Dwight Manley

Dwight N. Manley of Newport Beach, CA is one of the most influential figures in modern numismatics and a longtime supporter of the American Numismatic Association. His generosity funded the ANA’s 2001 multi-million-dollar museum and library renovation, which. More than doubled shelf space and added a climate-controlled rare book room. A lifelong collector who began at age six with a 1909 Lincoln cent, Manley credits an ANA Summer Seminar scholarship with launching his career.

In 2021, Manley amazed the numismatic community by announcing a staggering donation of more than 850 medals related to President George Washington to the ANA. The core of his donation were purchased from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, which received them upon the death of William Spohn Baker, whose 1885 publication, Medallic Portraits of Washington, became the undisputed standard work on the subject. Manley purchased roughly 900 objects from the Baker collection to preserve it for future study and as a memorial both to Washington and Baker. Manley’s donation also included other important Washington-related medals he separately acquired over the years, and the combined collection is the ultimate grouping of Washingtonia in size (over 950 objects), quality and provenance.