rank of the museums of the world so far as the science of 

 numismatics is concerned. . . . 



In this connection special attention should be given to 

 the offer of the Treasury Department to transfer to the 

 Museum the exhibition cases in which the collection is now 

 contained. These cases were specially designed for numis- 

 matic material and are the safest of any types of such cases 

 I have ever seen. The woodwork is heavy mahogany, the 

 glass is a fine quality of heavy plate, and each case is fur- 

 nished with a unique double locking device which renders 

 it apparently as safe as it is pos,sible to construct such a case. 

 The cases are at present arranged against the walls of an 

 octagonal room or rotunda and are of three sizes all of 

 the same general type. They consist of the following: 



Twelve wall cases each six feet long; 



Fourteen cases, each four feet long, built tangent to a 

 circle; and fourteen cases, each two feet long, built on the 

 interior of the circle. 



All these are aljout six feet high with an u|)right portion 

 against the wall and a horizontal section extending out 

 from the wall each of these portions giving an exhibition 

 space of about twenty-four inches extending the length of 

 the case. The interiors of these cases are arranged for the 

 exhibition of numismatic material in an artistic and service- 

 able manner. 



In addition to the cases described above the office of the 

 former curator of the collection in the Mint contains two 

 oak cabinets with combination locks and shallow trays for 

 coins. The smaller of these two cabinets is 24" x 36" x 48"; 

 the larger is 24" x 52" [? illegible] x 72". Ihey would 

 afTord space for the coins of lesser value during the period 

 when they were not on exhibition and could not be dupli- 

 cated now by any cabinet maker for less than thousands 

 of dollars. 



The office of the curator also contains two large oak book 

 cases containing a number of very rare and expensive 

 works on the subject of numismatics . . . which are now 

 offered to us with the collection of coins and medals. . . . 

 These should certainly be accepted as they will be priceless 

 aids to the arrangement of the collection in the .National 

 Museiun. 



The fact that the transfer of this collection to Washington 

 will mean the shifting of the numismatic center of gravity. 

 so to speak, in the United States from Philadelphia to 

 Washington, is very keenly felt by the higher officials of 

 the Mint . . . who seem to be all Philadelphians . . . and 

 they did not hesitate to express to me their distinct opposi- 

 tion to this action on the part of the Treasury Department 

 and some of them even went so far as to hint that a propa- 

 ganda would be initiated to have the proce.ss reversed. 



Pressure did indeed build up in Philadelphia against 

 the proposed transfer. The Philadelphia Ledger of March 

 31 expressed great concern "that the Philadelphia 

 Mint's invaluable collections of coins, medals and 



tokens is being boxed, ready for shipment to the Na- 

 tional Museum in Washington. The collection which 

 was begim with the inception of the Philadelphia 

 Mint in 1 792, is believed to be one of the finest in the 

 world." Another editorial on the same subject appeared 

 in the Ledger on .\pril 1.'*- 



\'arious local organizations, and through them 

 congressmen from the area, were mobilized in an 

 intensive but futile action to re\-erse the Treasury De- 

 partment's decision, which was enunciated in a press 

 release : 



Tuesday, .^pril 3, 1923 

 The Secretary of the Treasury announces that he has 

 approved the recommendations of the Director of the Mint 

 for the transfer of the collection of coins, tokens and medals 

 in the Mint at Philadelphia to the National Museum at 

 Washington. This is a national collection, and therefore 

 most appropriate for exhibition in the National Museum, 

 where it will be open to a larger public than at the Mint. 

 .-\ll of the Mints, moreover, are now closed permanently to 

 visitors, and if kept at the Philadelphia Mint the collection 

 would have been inaccessible to the public. 



This press release could hardly calm the local re- 

 sentment and the pressure groups. On a national 

 le\-el, however, the American Numismatic Association 

 immediately supported the transfer. In an editorial 

 comment which appeared in the May 1923 issue of 

 The Numismatist ,^^^ this position was made very clear: 



Taking a broad view of the matter, the National Museum 

 in Washington is the logical place for the coin collection. 

 It has been termed the Mint collection, though, strictly 

 speaking, it is the national collection. The National Museum 

 already has a collection of medals, and the merging of the 

 two collections will be advantageous. 



The construction of the Mint Cabinet is such that it would 

 be impossible to enlarge the space for the collection without 

 remodeling the entire rotunda. 'This fact would prevent 

 the material growth of the collection. ... In the National 

 Museum more space will jirobably be available, and per- 

 haps more money for the purchase of additional specimens 

 can be obtained. 



Washington is the home of our other national collec- 

 tions. . . . The Capital City is a Mecca for sightseers and 

 visitors, and the other collections will help to attract a 

 larger number of visitors than a collection of coins alone 

 could command. 



There is one phase of the matter that is worthy of reflec- 

 tion, but which may not have received consideration by 

 the Treasurv officials in reaching their decision. The late 



"'- Sec, The Aumismatist (1923), vol. 36, pp. 

 '" Vol. 36, pp. 202f. 



198f. 



94 



BULLETIN 2 29: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



