The Chester L. Krause Memorial Distinguished Service Award (formerly the Farran Zerbe Memorial Award and ANA Distinguished Service Award [1] ) is the highest honor conferred by the American Numismatic Association. [2] The award was formerly named after Farran Zerbe, a one-time president of the American Numismatic Association. It is given in recognition of numerous years of outstanding, dedicated service to numismatics. The criteria for the nominee should be that the individual is considered someone who has rendered numerous years of outstanding service to the ANA as well as the field of numismatics. [2] An additional qualification is that the nominee should be a former Medal of Merit and Glenn Smedley Memorial Award recipient. The award is limited only to members of the ANA. [2]
In 2021, the ANA Board of Governors voted to change its name to the ANA Distinguished Service Award, following an investigation that uncovered accusations of fraudulent behavior on Zerbe's part. [3] In May 2022, the award was re-named in honor of Chester L. Krause, the founder of Krause Publications. [4]
The American Numismatic Association (ANA) is an organization founded in 1891 by George Francis Heath. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics along educational, historical, and scientific lines, as well as to enhance interest in the hobby.
The Numismatist is the monthly publication of the American Numismatic Association. The Numismatist contains articles written on such topics as coins, tokens, medals, paper money, and stock certificates. All members of the American Numismatic Association receive the publication as part of their membership benefits.
Richard Sperry Yeoman was an American commercial artist and coin collector. Yeoman was the original author of the popular reference books A Guide Book of United States Coins and A Handbook of United States Coins, commonly known as the "Red Book" and "Blue Book". He also marketed coin display boards for Whitman Publishing. Hired by that company in 1932, he redesigned the boards in 1940 to the fold-out model that is currently sold.
Quentin David Bowers is an American numismatist, author, and columnist. Beginning in 1952, Bowers’s contributions to numismatics have continued uninterrupted and unabated to the present day. He has been involved in the selling of rare coins since 1953 when he was a teenager.
Robert Lynn Hendershott was an American numismatist. He was a member of the American Numismatic Association Hall of Fame.
Edward Charles Rochette, Jr. devoted nearly all of his adult life in service to the American Numismatic Association. His first exposure to the ANA was as an editor of The Numismatist from 1966 to 1972. From 1966-86 he served as executive vice president. In 1987 he was elected to the ANA Board of Governors, and would serve as its president from 1991 to 1993. He returned to a staff position in 1998 and served as the executive director at the turn of the century.
Russell Alphonse Rulau was an American numismatist. He was involved in coin collecting for over 60 years. From his earliest days as a casual collector, Rulau contributed to numismatics as a writer, editor and club organizer. His interest in world coins led him to create the "Coin of the Year" award. The award is presented annually by Krause Publications' World Coin News. Rulau coined the term "exonumia" in 1960.
Joseph Farran Zerbe was an American coin collector and dealer who was the president of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) in 1908 and 1909. He served as chief numismatist at the World's Fairs in St. Louis (1904), Portland (1905), and San Francisco (1915).
Kenneth Luster Hallenbeck, Jr. is a former president of the American Numismatic Association. He has served with the ANA for 58 years.
Kenneth Edward Bressett is an American numismatist. He has actively promoted the study and hobby of numismatics for over 75 years. His published works on the subject cover a wide range of topics and extend from short articles to standard reference books on such diverse areas as ancient coins, paper money, British coins and United States coins.
Michael Ray Fuljenz is a numismatist, author, and businessman. He is currently the president of Universal Coin & Bullion, a precious metals trading company located in Beaumont, Texas.
The Lewis and Clark Exposition Gold dollar is a commemorative coin that was struck in 1904 and 1905 as part of the United States government's participation in the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, held in the latter year in Portland, Oregon. Designed by United States Bureau of the Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber, the coin did not sell well and less than a tenth of the authorized mintage of 250,000 was issued.
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar is a commemorative coin issue dated 1903. Struck in two varieties, the coins were designed by United States Bureau of the Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. The pieces were issued to commemorate the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in 1904 in St. Louis; one variety depicted former president Thomas Jefferson, and the other, the recently assassinated president William McKinley. Although not the first American commemorative coins, they were the first in gold.
Chester Lee "Chet" Krause was an American author, numismatist, and businessman best known as the founder of Krause Publications in the 1950s.
Benjamin Maximillian Mehl, usually known as B. Max Mehl, was an American dealer in coins, selling them for over half a century. The most prominent dealer in the United States, through much of the first half of the 20th century, he is credited with helping to expand the appeal of coin collecting from a hobby for the wealthy to one enjoyed by many.
Clifford Leslie Mishler is an American author and numismatist. He has served as president of the American Numismatic Association.
William F. "Bill" Fivaz is an American numismatist and author.
David E. Schenkman is an American numismatist and author, specializing in tokens and medals.
John Hewitt Judd was an American ophthalmologist and numismatist.