J.N.T. LEVICK INDUCTED TO ANA HALL OF FAME

In an effort to enshrine the most important collectors, scholars and hobby professionals of all time, the ANA maintains the Numismatic Hall of Fame at its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Individuals are recognized annually, with “modern” numismatists named in odd years and “historic” personages in even years. In June 2018, the ANA welcomed to this elite group a notable hobbyist of days gone by—Joseph N.T. Levick (1828-1908).

Born in New Orleans, Levick began collecting coins after he moved to Philadelphia in 1855. In 1860 he relocated to New York City, where he established a numismatic store at the corner of Broadway and 20th Street. During the Civil War, Levick was a Union soldier in the 70th regiment of New York volunteers, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. He was a founding member of both the Philadelphia Numismatic Society (1858) and the New York Numismatic Society (1864).

Levick served the American Numismatic Society (ANS) as treasurer (1867-74), and in 1866 he launched its American Journal of Numismatics, the first numismatic periodical in the United States. The October 1868 issue carried Levick’s first article, “A Table, Showing the Prices Paid for the Five Types of the 1793 Cent, Selected from Twenty of the Principal Coin Sales in the Country, from 1855 to 1868.” He found it difficult to describe the pieces adequately, which led him to present in the April 1869 ­issue the first photographic plate of coins known in American numismatics. The image showed obverse and reverse die varieties, with lines connecting die pairs. Although just 100 original copies of the well-known “Levick Plate” were produced, it has been reprinted several times.

The American Journal of Numismatics was a costly endeavor, and in 1868 Levick convinced the ANS to explore other avenues of publication. Two years later, the Boston Numismatic Society agreed to oversee the journal’s production, taking it from monthly to quarterly, and reducing its annual subscription from $3 to $2.

Levick joined the ANA in July 1906. He died in September 1908, three weeks after his 80th birthday. Levick’s contributions to numismatics will be recognized at the ANA’s Annual Banquet during the Philadelphia World’s Fair of Money.

For more information, see:
PAST HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES BY YEAR (https://www.money.org/numismatic-hall-of-fame)

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