Preface

Just as medals are closely connected to their historical context, this volume and the conference which it records can best be situated in terms of related events and activities. For the American Numismatic Society, this is the fourth of its annual conferences devoted to an exploration of a specific aspect of American numismatics; the literal interpretation of Coinage of the Americas Conference was breached by the 1985 symposium on paper money. From a broader perspective this marks another step in the Society's long-term involvement with the medal, an involvement which can be noted in the many references in the papers which follow to the 1910 International Exhibition of Contemporary Medals, the series of medals commissioned by the Society, its prestigious J. Sanford Saltus Award, and its unrivaled collection of American medals.

In a national context, the Conference reflects a growing interest in the American medal by art historians, artists, and numismatists. The culmination of this has been the Twenty-First Congress and Exposition of the Fédération Internationale de la Médaille, held in Colorado Springs, September 11-15, 1987. This is the first time that this international event, comprising lectures, workshops, and an exhibition of contemporary medals, has been held outside of Europe. Our conference was timed to offer visiting scholars and artists an historical complement to the mainly contemporary focus of the FIDEM Congress. We are pleased and honored that many of the Congress participants were able to join us on this occasion.

We are most grateful to Eric P. Newman (St. Louis), Lewis I. Sharp (The Metropolitan Musuem of Art), and Cory Gillilland (National Numismatic Collection, SI) for chairing the three sessions of the symposium.

For the first time, this Coinage of the Americas Conference is accompanied by a documented, scholarly exhibition, "The Beaux-Arts Medal in America." Barbara A. Baxter, a doctoral candidate at Harvard University and alumna of the ANS Summer Seminar, is guest curator for the exhibition, on display in the Society's East Exhibit Hall from September 26, 1987 through April 16, 1988. Her well illustrated interpretive catalogue is a valuable complement to many of the papers published here, as the beautifully mounted exhibition was an inspirational context for the conference itself.