ALFRED EDWARDS EMERSON (1859-1943)

I've gotten a little behind with my reading. This week I was reading The Chicago Tribune from March 13, 1913. An article mentioned an old coin found in an Indian mound in Hancock County, Illinois. It had been taken to the Chicago Art Institute for examination by Alfred Emerson.

Dr. Emerson, who is considered one of the nation's greatest numismatists, said he had never seen a coin like it and could only estimate that it had been made in Rome or Greece during the period between 250 B.C. and 250 A.D.

Well, if he was one of the nation's greatest numismatists, I thought I should learn more about him.

Alfred Emerson was born in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, on February 25, 1859, into a family of much accomplishment. He was the son of the Reverend Edwin M. Emerson (1823-1908) and Mary Louisa Ingham Emerson (1829-1883). His father was a lawyer in New Haven, Connecticut. His mother was the daughter of Secretary of the Treasury Samuel Ingham.

The family moved to Europe and settled in Paris in 1863. They travelled extensively and relocated to Germany. Alfred spent a year doing fieldwork in Greece. Alfred received a Ph.D. from the University of Munich in 1880 at age 21. He had fellowships at Princeton University during 1881-1882 and at Johns Hopkins University during 1882-1887.

He was married on July 28, 1887, to Alice Louisa Edwards (1862-1933), a concert pianist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They had four accomplished children. Edith Emerson (1888-1981) was an artist and curator at the Woodmere Art Gallery. Gertrude Emerson, (1890-1982) was one of the founding members of the Society of Women Geographers. Willard Ingham Emerson (1894-1966) was a decorated veteran of WWI, vice president at Cornell and investment banker. Alfred Edwards Emerson, Jr, (1896-1976) was a professor of Zoology at the University of Chicago and an authority on termites.

Alfred was a professor of Greek at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, during 1887-1889. Then he was Professor of Latin at Lake Forrest University during 1889-1891.

Emerson was an Associate Professor of Classical Archaeology at Cornell University from 1891 to 1898. He went on archaeological expeditions to Greece and North Africa. While at Cornell, Emerson began formation of the universities' coin collection with some help from his students. As they claim, Cornell's coin collection is listed among the most important numismatic collections in the United States. Digital images are now available through the Cornell University Library.

In 1892, Cornell's Museum of Classical Archaeology opened with about 800 plaster casts of classical sculptures, a gift from Henry W. Sage. At the time. Professor Emerson could claim this as the largest collection of its kind. Gradually such exhibits grew out of favor at museums and the Cornell collection has been scattered across campus. Emerson also produced electrotype copies of ancient Greek and Roman coins.

As great a numismatist as he was, his opinion on coins could be controversial. The Washington Herald of March 15, 1913, reported on Emerson's comments.

He declared that it was so old that no coin like it had ever been seen before, and estimated the date of its mintage to be about 250 B.C. This, he declared, brought out the fact that white men, probably of the Roman Empire, had been in America before the Indians.

Other experts politely disagreed with the conclusion of Emerson, They included secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Charles D. Walcutt and Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology F. W. Hodge.

During World War I and later, he worked as a translator for the Army. He and his wife were with the American Military Mission in Berlin during the early 1920's. They witnessed the hyperinflation in Germany at the time. The Emersons returned to Ithaca, far above Cayuga's Waters.

He suffered a heart attack and died in Chicago on October 19, 1943. He is buried with his father, wife and two children at Thomson Memorial Cemetery in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

It may be fair to call Emerson a numismatist, but he also studied languages, art, music, sculpture, history, literature, poetry and theater of the ancient cultures. He was a legitimate archaeologist and professor.

After reading everything I could about him. I am convinced he was not one of the nation's greatest numismatists. One should not believe everything you read in the papers.

When Emerson stated that he had never seen a coin like it, it is possible that it was a scarce coin. It is also possible that Emerson's experiences were limited. Finally, it is possible that burial damaged the coin beyond recognition.

I have not learned if the original mound find coin was ever identified. I checked Numismatic Notes and Monographs for 2009 and the issue Numismatic finds of the Americas: an inventory of American Coin Hoards. Shipwrecks, single finds, and finds in excavations. The issue lists nine finds for Illinois but not the coin from Hancock County. This indicates the coin was never attributed and published.

The coin was found by S(anford) W(ebber) LeNeve (1870-1943). After finding the coin, he was one of a dozen founding members of the Kickpoo Club. Their mission was to encourage the protection of the Indian mounds and Indian trails throughout the county, and to spread the interest of such relics of the early history of this part of the state.

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web