Higgins Museum hires George Cuhaj for 2023 Summer Season

The Higgins Museum of National Bank Notes has hired George Cuhaj as curator for the 2023 summer season.

Located in Okoboji, Iowa since 1978, the museum has the largest collection of National Bank Notes on permanent exhibition in the nation. The exhibition includes examples of large and small size bank notes of all series and denominations with primary emphasis on Iowa and surrounding states. Additional items include bank postcards, a bank teller’s cage, intaglio “spider” press, a four note sheet signature imprint machine and cutter in addition to an extensive research library with a banking emphasis.

Cuhaj returns to numismatic employment after a stint as the palliative caregiver for his aging parent. Previously he was with Krause Publications and served as editor of annual editions of the Standard Catalog of U.S. Paper Money, in addition to the multi-volume series of the Standard Catalog of World Coins and Standard Catalog of World Paper Money.

The Museum is open Memorial Day thru Labor Day, Tuesdays thru Sundays, 11AM to 5 PM. Admission is free, tour groups are welcome by appointment. Located at 1507 Sanborn Ave., Okoboji, IA 51355.

For additional information visit the website at thehigginsmuseum.org.

George Cuhaj has been involved in all facets of numismatics for his profession career.

While a resident of New York City he was employed as computer systems operator at the American Numismatic Society, a public museum and research institution, followed by a stint as cataloger with Stack’s Rare Coins a premier auction house.

Relocating to the mid-west in 1994 he joined the editorial staff at Krause Publications with responsibility for the Standard Catalog of World Coins and Standard Catalog of World Paper Money and their transition to the on-line NumisMaster data base.

Cuhaj also was editor of the Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money transitioning that product from a black & white publication to one fully illustrated in color.

He has served the hobby as a past board member of the International Bank Note Society and the Central States Numismatic Society in addition to serving as president (twice) of the American Medallic Sculpture Association. In civic life he has been the archivist for the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation and most recently as treasurer of the Iola Historical Society.

He has written numerous articles for national, regional and local publications and during the COVID era embraced hosting informative zoom meetings with collectors featuring power point presentations. For the 2022-23 year he was awarded a research grant by the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society for a project he developed cataloging the medals of the Catholic Hierarchy and Cathedrals in the United States and the results will be available as an e-book in the fall of this year.

Learning from numismatic artists he has participated in the bi-annual international FIDEM art medal congresses since 1987 and will have two art medals included in the 2023 congress exhibition in Florence Italy.

He has been a life-long scouter earning the Eagle Scout award as a youth and as an adult has been recognized with the Silver Beaver Award and the Vigil Honor in the Order of the Arrow. Since 2002 he has worked with the editorial division of the BSA with updates to scouting’s Coin Collecting merit badge pamphlet. He currently serves as a board member on the Bay Lakes Council Scout Museum.