(505c) Mexican Numismatic Profiles: Volume 1 Issue 5: Last Revision: 10/31/05
Mexican Numismatic Writers:
Howland Wood and the American Numismatic Society
It is a dogfight for who published the first really good (non-auction catalog) reference work, in the English language about Mexican Numismatics? Most authors are famous, or at least recognizable, to the participants in their specialized fields of Mexican Numismatics. I suppose these are the main and most notable contenders:
1845: J.L. Riddell, M.D. A Monograph of the Silver Dollar, Good and Bad. New Orleans, Louisiana
1860: James Ross Snowden: A Description of Ancient and Modern Coins, in the Cabinet Collection at the Mint of the United States. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, J.B. Lippincott & Co.
1928: Howland Wood: The Coinage of Mexican Revolutionists: 1913-1917. New York, New York, The American Numismatic Society #38
1934: Dr. A.F. Pradeau: The Mexican Mints of Alamos and Hermosillo. New York, New York, The American Numismatic Society #63
1938: Dr. A.F. Pradeau: Numismatic History of Mexico from the Pre-Columbian epoch to 1823. Los Angeles, California
Howland Wood is the only name on this list that stands out as generally unknown to modern Mexican coin collectors. Over the years I have often wondered who Howland Wood was and why he wrote about the coinage of the Mexican Revolutionary?
Here is what I have been able to find out about Howland Wood so far…
Howland Wood (1877-1938) was born in New Bedford; Massachusetts near Boston and he became a coin collector early in life, which is unusual for those times because there weren’t any penny boards for beginners. Wood graduated from Brown University in 1900 and was active in the Boston Numismatic Society and was highly respected by its members who would later help him in many ways. He collected many items and corresponded with many advanced collectors for many years. In 1909 he joined the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and in 1913 was appointed Cabinet Curator. During this time the ANS had only a single curator and two assistants and on his watch the ANS collection grew from 50,000 items to almost 200,000 specimens. Thus providing some insight into his influence with the great collectors of his time.
During his tenure at ANS Howland took on many different tasks; besides Curator he became the editor of the American Journal of Numismatics from 1910 to 1920, and a prolific writer and researcher in diverse areas of numismatics including US commemorative, Islamic and Mexican Revolutionary coins.
Howland Wood was not only active in the ANS, but also gave of his talents to the American Numismatic Association (ANA) where he served as secretary from 1905 to 1909 when he became Chairman of the Board from 1909 to 1912.
Wood wrote his first monograph about the Mexican Revolutionary coins in 1921 and updated in 1928 when he added 105 new coins along with photographs. At the time of his death he was completing a manuscript for Wayte Raymond for Coins of the World: The 20th Century that when published became the standard for many years.
Wood’s work on the Mexican Revolutionary coins stood the test of time until 1976 when Hugh S. Guthrie, Merrill Bothamley and Superior Coin & Stamp published Mexican Revolutionary Coinage: 1913 – 1917 based on the Bothamley collection of these coins.
Today, one can only wonder what affect Howland Wood’s pioneering earlier works had in popularizing the collecting of this series of coins?
Sources:
The Coinage of Mexican Revolutionists: 1913-1917 (1928) Howland Wood. New York, New York, The American Numismatic Society #38
American Numismatic Society
The Numismatist; Volume 110 Number 11, page 1223, Letters, A Post Card Recalls Howland Wood’s Hobby Involvement by Arlie Slabaugh