ANS Dilemma (and Drama) Intensifies

Being stuck between a rock and a hard place may be the best way to describe the American Numismatic Society in New York, one of the premier organizations for coin collectors in the United States.

In recent years, the Society has been operating at a deficit while residing at a location in a less-than-desirable location at Broadway between 155th and 156th streets in New York. ANS statistics indicate the number of visitors to this location is not significant and is on the decline.

When the organization recently got the opportunity to purchase a building more suitable to its current needs on the edge of the financial district in downtown Manhattan, they bought it. Events have happened quickly and not smoothly since that time. The ANS has a new president (Donald G. Partrick) and a new executive director (Dr. Ute Wartenberg). Although both would like to quickly move the organization into its new building, the financial realities of even keeping the organization going have to be addressed first.

The organization has borrowed so much from some of its endowments throughout the past 10 years that it is now projected the Society can only survive perhaps another five years without taking drastic steps. The ANS Council has cut hours the organization is open, is changing policies and the fees charged for its publications and is cutting back on paid staff.

Society Fellows, a class of members within the ANS, were not aware of the financial situation until recently. Although some are sympathetic to the situation and agree the cut in curatorial staff is an undesirable necessity, others choose to take a hard stand and are demanding the Society not cut curatorial staff for at least another year. The clear cut lines between the two groups could be graphically seen at the specially-called Jan. 15 meeting to hear the views of those who oppose cutting staff as a necessity.

Fellows of the Society cannot vote regarding anything dealing with staffing matters or financial decisions. Regardless, Dr. James H. Schwartz of Columbia University arrived with 86 proxies in hand out of a possible 196 Fellows to try and avoid “retiring” any staff members for “at least a year.” Schwartz and several others attending the meeting made their points, but failed to move the Council from its previously announced decision to cut the curatorial staff from five to 2.5 persons as a cost-saving measure.

While Schwartz and those agreeing with him argued for the Council to reconsider the decision, others called for members to become more supportive, more active or to make financial contributions to help the organization. Even the American Numismatic Association based in Colorado Springs, Colo., volunteered to assist by offering Society members services that would otherwise cost the ANS money to provide at this time.

So, what has been the aftermath from the Jan. 15 meeting? Three days later, ANS member Fred S. Kleiner of the Art History Department at Boston University posted an e-mail message on the Internet in which he said, “Already several members of the Council have resigned in protest and scores of distinguished Summer Seminar alumni have indicated that they plan to resign their Society membership if the ANS curators are fired--and forced resignation with a severance package is hardly different than firing.”

Kleiner then declared, “As word spreads, they will be joined by many more alumni and, no doubt, in time, by hundreds of other scholars and collectors. Once the resignations begin to mount, it will become a badge of honor in some circles to resign.”

The ANS was founded in 1858 and is considered by many to be the leading scholarly organization for numismatics in the United States. It has the largest numismatic research library in the Western Hemisphere and a museum open to the public. The executive director, Dr. Ute Wartenberg, has agreed it is not in the best short-run interest of numismatic study to cut the curatorial staff. On the other hand, if Society financial projections are correct, a failure to make major cost cuts now will force the organization to close its doors completely within five years. Fund-raising is an option, but this takes time and has no guarantee of success.

The Society is not permitted to sell off parts of its collection other than duplicates. Employees represent, as they do in most businesses and other organizations, the greatest amount of overhead. What to do?

Can the organization have its cake and eat it too? Everyone involved is waiting to see if those Fellows opposing cuts in staff can come up with a viable alternative. Since the Jan. 15 meeting, the only alternative suggested by these people appears to be membership resignations.

It’s terrible to see politics in a hobby environment. Unfortunately, the real world still prevails.

Reverse of ANS medal