Peter Huntoon Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Numismatics
Peter Huntoon, a noted author and expert in the field of
National Bank notes, was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of
Numismatics from the American Numismatic Association's Florence
Schook School of Numismatics during the ANA Summer Seminar
graduation ceremony on Thursday night in Colorado Springs. He
becomes the ninth person to earn the honor.
"Through his relentless research at the National Archives and the
Smithsonian Institution, Peter revolutionized how National Bank
notes were understood," said ANA Executive Director Jeff Shevlin.
"His enthusiasm for the notes and the banks made Nationals come
alive."
Huntoon has been an instructor for Summer Seminar for the past 12
years, where he has shared some 50-plus years of research on
National Bank notes and U.S. small-size type notes. He has authored
hundreds of articles on the subject as well as written three
books.
"It's a very nice gesture on the part of the ANA to recognize
paper money and National Bank notes specifically, from an
organization noted for coins most of the time," Huntoon said.
The holder of a Ph.D. in hyrdrology, Huntoon applied that same
academic rigor to the field of National Bank notes. He is often
credited with helping to stymie the cleaning-and-doctoring trend in
paper money and carrying the message that a specimen's history and
rarity can make a well-worn note much more valuable than a restored
note.
"There were a lot of very worthy people here," Huntoon said. "I
didn't expect this."
The American Numismatic Association is a congressionally chartered
nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging people
to study and collect money and related items. The ANA helps its
28,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of
money through its vast array of education and outreach programs, as
well as its museum, library, publications, conventions and
seminars. For more information, call 719-632-2646 or go to
www.money.org.