Eric Newman, American Numismatic Society trustee emeritus and benefactor, was honored with a portrait plaque in celebration of his 100th birthday at a May 29 ceremony in New York City. Kenneth Edlow, ANS chairman, made the presentation.
Newman joined the ANS in 1944, was nominated as a fellow of the society in 1950, became a life associate member in 1964 and was named an honorary life fellow in 1994. He served on the ANS council from 1962 to 2003, when he was named honorary trustee.
The society bestowed its highest honor on Newman in 1978 with the Archer M. Huntington Medal in recognition of outstanding career contributions to numismatic scholarship.
In the early 1990s he was instrumental in the return of dozens of rare U.S. large cents stolen from the ANS collection by Dr. William Sheldon circa 1949.
As a leading proponent of education, for nearly every year between 1969 and 1999, Newman participated as a lecturer in the ANS Summer Seminar. In 1981 he took responsibility for supporting the program financially, providing a yearly grant of $10,000. From 1996 to 1999, he fully endowed it.
A feature article by Robert Hoge in ANS Magazine’s 2011 Issue No. 2 will further discuss his accomplishments.
The ANS commissioned award-winning sculptor Amy Kann of Philadelphia to create a medal as part of its celebration of Newman’s contributions to numismatics and the society. His portrait is surrounded by images of books and numismatic objects related to his research. The map of the world behind him represents his love of travel. The plaque was framed in red oak by sculptor Stephen Layne of Philadelphia.
A limited edition bronze medal will feature the bas-relief image on the front and a depiction of Newman in his library on the reverse. Information on the medal will be released later this summer, according to the ANS.
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