Rosen wins top NLG award

Last night Maurice Rosen was given the Clemy Award at the Numismatic Literary Guild Bash held at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Los Angeles during the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money.

I would like to congratulate him.

The award is one of those delightful anachronisms in numismatics. Even though it is an NLG-sponsored award, it is also very personal. It is personal because the prior year’s recipient makes the decision who the next winner is from a list of nominees given to him by the NLG board.

Some years the award is kind of an “atta boy” given to someone who is prominent in numismatics. Other years it goes to someone who has truly worked hard on behalf of NLG. Rosen falls in the latter category. He has worked hard to make the annual literary awards process function. Those of us who participate in the competition year in and year out have every reason to be grateful for his efforts to assure a fair evaluation of our body work.

Rosen was selected by last year’s winner, Anthony Swiatek. Swiatek could not be present this year because he is recovering from surgery. David T. Alexander stood up in his place to extend the recognition. Alexander is a stalwart in the organization of the bash itself.

Rosen further made the award presentation unusual because he offered an extensive list of persons to whom he was grateful. It is not unusual to offer thanks, but the sheer number of individuals recognized was extensive. Those who were present in the room, he asked to stand up. By the time he was finished, I counted 15 people who were standing. Most of the people he mentioned were not present. He also cited individuals who have helped him over the years but who are now deceased.

It was a pleasant event with good food and good company. NLG was founded in the late 1960s by individuals who believed you could have some fun and comradeship while at the same time being serious professionals and competitors. In citing his list of thank-yous, Rosen reminded us all of the many talented people who have been active in numismatics over the years.