Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia records


Collection 3002

1857-1984
(14.25 Linear feet ; 16 boxes)
© The Historical Society of Pennsylvania1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Summary Information

Repository
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Title
Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia records
ID
3002
Date
1857-1984
Extent
14.25 Linear feet ; 16 boxes
Author
Finding aid prepared by John Armstrong, updated by Cary Majewicz
Language
English
Mixed materials [Box]
1-16
Abstract
The records of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia document a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and collection of coins, medals, and other antiquities. The records include minutes, membership records, correspondence, inventories, information on operating expenses, preinted materails, photographs, and other items. Most of the collection is unprocessed.

Preferred Citation note

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia (Collection 3002), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

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Biographical/Historical note

Formed in 1857, the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia (NAS) was a non-profit organization “dedicated to the encouragement and promotion of numismatic science and antiquarian research.” Important members of the organization included William S. Vaux, Joseph J. Mickley, Henry P. McIlhenny, Dr. D. G. Brinton and Eli Kirk Price. Meetings were often held in the homes of members, where coins and medals were displayed and papers on a variety of subjects, including the transition from wooden sailing vessels to steel steamships, the collections of the Union League, Chinese export porcelain, and paper making at Ivy Mills, were read.

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Scope and Contents note

The processed portion of the collection includes 0.8 linear feet of material and is arranged into seven series. Of these, the Administration and Financial series contain the largest amount of material and are arranged chronologically. The General subseries of the Administration series consists of meeting minutes, lists of officers and committee members, and several copies of the constitution and by-laws. The Corporate Papers of the President subseries, generated by Betancourt, contains correspondence, papers regarding an exhibit of NAS coins at the U. S. Mint, and other official papers. The Financial series documents the 1960s through the 1980s and contains annual reports, operating budgets, receipts, and insurance records that include a valuation of the society’s assets.

Some of the other series, mainly Miscellaneous and Membership, reveal an organization that was largely focused on socializing. The society held numerous parties both in conjunction with and separate from formal business meetings. The Correspondence series mainly consists of handwritten letters from members, several of which include endorsements for potential members. The Other Organizations series includes additional information about the relationship between NAS and the U.S. Mint. The Memorabilia series contains an assortment of items including post cards, coin company catalogs, and two undated photographs.

Unprocessed additions form the bulk of the collection and are grouped in the final series. They include correspondence; meeting minutes; membership, financial, and administrative records; published proceedings; talks given at NAS meetings; clippings; photographs; and other items.

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Overview of arrangement

Series I. Administration, 1957-1983

Subseries a. Administration, 1957-1983

Subseries b. Corporate Papers of the President, 1974-1981

Series II. Correspondence, 1963-1984

Series III. Financial, 1956-1984

Series IV. Membership, 1961-1981

Series V. Other Organizations, 1980-1983

Series VI. Miscellaneous, 1930-1983

Series VII. Memorabilia, 1945-1984

Series VIII. Unprocessed papers, 1857-1977

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; 2001

1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Revision Description

 Inventory of unprocessed papers (Series 8) added by Cary Majewicz September 2011

Conditions Governing Access note

The collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Boxes 1-2: Gift of Anthony H. Murray, 1992.

Boxes 3-16: Gift of Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks, 2005.

Accession numbers 1992.80 and 2005.112

Processing Information note

XML encoding of original 2001 finding aid made possible by a grant from the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries.

The arrangement of the first seven series appears to be based on original order.

Inventory of unprocessed papers added September 2011. Date range and extent updated to include unprocessing papers.

Box 13 of the unprocessed additions contain items that show signs of old mold, mostly in the form of white-gray sopts on the covers of a few hard-bound volumes. One booklet shows more visible damage, but it still useable. Researchers with sensitivities to mold should take care when using items from this box.

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Related Materials

Related Archival Materials note

At the Historical Society of Pennsylavania:

Proceedings of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia. Philadelphia. Holdings span 1865 to 1945 (call number: Wn. 85).

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Controlled Access Headings

Personal Name(s)

  • Betancourt, Raul Jr.
  • Heckscher, Ledyard II.
  • Lewis, Clifford III.
  • Lippincott, R. Schuyler.
  • Meigs, Charles H.
  • Sturgis, Samuel B.
  • Wood, Ralph V. H.

Subject(s)

  • Clubs and Associations--Philadelphia.
  • Coins--Collectors and collecting.

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Collection Inventory

 Series 1: Administration 1913-1983 

Series description

This series primarily pertains to the operation of the NAS, including meeting minutes, the constitution and by-laws (1968), and records of the election of officers. Papers were often presented at meetings, and a copy of one given in 1979 by Capt. Charles H. Meigs, "Transition From Sail to Steam," is included. The papers in the series indicate that in the 1970s, six operating committees were active and the society duly recorded the elections of six officers to serve stated terms. There is also a completed 1957 questionnaire designed by a historiographer to acquire personal information about individual members of the NAS. The Corporate Papers of the President subseries, 1975-81, cover topics such as the loan agreement with the U.S. Mint, member and officer correspondence, official society correspondence, tax and financial matters, and commonwealth corporation charter issues.

 Box
1

 Subseries a: General 1957-1983   ; 38 items

 Box
1		 Folder
1-3

 Subseries b:  Corporate Papers - President 1974-1981   ; 224 items

 Box
1		 Folder
4-10

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 Series 2:  Correspondence 1963-1984   ; 33 items

Series description

The Correspondence series contains incoming letters from members recommending the endorsement of potential members into the society. Other items include invitations and thank you letters, expressions of sympathy for deceased members, and a 1963 Weber De Vore letter citing the decreasing homogeneity of “character and interest” of the society’s members. Notices regarding new member confirmations are located in the Membership series.

 Box
1		 Folder
11

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 Series 3:  Financial 1956-1984   ; 52 items

Series description

This series includes budgets, receipts, annual reports, bills, checks, and insurance information. In addition, there is an inventory of society collections and information relating to the society’s interest in seeking tax exemption status.

 Box
1		 Folder
12-14

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 Series 4:  Membership 1961-1981   ; 25 items

Series description

The Membership series contains membership lists, mailing addresses and phone numbers, as well as confirmation notices of new members.

 Box
2		 Folder
1

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 Series 5:  Other organizations 1980-1983   ; 13 items

Series description

This series documents the society’s dealings with the U.S. Mint, with which it arranged to loan a portion of its collection of commemorative coins for public display at the Philadelphia Branch.

 Box
2		 Folder
2

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 Series 6:  Miscellaneous 1930-1983   ; 28 items

Series description

This series includes a hand-drawn map, newspaper clippings, awards, directions, party lists, and society stationery.

 Box
2		 Folder

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 Series 7:  Memorabilia 1945-1984   ; 21 items

Series description

This series contains postcards announcing society meetings, auction catalogs of Schulman Coin & Mint, Inc., and the Certificate of Incorporation and Constitution and By-Laws of the American Numismatic Society, N.Y. 1948.

 Box
2		 Folder
4

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 Series 8: Unprocessed papers 1857-1977 

Scope and Contents note

These additions to the records of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia include member lists, invitations, typescripts, published proceedings, accession catalogs for the society’s library, and correspondence and meeting minutes, some of which include transcripts of talks given at meetings. The correspondence is from members, vendors, and members of the general public seeking expert numismatic advice. The additions also include clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, a receipt book, etched printing blocks, and a glass negative. The materials cover the period from the society’s founding and extend to the late 1960s. Two empty metal boxes that were found with the additions are not included in the inventory.

 Box
3-16
Box

Bound incoming and outgoing correspondence, 1892-1904; Payroll book, 1967-1968; Bound correspondence and notices, 1879-1881; Bound receipts of proceedings, 1887-1894; Loose correspondence in folders, 1948-1955, 1960-1962, undated; Minutes (in envelopes), 1916-1917; Loose papers, including 1914 map of Bucks and Montgomery counties 

 3

Glass negative of NAS bookplate; Printing plate and block; Financial volumes; Index to donors; Library accessions, 1884-1939; Receipt book, 1858-1871; Members and dues volume, 1860s-1913; Loose membership records, 1860s-1913; "Reliques of Barrister, Braxton, and Blair," circa 1869 

 4

Library accessions, 1884-1889; Bound correspondence, 1862-1870, 1871-1879, 1892-1919; Meeting notices, 1904-1922 

 5

"Cuts of Illustrations" (printing plates), Volume 33, 1946 

 6

Administrative files and correspondence, 1930s-1950s 

 7

Bound minutes in six volumes, 1857-1934 

 8

Published proceedings, pamphlets, and constitution & by-laws, 1870-1910 

 9

Correspondence, clippings, and essays (papers read before the society), 1905-1935 

 10

Bound correspondence, 1892-1904; correspondence files, 1884-circa 1907 

 11

Bound minutes in two volumes, 1935-1947; Curator records, 1975-1977; Propositions (proposals for new members), books 1 and 2, 1858-1918; Books of blank propositions; List of members, 1904; Financial reports, 1951-1964; Correspondence, 1959-1971; Loose miscellaneous papers 

 12

Bound minutes, 1948-1955; Published proceedings, constitution & by-laws, and other pamphlets, 1905-1946; "Wakehurst" pamphlet, 1974 

 13

Loose meeting notices, 1940s-1950s 

 14

Loose meeting notices, 1906-1945 

 15

Framed and unframed photographs of 1015 Clinton Street, Philadelphia, where NAS was founded in 1857; Bound manuscripts of Isaac Myers, society historiographer who died in 1887; 1886-1887, undated 

 16

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