Yesterday I came across a used book listing for A Treatise on the Coinage of the United States Branch Mints, the groundbreaking 1893 monograph by Augustus Goodyear Heaton. For the listed price I assumed it was a reprint, but miracles do happen sometimes so I took a closer look to confirm. I expected to see the 1987 Bowers and Merena Galleries reprint, but this was listed as a 1984 reprint published by the "Foundation for Numismatic Education." I was unaware of that reprint or organization.

So I checked the Newman Numismatic Portal expecting to as least find a Coin World article on the group. I wasn't disappointed. A 1977 article noted the group's founding by "24 hobby leaders present for the first informal session." A 1980 article listed Abe Kosoff as President and Don Kagin as Executive Vice President. There are multiple mentions of the group through the mid-1980s.

NNP also houses a small archive of correspondence between the group and Eric P. Newman, mostly announcements and minutes of their annual meetings. The group was begun before my time as an active numismatist and before I regularly attended ANA conventions. Below is a meeting announcement on the group's letterhead from the NNP archive, and notes from two surviving members. -Editor

"As I recall this was a very serious effort initiated by Arthur Kagin with the objective of expanding interest in numismatics through educational programs. The members wrote articles, gave talks, and participated in various ways to encourage participation in the hobby and to extol its rewards as a valued pursuit. I found it interesting to note that the few remaining members are still actively involved in the same pursuit."

"My father was quite passionate about numismatic education. In the mid-1960s he created the first accredited course in Numismatics at Roosevelt University and many of the members of the Foundation were lecturers during the two years those courses were offered.

"In 1981 Dad perceived the need to provide funding for scholarships and the dissemination of educational manuscripts, particularly pamphlets and books whose authors could not find funding elsewhere. As you know many good works don’t lend themselves to breaking even, let alone making a profit. They are labors of love but none-the-less provide excellent information. As you can see he was able to assemble a number of numismatic luminaries to participate.

"The Foundation has since funded several publications and scholarships. Most recently we contributed to a Hobo Nickel Society publication.

"As you pointed out, only a few of the original members—Ken Bressett, Q. David Bowers, Maurice Rosen, David Ganz and I think Yasha-- are still with us. We don’t regularly meet these days but we would welcome you letting your readers know about our existence and anyone is free to contact me if they have a project for which they may need funding. Perhaps we can reconstitute the Foundation and add some new blood and contributors."

Thanks! That's great news. -Editor