic dimension of…

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Bickford's International Pattern Coin, 1874
   ANS    
Bickford's International Pattern Coin, 1874
By Matthew Wittman

This past week I have been working on my presentation for the upcoming International Numismatic Congress, which concerns U.S. trade dollars,…

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New-York Letters Patent and Seal, 1786
   ANS    
New-York Letters Patent and Seal, 1786
By Matthew Wittman

ANS, 1884.24.11

One of the more fascinating documents among the Society’s collections is a so-called ‘letters patent’ dated July 10, 1786,…

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