The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 6, February 5, 2006, Article 14

NUMISMATIC ORAL HISTORIES

Last week, inspired Dick Johnson's numismatic oral history
project, I wrote: "Who out there might be a little less known
to the general collecting public, yet has a wealth of numismatic
history to relate?"

Dave Lange writes: "I would nominate Michael Lantz. He is a
retired Denver Mint employee who has written a number of articles
for Coin World. In private correspondence, however, he has told
me many more interesting anecdotes and unpublished facts about
the day-to-day workings of that facility during the 1960s, 70s
and 80s, as well as relating the stories told to him by oldtimers
who worked there as far back as the 1930s.

He is giving a program at the upcoming CSNS convention in
Columbus, and I strongly encourage anyone who will be there to
attend it. If Dick Johnson will be in Columbus, he should
certainly make Michael's acquaintance."

Pete Smith writes: "I am interested in Dick Johnson's oral
history project. This reminds me of my drive with Dick from
Minneapolis to Green Bay. I recorded our conversation and
wrote up about half of it for an article in The Asylum.

The other half of the conversation was more about medals.
That half has never been transcribed and published. Transcribing
the first half was much more work than recording it. Just as
history can be lost, the value of this tape could be lost.

As members of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society, we like
to see ink on paper. Audio tapes, video tapes, and digital
recordings are wonderful. However, a single copy of a tape
in someone's cabinet is of no use to another researcher who
doesn't know it exists.

I hope Dick will get his recordings transcribed and published.
I encourage anyone else who has similar valuable tapes to
label them, transcribe them and make at least a few copies.
I suspect the ANA library would be happy to receive a copy
for their files."

Roger Siboni adds: "The ANS Archivist has begun an Oral
History of the ANS with some fairly good success."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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