Fig. 10. — Numismatic Room in the new Mint Ijuildinp; in Pliiladclpliia, 1902 (from Annua! 



R,fnrt of the Diratnr nf I he Mint, 1902). 



operation soon clcvcloped Ijetwcuii Wormser and 

 Bclote. In retrospect it is clear that one central idea 

 i^uided Wormser in all his actions — to increase the 

 size and importance of the national numismatic hold- 

 inG;s through joint cH'orts until it would rank with sucli 

 threat representati\e collections as those in London. 

 Paris, and Berlin. He considered this as a mission ol 

 the American Ximiismatic Association, derixing irom 

 its national character and in accord with the purpose 

 of its federal incor|3oration. 



At the association's annual con\ention in 1925, a 

 resolution was passed authoriziiit; the president to 

 appoint three persons — preferably residents of the 

 Washington, D.Cl., area — as the "A.N. A. Smithsonian 

 C'onimittee" which would cooperate with the Insti- 

 tution on numismatic problems. The same resolution 

 considered the establishment, through this committee, 

 of a numismatic collection to be placed on loan 



exhibition at the Smithsonian. In 1927 an .\.N.A. 

 collection was started by means of a fund donated by 

 Robert P. King of Erie, Pennsyhania. It was exhibited 

 at the Smithsonian in 1928. Throughout the depres- 

 sion and until his death in 1940, Wormser continued 

 to work at building up this loan collection. Since then 

 it has continued to grow under the sponsorship of the 

 a.ssociation. At this writing plans are under way for 

 the establishment of A.N. A. headquarters in Colorado 

 Springs, Colorado. When this headquarters is es- 

 tablished the entire .^.N.A. collection will be trans- 

 ferred from the Smithsonian to that location. 



A major change took place in the Smithsonian 

 numismatic collection in 1931 when it was mo\ed 

 from its poorly lighted quarters (fig. 129) to a smaller 

 biU much brighter area of the Arts and Industries 

 Building (fig. 130) where it remained until its transfer 

 to the Museum of History and Technolog>-. 



P.XPER M : HISTORY- OF TIIF X.ATIONAL NUMISMATIC COLLECTIONS 



13 



