NUMISMATIC AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA ARCHIVES

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

Administrative files and correspondence, 1930s-1950s

Bound minutes in six volumes, 1857-1934

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

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

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

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

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

Loose meeting notices, 1940s-1950s

Loose meeting notices, 1906-1945

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

To read the complete listing, see:
Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia records (http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/n/Numismatic3002.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web