THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIST

I have often seen the statement: The Numismatist was originally published as a four page leaflet in 1888 by Dr. George F. Heath in Chicago. Since I didn't remember ever seeing that very first issue, I asked the great ANA staff in Colorado Springs to send me scans of that seminal issue.

On the ANA web site they give more information about the origin and history of The Numismatist.

From 1888 to 1908 Heath printed, published and distributed THE NUMISMATIST, in which he listed his coin needs, advertised duplicates for sale, and discussed numismatic topics. It evolved into much more than a dealer newsletter during this period.

On June 16, 1908, Dr. Heath suddenly died. Farran Zerbe, then [ANA] president, assumed the task of editing and publishing THE NUMISMATIST, and soon purchased the publication from Heath's heirs. In 1911, through the generosity of W.C.C. Wilson of Montreal, Canada, THE NUMISMATIST was purchased from Zerbe and presented to the ANA. The magazine has been owned and published monthly by the Association since that time.

As a trivia nut, what caught my attention was that the very first issue (VOL 1, No 1) was titled The American NUMISMATIST. Starting with the second issue for November-December 1888 it was titled THE NUMISMATIST (see scans). And except for the short time during the Capoletti era when the name was shortened to NUMISMATIST, the name persists to this day.

Wayne Homren, Editor

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