IN MEMORIAM: THEODORE V. BUTTREY, JR.

Renowned educator, numismatist and classicist, Theodore V. (“Ted”) Buttrey, Jr., died on January 9, 2018, eleven days after his 88th birthday. Born in Havre, Montana, as a child he attended the Peacock Military Academy in San Antonio, Texas, where he first encountered the coins of Mexico, a life-long interest. His secondary education was at the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, after which he entered Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude in 1950 in Classics.

Ted’s publications, both books and articles, totaled well over 100. Most were concerned with topics in numismatics, especially antiquity, where the broad span of his interests encompassed Athenian coins, Republican denarii, Flavian coins, the coinage of Pescennius Niger, and even calculating ancient coin production. The modern era of numismatics also consumed much of his time, and a challenge to the authenticity of a collector’s gold bars of the Spanish-American southwest even got his name in the newspapers. But he never forsook his devotion to Classics, as evidenced by his early article, “Accident and Design in Euripides’ Medea,” published in AJP in 1958, while he was at Yale, and to an even greater extent by the television programs he produced for Michigan Media on Homer, Greek drama and theatre, Herodotus, Suetonius, and other classical subjects. As recently as 2015, in conversations at the International Numismatic Congress in Taormina, he discussed plans for a book on the role of fate in Oedipus Rex, arguing against the idea of unshakeable destiny.

While never thought of as one who suffered fools gladly, he was a charismatic teacher and approachable mentor, encouraging of younger scholars, as well as a witty and engaging raconteur. He will be greatly missed, but he leaves an immense legacy for his students, colleagues, and family to cherish and spread.

To read the complete article, see:
In Memoriam: Theodore V. Buttrey, Jr. (https://classicalstudies.org/scs-news/memoriam-theodore-v-buttrey-jr)

David Fanning
David Fanning writes:

Buttrey Store Scrip

Dave Schenkman writes:

CoinsWeekly

On 9 January 2018, the numismatist Theodore (Ted) V. Buttrey died, only 11 days after his 88th birthday. We have thus lost a committed coin enthusiast, who never retreated to an ivory tower. He was most likely the only numismatist whose research made it to all major American newspapers and whose TV shows were broadcast at over 75 TV stations. And since he was also a kind person who dedicated a lot of time to young researchers, he had a lasting impact on many of today's numismatists.

To read the complete article, see:
Theodore V. Buttrey (1929-2018) (http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/Theodore-V-Buttrey-1929-2018/4?&id=5137)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
THEODORE V. BUTTREY (1929-2018) (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n02a05.html)
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 21, 2018 : More on Ted Buttrey (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n03a15.html)

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