Cha-ching: Ohio lands America's most prestigious coin collection

This story was originally published in Midstory, a regional news nonprofit based in Toledo.

In 1858, the American Numismatic Society was founded by a 16-year-old coin enthusiast in his family apartment in Manhattan. It has since transformed from one hobbyist's passion project into an extensive collection of coins and medals, and now attracts scholars from all over the world.

But the rising cost of living and real estate in New York eventually became an unsustainable burden for the group.

Seeking a new home that better suited their financial and spatial needs, the ANS executive director, Ute Wartenberg Kagan, began looking beyond the island of Manhattan. Ultimately, the solution didn't come from a boardroom or a broker — it came from a fifteen-minute phone call with an old friend.

Now, after 168 years in New York, the ANS and its historic collection are moving their headquarters to Toledo.

An Ohio idea

In 2009, Adam Levine — a graduate student in art history — completed a summer seminar at the ANS. While there, he forged a lasting friendship with Ute Wartenberg Kagan, the society's president.

Years later, Levine heard about the ANS's struggle to find a suitable new home.

The society had been in various New York locations since its founding. But the city's rent prices continue to rise, and with low attendance and a $1.8 million annual lease set to expire in 2028, the society knew they needed a change. They considered partnerships with UPenn and UChicago, as well as a potential move to the Armory in Fall River, Massachusetts.

As a native New Yorker, Levine intimately understood the real estate difficulties the ANS faced. As the director and CEO of the Toledo Museum of Art, he knew of a recently vacant space on the TMA campus.

It only took Levine 15 minutes on the phone to convince Wartenberg Kagan that she should fly out and give Toledo a look. After touring the campus and meeting with the TMA staff, as well as Toledo mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, she was sold.

"I fell in love with Toledo," she said. "I thought, 'Wow, that's a great place.'"

The new headquarters will be located in the Professional Arts Building, a four-story Art Deco building on the TMA campus. Toledoans might recognize it as the former home of the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts and the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo.

The building was purchased as part of a $20 million plan to expand the society's educational and research capabilities and to display coins that would otherwise remain in storage. At the new headquarters, Wartenberg Kagan envisions a small, dedicated gallery that would see their coin collection interspersed with other works of art on loan from TMA and other museums nearby.

Compared to significant European numismatic collections, which often grew out of royal collections over centuries, the ANS's collection is young, with the majority of its current holdings accumulated in the 20th century. Many of these coins have yet to be studied and catalogued.

"We still find coins [that] were put in a little box and nobody has looked at," Wartenberg Kagan said.

In support of this goal, the society plans to leverage its proximity to local institutions like the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, as well as the University of Michigan, 45 minutes away. The new headquarters will also feature an auditorium and educational center designed to host academic conferences.

The value of coins

For coin enthusiasts,coins are more than just currency. They are an incredible source of information about history, art and economics, telling stories about those who once held them.

For Wartenberg Kagan, it's about the "immediacy" of the objects.

"You can actually hold a coin in your hand, which is, for most museum objects, almost impossible," she said.

Some coins are too precious to be held, such as "proof" coins that were created for record-keeping AND never intended for public circulation. These have a mirror-like finish and are only handled by expert, gloved hands. But Wartenberg Kagan says the majority of the collection can be safely handled under supervision.

This is great news for local students, especially as the ANS expands its educational programming for the new space. Even two years out from the official move-in in 2028, Wartenberg Kagan personally has already fielded numerous emails from teachers who plan to use the collection as part of their curriculum.

Coming to the Midwest will also make the society more central for its members.

"It's not the New York Numismatic Society, it's the American Numismatic Society," Levine said.

While the founding members were based in New York, current trustees and members are located all over the country, making Toledo an easier and more affordable destination for scholars and coin enthusiasts to visit.

Plus, New York is densely populated with museums, with over 170 across the entire city. Manhattan alone contains 100. Wartenberg Kagan said the competition can be stifling.

"You can barely get enough visitors."

With only 10 museums in Lucas County, the ANS will have breathing room.

"It is really important that America looks at culture as something that isn't just concentrated," Wartenberg Kagan said.

In leaving New York for Toledo, the American Numismatic Society is betting that the Midwest is exactly the right place to make these pockets of history accessible.

The ANS motto, parva ne pereant, translates to "let not the little things perish." As the society prepares to trade the congestion of Manhattan for a new start in the Glass City, the phrase serves as a reminder of the value often found in the objects – and places – the rest of the world has overlooked.