RECENT HISTORY, 1948-1966 



With the help of the continued interest shown by 

 numismatic circles and particularly by the American 

 \umismatic Association, the Division of Numismatics 

 was formally established and Stuart Mosher (fig. 69), 

 editor of The Numismatist, was appointed on August 27, 

 1948, acting curator of the Division. He held this 

 post until his death in February 1956.'^ 



The collections, which consisted of 54,175 specimens 

 in 1948, had increased by 1956 to 64,522. This 

 growth includes the famous Paul A. Straub (fig. 70) 

 collection consisting of 1,793 gold and 3,855 silver 

 coins. -^ In addition, Straub continued over the years 

 to contribute to the national numismatic collections. 

 The entire donation finally totaled 1,860 gold and 

 3,886 silver coins. (For details of the transaction see 

 Appendix IX.) 



The importance of this addition to the numismatic 

 collections is of much more significance than simple 

 numbers could tell. This collection was built up with 

 discriminating taste and Specialized knowledge over 

 many years, in part with deliberate design to fill a 

 very obvious gap in the Smithsonian's holdings. It 

 co\ers the period from the 14th to the 20th centuries, 

 ignoring minor \arieties and insisting on a general 

 representation of different types and particularly of 

 the larger multiple units in a;old (figs. 71-73) and 

 silvei- (fig. 74). 



During this period there were many other note- 

 worthy donations such as a gift from the McCormick- 

 Goodhart collection of 118 medals commemorating 

 the 1739-1741 victories of Admiral Edward Vernon 



-* Born in Canada, Mr. Mosher settled in Buflalo, New York, 

 in 1926, and became associate in numismatics at the Buffalo 

 Museum of Science, While there he wrote his popular book, 

 The Slorx of Money as Told bv llir Knox ColUctwn (Buffalo. N,Y.. 

 1936). He left Buffalo in 193") for New York City where he was 

 associated with Waytc Raymond and helped to edit The Coin 

 Collector's Journal. He also was joint author with VVayte Raymond 

 of Coins oj the World; the Standard Catalogue oj Tuenlieth Centw\ 

 Issues (New York, 1938). In addition, he joined the staff of the 

 New Netherlands Coin Conipanv. In January 194,'> he became 

 editor of The Numismatist, .\moni; his publications is the very 

 useful papei "Coin Mottoes and Their Translations" which 

 appeared in The .Vumismatist in 194i! and as a reprint. He died 

 on February 20, 1956. For his obituary sec The .Vumismatist, 

 1956, p. 275. 



■^ US.XM Report, 1949, p. 75 indicates 1,808 and 3,844 re- 

 spectively as total numbers; a recount established instead the 

 numbers given abo\e Sec also, SI Report, 1949, p. 21, 



(fig. 75),-'' the seal press (figs. 76-77) and tools used 

 by Edward Stabler,-" the well-known Maryland die- 

 sinker and steel engraver, and 43 medals and decora- 

 tions "' awarded to Dr. William Crawford Gorgas 

 (1854-1920) for his work as sanitation engineer with 

 the Panama Canal Commission. 



From February through September 1956 Mr. 

 Mendel Peterson served as acting curator of the 

 Division until the appointment in October of that 

 year of the present curator. In 1957 followed the 

 appointment of Mrs Elvira Clain-Stefanelli, first as 

 assistant curator and in 1959 as associate curator. 



New horizons were opened for the development of 

 the national numismatic collections with the planning 

 for an expanded exhibit program in the new Museum 

 of History and Technology. 



The broadening of the concept of numismatics 

 along modern scientific lines and the departure from 

 antiquated trends of thought dominated by metalism 

 are worthy of note. Careful consideration was given 

 to all changes of money economy from simple barter 

 to deposit currency, which in complex modern 

 financial transactions often replaces hard cash. 



The exhibits built in accordance with these new 

 concepts were opened in March 1961 in the Arts 

 and Industries Building and after the completion 

 of the Museum of History and Technology in 

 1964 were installed in October of that year in the 

 Hall of Monetary History and Medallic Art. The 

 staff of the Division of Numismatics had moved to 

 the new location in March 1964. By that time it had 

 been augmented by the addition of Mr. Charles D. 

 Wilkinson, Mr. Carl H. faeschke, and Mr. R. LeGette 

 Burris. Mrs. Cora L. Gillilland joined the staff in 

 1965. 



There was a rapid increase in the holdings of the 

 Division. From 32 accessions comprising 233 speci- 

 mens in 1957, the accessions rose to 249 in 1966, 

 while the total holdings climbed from 64,755 in 

 1957 to 199,747. It is impossible, however, to evaluate 

 contributions to the national collections on the basis 

 of imnibers or quantities of the donations. In some 



='■ US.X.M Report, 1951, p. 55. 



" US.\.M Report, 1951, p. 55; 5/ Report, 1951, p. 20. 



" US.\M Report, 1955, p.\l;SI Report, 1955, p. 23, 



14 



BULLETIN 229: CONTRIBUTION.S FROM TUY. MUSEUM OF HISTORY .\Xn TECHNOLOGY 



