Pocket Change

Collectively branded as Pocket Change, the ANS publishes new content frequently on its blog, in The Planchet podcast, as well as videos. Back-issues of ANS Magazine are also available.

Mysteries from the Vault: Louis Gold Badge
   ANS    
Mysteries from the Vault: Louis Gold Badge
By Matthew Wittman

With close to a million objects in the American Numismatic Society’s collections, the curatorial team occasionally comes across items that are mysteries to us. This series will feature some of these objects in the hopes that the collective wisdom of our readers can help us to identify and learn more about them.

ANS, 2007.42.22

******Mystery Solved! See update at the bottom of the post.********

This scalloped-edged badge or medal was found by an amateur archaeologist in fill removed from a building site in downtown Manhattan  sewage sludge removed from drains by contractors in Midtown and lower Manhattan. It measures 48 mm or just under 2…

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A Rare 1866 Obsolete Bank Note
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A Rare 1866 Obsolete Bank Note
By Matthew Wittman

The introduction of the ‘greenback’ in 1861 marked a turning point in the history of American currency. Greenback was the colloquial…

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A Digital Win, or, What 100,000 Objects Look Like
   ANS    
A Digital Win, or, What 100,000 Objects Look Like
By Matthew Wittman

This week, the American Numismatic Society uploaded images of its 100,000th object into our online database MANTIS. The lucky coin was an…

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Real Currency in Virtual Worlds
   ANS    
Real Currency in Virtual Worlds
By Andrew Reinhard

Coins and video games were connected for the first time  with the arrival of Computer Space (1971) and Pong (1972), the first…

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Counterfeiting Continental Currency
   ANS    
Counterfeiting Continental Currency
By Matthew Wittman

The Irish-American printer John Dunlap of Philadelphia produced this broadside in 1778/1779 at the direction of John Gibson, the auditor general…

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Drachmas, Doubloons, and Dollars
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Drachmas, Doubloons, and Dollars

This video featured in the American Numismatic Society’s exhibition “Drachmas, Doubloons and Dollars: The History of Money,” which ran at the New…

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Ask a Curator: Roman Mints
   ANS    
Ask a Curator: Roman Mints
By Gilles Bransbourg

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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The Pulitzer Medal
   ANS    
The Pulitzer Medal
By Matthew Wittman

The Pulitzer Prize(s) have been awarded annually since 1917 for excellence in journalism, arts, and letters. They are the legacy…

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Philadelphia Sanitary Fair Tokens, 1864
   ANS    
Philadelphia Sanitary Fair Tokens, 1864
By Matthew Wittman

Library of Congress

The United States Sanitary Commission was a relief agency created to support soldiers that fought for the Union…

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Victor David Brenner's Lincoln Plaster
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Victor David Brenner's Lincoln Plaster
By Matthew Wittman

Today marks the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s (1809-1865) assassination. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre during…

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The Myth of Appomattox
   ANS    
The Myth of Appomattox
By Matthew Wittman

Library of Congress

The 150th anniversary of the surrender of General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army at Appomattox was commemorated in New York…

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CBS Sunday Morning
   ANS    
CBS Sunday Morning
By Matthew Wittman

Welcome CBS viewers! Thanks to producer Alan Golds and company for featuring the ANS in a great little segment about the penny…

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Duke's Cigarette Card Coins
   ANS    
Duke's Cigarette Card Coins
By Matthew Wittman

The New York Public Library has launched a new website for its ample collection of digital images. There is a variety…

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