SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: DAVID SCHENKMAN

David E. Schenkman has been involved in numismatics since 1949, when he started collecting coins. By the mid-1950s, while still in high school, he was a serious collector of early U.S. coins. In 1960 he became interested in U.S. tokens and medals, and he is best known for that specialty. However, over the years his collecting interests have been very diverse, ranging from ancient coins to early European talers. His present interests include U.S. bust half dollars, British coronation medals, and several series of U.S. tokens, and he is an avid collector of obsolete paper money relating to mining (he is nearing completion of a catalog of these items). For many years Schenkman made a living as a professional numismatist, and also as the owner of a company that published and sold numismatic books.

Schenkman has been a member of the American Numismatic Association since 1962. He is a past president of the Token and Medal Society, and also the Civil War Token Society. His memberships in other numismatic associations include the Numismatic Literary Guild, American Vecturist Association, National Scrip Collectors Association, and various state and local numismatic associations. He is an honorary life member of the Maryland State Numismatic Association.

As an exhibitor Schenkman has been the recipient of numerous first place and best of show awards at state, regional, and national conventions, including 1977 and 1979 ANA Convention awards for best token display. He has given many talks to local, state, and regional numismatic organizations, and also ANA Numismatic Theater presentations. He has served as an instructor at the American Numismatic Association's Summer Seminar for eighteen years, teaching courses in U.S. Tokens and Civil War Era Numismatics.

Schenkman is the author of well over a hundred published articles on tokens and medals. He has written a column in The Numismatist for many years, and is presently serving as a contributing editor to The Numismatist. He has written columns for Coin World and Numismatic News. He served as editor of the Civil War Token Society's Copperhead Courier from 1975 to 1980, and from 1982 to 2010 he edited the Token and Medal Society's TAMS Journal, and all the books published by that organization during that time. He has written eight books, each of which is considered a standard reference in its specialty.

His literary efforts have earned Schenkman twenty-four literary and cataloging awards from the Token and Medal Society, including eight gold Franklin Mint/Segal awards (the only person to win this award more than twice). In 2003 the TAMS named its highest literary award, a 3” medal, the David Schenkman Literary Award, in his honor. He is the recipient of the ANA’s Heath Literary Award and the Wayte & Olga Raymond Memorial Literary Award, and has also received literary awards from the Numismatic Literary Guild, American Vecturist Association, and the National Scrip Collectors Association.

Schenkman is a two time recipient of the Token and Medal Society’s Medal of Merit. In 1980 he received the Civil War Token Society's Service Award, and in 2004 he was inducted into the CWTS Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of Krause Publication's Numismatic Ambassador award. In 2003 he received the ANA’s Glenn Smedley award, and in 2007 the ANA’s Medal of Merit. In 2012 he received the ANA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2013 was the recipient of the Farran Zerbe award.

For more information about the Civil War Token Society , see:
www.cwtsociety.com

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