October 4, 2012 – Andrew Meadows, Deputy Director of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and Mel Wacks, Director of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame Division (JAHF) of the American Jewish Historical Society have signed an agreement to transfer the web site of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame to the auspices of the ANS “so that it will survive and remain relevant.”
The non-profit Jewish-American Hall of Fame was founded in 1969 by Mel Wacks, who has been a member of the ANS beginning in 1968 and a Fellow since 1994. The web site features numerous articles about medals, featuring the annual JAHF issues – currently the longest running series of nongovernmental art medals produced in America – along with Wacks’ Handbook of Biblical Numismatics, Harry Flower’s world-class collection of Albert Einstein medals, and more. The Jewish-American Hall of Fame’s web site received the Numismatic Literary Guild’s 2002 award for the Best Non-Commercial Web Site, and attracts over a million visitors a year.
Wacks indicates that “this agreement will assure that this educational historic and numismatic web site, that has been built up since 1996, will continue to be available to collectors, scholars, students and others for the foreseeable future.” Meadows observes that “this web site will expand the ANS brand, allowing us to reach many more collectors and prospective collectors.” According to the agreement, “Mel Wacks will continue to update and correct the web site content … and designated ANS staff or students can add content or make corrections.”
The Handbook of Biblical Numismatics is written in non-technical language, is fully illustrated (indicating Hendin numbers) and includes valuations for over 60 ancient Judaean and related Roman coins. The Harry Flower Collection of Albert Einstein Medals pictures over 100 pieces from more than two dozen countries. The web site is also a tribute to medalists, with several articles illustrating the creative process, featuring Victor Ries, creator of the unique shape of JAHF medals, Gerta Ries Wiener, designer of eleven JAHF medals, Saltus Award winner Alex Shagin, and others. History is also featured prominently at www.amuseum.org; with articles like “Important New Discoveries about the First American Jewish Medal,” a “Virtual Tour of 500 years of American history,” with brief sketches of people, places and events from the Jews Who Helped Columbus to Barbra Streisand; and entertaining Quizzes about each honoree.
To learn more about the ANS please visit its website.
Mel Wack’s Handbook of Biblical Numismatics is available here.
Recently we announced an updated version of the handbook. For the newest changes applied, read this article.