GUIDO CRAPANZANO (1938-2023)

 

Another historical figure of Italian numismatics has left us: Guido Crapanzano passed away in Milan on December 10, 2023; for paper money enthusiasts, not only Italians, he has always been "the professor".

Guido Crapanzano – born in 1938, originally from Brescia and Milanese by adoption – was a point of reference for those, collectors or scholars, who have the banknotes of yesterday and today as the object of their interest.

Guido Crapanzano began collecting and studying banknotes during high school. However, one should not think that he was a "model student", at least not in the classic sense: in fact, he cultivated, in parallel, a passion for music and cinema, so much so that he soon became "Guidone" of Adriano Celentano's Clan, and tried his hand at acting in some successful "musicarelli". Not to mention, together with his group, his role as a supporter of the Beatles during their concerts in Italy and of the Rolling Stones in Greece.

In the following years – in the name of an ever multifaceted activity – he opened a music club and an advertising agency, also dedicating himself to editorial and cinematographic productions, not to mention his activity as an antiques dealer and art gallery owner. His passion for neurological research and the achievement of the title of Ingenieur Cybernetique also date back to the 1970s. Following his vocation for neuroscience, he went to the USA – between 1973 and 1978 – attending courses at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto where, in 1978, he became a researcher. In 1982 he also obtained a doctorate in Communication Sciences.

Between 1974 and 2001, "the professor" spent several months a year in the USA where, in addition to neuroscience, he devoted himself to numismatics, collaborating with the American Numismatic Association (Crapanzano was the only Italian to receive the Presidential Award) and the Smithsonian Institution.

Between 1975 and 1980 he also carried out intense numismatic activity in Italy, Europe and South America as a partner of the company Kunst Münzen AG of Lugano. As an expert on paper money, he was also president of the International Bank Note Society and was named honorary member of the Italian Academy of Numismatic Studies.

Hundreds of articles for magazines such as "Cronaca Numismatica" and "Il Giornale della Numismatica" bear his name, as well as fundamental volumes such as "Soldi d'Italia" (catalogue of the 1996 Parma exhibition, more than 4,000 copies sold), the two volumes of catalogue "La cartamoneta Italiana", "Corpus Notarum Pecuniariarum Italiae", the monograph "Trento Cionini, il maestro della banconota" (published in 2007) and "Amadeo Pietro Giannini. The banker who invested in the future", a biography of the great Italian-American banker published in 2017.

A consultant to the Bank of Italy since 1996, he has studied and enriched the numismatic heritage of the institute in Via Nazionale and has held conferences in Italy and abroad, collaborating with museums such as the British Museum in London, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Vatican Medagliere.

In 1996 he was appointed to collaborate with the ECB in the creation of the euro, representing Italy in the jury for the selection of the banknote designs. Since 1993, and until 2012, as a consultant to the institute, Guido Crapanzano has organized successful exhibitions in Vicenza numismatics, exhibiting series and rarities from both public and private collections.

Between 2002 and 2014 he was also the television face of numismatics, participating as a guest in more than 150 broadcasts on public and private channels. In 2002, the President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, awarded him motu proprio the insignia of Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. And in 2005, the Italian Foundation in the Americas, for his "rediscovery" of the figure of the founder of the Bank of America, Amadeo Peter Giannini, awarded him the Miami Award.

Thanks to him, a generation of passionate collectors, scholars and professional traders in the sector of paper money and numismatics in general has grown up in Italy. A person of vast culture, always open to dialogue – even and above all with neophytes – "the professor" was able to create ways and forms – original and unprecedented, sometimes even pop – to communicate the beauty, the historical and symbolic value of paper money, highlighting the many aspects of correlation between banknotes and human events, and valorizing heritages of knowledge otherwise destined to the oblivion of archives.

 

In Vicenza Numismatica, in 2007, Guido Crapanzano donated to the collections of the Bank of Italy a very rare 1000 lire from the Piedmontese Royal Finances, the first Italian banknote

We could also define Guido Crapanzano as a "banknote archaeologist", because, thanks to a lifetime of research, he has revealed many unpublished notes and rediscovered "lost" banknotes and projects, press essays, but above all placing each of these fragile, precious and beautiful finds of economic modernity in the evocative framework of History.

Finally, we would like to underline that, although Guido Crapanzano has always appeared, especially in the numismatic field, as an authentic "authority", those who knew him remember him more willingly for his authoritativeness. For the writers of this tribute, "the professor" has played the role of the friend Guido, of the mentor, and his teachings are jealously and gratefully preserved within us. Just as the time spent together will always remain in the memory, always welcomed with affection and a smile, in the house in Milan that he shared for many years with his beloved wife Sandra. To her we express our sympathy, which we know is shared by all those who have had the fortune and privilege of truly knowing Guido Crapanzano.

The text was previously published in Italian language in "Cronaca Numismatica".

For more on the International Bank Note Society, see:
https://www.theibns.org/

Guido Crapanzano passed away last December at the age of 85. This was reported to the numismatic community by Pam West in her president's report in the I.B.N.S. Journal. Guido was larger than life, indeed he was a force of nature; his accomplishments are legion.

He was THE Italian bank note collector. He was president of the I.B.N.S. He wrote the standard book on Italian paper money and was a major contributor to World War II Remembered.

He was a literal rock star musician and went by the name Guidone. He performed with many world-famous groups including the Beatles.

He was flamboyant, generous, spirited, and genuinely nice. In numismatics he was well-known for leading the celebration of the I.B.N.S.'s 40th anniversary in 2004. Celebrations were held around the numismatic world. In The U.S. it was at Memphis in June. What a party it was. Food, stories, a free reverse raffle—wouldn't you know it as the last number drawn for a 1000 federal reserve note a silence fell over the crowd. MC Joe Boling tried the number a second time. Only then did he check his pocket and his ticket and, lo and behold, he was the winner!

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web