THE FRANK L. KOVACS NUMISMATIC LIBRARY

The Frank L. Kovacs Numismatic Library, undoubtedly one of the largest and most complete reference collections on ancient numismatics situated on the West coast of the U.S., is now housed at the Stanford Libraries and was immediately put to use by students and a visiting professor throughout spring-quarter seminars.

An important reference library and treasured Bay Area resource was at risk of being dismantled until six local numismatists offered to purchase the entire collection for Stanford in support of ongoing research on ancient economies and coinage.

Comprising more than 2,700 catalog records and occupying 325 linear feet of shelving in the Raubitschek Room in Cecil H. Green Library, the collection has been named the Frank L. Kovacs Numismatic Library.

This finally puts the Raubitschek Room in the position to provide coverage of all three major types of primary documentary evidence – coins, inscriptions, and papyri – for the ancient world,” said Walter Scheidel, the Dickason Professor in the Humanities.

According to Scheidel, who was Chair of Classics at the time of the acquisition, “Access to this collection is invaluable in establishing the study of ancient numismatics as a critical component of our Classics program.”

Right Place, Right Time
The benefactors who in March 2015 philanthropically preserved the integrity of the collection and made it available for scholarly use included Frank Kovacs, a leading Bay Area professional numismatist who assembled and consulted the library throughout his career; his wife Renee Kovacs, a scholar who advises the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative at UCLA and other institutions; John Jencek, professional numismatist whose office in San Mateo housed the library until his move to Prague, Czech Republic; Mary Lannin, president of the San Francisco Ancient Numismatic Society and chair of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee in Washington, D.C.; Richard Beleson, Stanford alumnus and member of the Board of Trustees of the American Numismatic Society; and Lawrence Schwimmer, likewise Stanford alumnus and American Numismatic Society board member.

“The Kovacs Library has dramatically broadened Stanford’s collections,” said University Librarian Michael Keller. “The overlap with the Libraries’ pre-existing holdings was less than 30 percent, making it a highly valued addition.”

In merely months after the collection’s arrival, Dr. Bernhard Woytek, head of the division Documenta Antiqua, a research center for numismatics, epigraphy and papyrology at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Culture at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, took up an appointment as visiting associate professor of Classics and offered two numismatic courses.

“In numismatics, as in all other disciplines dealing with documentary sources of the ancient world, like epigraphy and papyrology, it is essential to work hands-on with the primary material,” Dr. Woytek stated. Upon this premise were founded an undergraduate course, Describing and Identifying Ancient Coins, and a graduate proseminar, Ancient Numismatics. Students used volumes from the Kovacs Library alongside coins in Stanford’s collections.

In May, members of the numismatic community, students, faculty, and library donors attended the opening of the Kovacs Library. Dr. Woytek kindly delivered the keynote lecture titled “Numismatics and the Mind of Man: The Study of Ancient Coins from the Renaissance to the 21st Century.

Dr. Woytek examining a 1567 edition of works by Guillaume Du Choul

“Numismatics plays a vital role in broader studies of economics and many other interdisciplinary inquiries. We look forward to continuing to build the Kovacs Library for scholarly exploration,” said Keller, who before coming to Stanford in 1993 managed the numismatic collections at Yale Libraries as associate university librarian and director of collection development.

Any expressions of support and encouragement from the numismatic community would be greatly appreciated. To discuss opportunities, please call the Library Development Office at 650-723-3866.

To read the complete Stanford article, see:
A Transformative Numismatic Donation (http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/260487/bbdd2959cf/ARCHIVE)

To read the complete CoinsWeekly article, see:
A Transformative Numismatic Donation (www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/A-Transformative-Numismatic-Donation/4?&id=4226)

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