The American Numismatic Society (ANS) announced that on Thursday, January 14, 2021, it will hold its annual Gala celebration, virtually, in memory of benefactors Mark and Lottie Salton. The Gala will be open, via Zoom, to members of the Society and their guests.
The event will feature keynote speaker Jacob Goldstein – NPR correspondent, co-host of the Planet Money podcast, and author of the new book MONEY: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing. The program will also feature a new video about the ANS and a presentation on the honorees by Dr. Ira Rezak and Dr. Alan Stahl. The event will close with a special raffle consisting of approximately 20 items, including Greco-Roman coins, medals from the Medallic Art Company (MACO) and other modern-period objects, cut sapphires, signed books and much more.
Presentation of the Honorees
Honorees Mark and Lottie Salton, both born in Germany, were forced by the Nazis to flee their homeland. Each managed to reach the United States in the 1940s, where they met and later married in 1948. They enjoyed an extraordinarily close partnership until Mark’s death 57 years later. Though he came from a family of bankers and numismatists, Mark had to start from scratch in America, eventually receiving a graduate degree in International Banking. Lottie, who had been only 14 years old when she escaped Germany, did not share his scholarly background. Once married, she not only enthusiastically adopted Mark’s numismatic fascination but also acquired extensive expertise of her own. Together, they pursued a wide range of interests including a special pleasure in medallic art of the Renaissance and early Baroque.
At the ANS, Mark Salton was a Life Fellow, Chairman of the Huntington Award Committee, and a member of the J. Sanford Saltus Medal Committee. Lottie and Mark were also magnanimous donors, giving to the ANS many gifts of coins and medals as well as contributions to its appeals. Very soon after Mark’s death in 2005, Lottie became an ANS Honorary Life Fellow and established the Mark M. Salton memorial lecture series at the ANS. Before she died at age 96 in the spring of 2020, in one final extraordinary gesture of largesse, Lottie Salton named the ANS in her will, leaving the Society a bequest of $500,000 to help sustain a chair for Medieval and Renaissance numismatics. Her bequest is a remarkable legacy from a remarkable couple, who will always be remembered very fondly by those who were privileged to know them.
Past recipients of the Trustees’ Award include such notable numismatists and donors as Ms. Shelby White and Mr. Leon Levy, Mr. Jamie Stewart, Mr. Kenneth L. Edlow, Mr. George Kolbe, Mr. Q. David Bowers, Mr. Chester L. Krause, Mr. Donald G. Partrick, Mr. Harvey Stack, Mr. Victor England, Jr., Mr. Ira Goldberg, Mr. Larry Goldberg, Mr. Harlan J. Berk, Mr. Roger S. Siboni, Mrs. Marian Scheuer Sofaer and the Honorable Abraham D. Sofaer, Mrs. Elizabeth Forbes Hazard Scott and Mr. Stanley DeForest Scott, and Mr. and Mrs. John W. Adams, Anthony J. Terranova, the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society and the Newman Numismatic Portal, the Rosen Family, Mike Gasvoda, and Richard M. Beleson.
Every year the American Numismatic Society raises critical revenue through the Gala. These funds are used to further the Society’s mission of supporting research and education in numismatics.
The American Numismatic Society is deeply grateful to all its Gala sponsors for their generosity and participation.
Here you can find a list of benefactors, patrons and raffle doctors.
For more information visit the website of the American Numismatic Society.
Here you can read a report of the 2020 Annual Gala Dinner.
