The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 8, February 22, 2004, Article 7

BETTS MEDALS STILL RIPE FOR RESEARCH

  John Adams writes: "A thousand thanks for your excellent
  coverage of the 2004 Stack Family Coinage of the Americas
  Conference.  With that roster of presenters plus an exhibition
  of John Ford as well as ANS medals, this should be a truly
  memorable event.

  The press release says that the field of Betts medals was
  "well explored" by Mr. Betts.  That implies to me that there
  is not much virgin territory remaining to be opened up, an
  implication which could not be further from the truth.  Actually
  Betts did a disservice to the collecting of historical medals:
  by defining the field as one which embraced medals issued
  over 200 plus years by 15 countries in six languages, his view
  tends to discourage all but the most dedicated numismatists.
  It is better, in my opinion, to divide the Betts universe into a
  dozen or so specialties which, because they are more finite,
  are also more user-friendly.

  Whether one looks at Betts medals in whole or in part,
  there are reams of errors and omissions. We owe C. Wyllys
  Betts (and his editors William R.T. Marvin and Lyman Low)
  a huge debt for pointing the way. Now modern scholars/
  collectors have the opportunity  to get things right and, in the
  process, develop the close linkage between history and
  numismatics that is inherent."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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