Kenneth Bressett

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Kenneth Bressett
KenBressett cropped.jpg
Bressett at the 2022 National Money Show
Born (1928-10-05) October 5, 1928 (age 96)
Keene, New Hampshire, U.S.
Occupation(s)Numismatist, author
Years active1947-present

Kenneth Edward Bressett (born October 5, 1928) [1] 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.

Contents

Career

Early Career (1937-1955)

Throughout his career he has worked as an author, editor and publisher of books and products for coin collectors.

Bressett first became interested in coins in 1937 [2] when his neighbor gave him a coin each from China and Belgium. He began collecting coins in earnest while he was a clerk in a grocery store in 1943 and through high school. Bressett attended Dresser Business School in 1947 [1] and later studied graphic arts at the University of Wisconsin. He joined the American Numismatic Association in 1947 and attended their convention in Boston the following year. From 1949 until 1959 Bressett worked as a printer and compositor for Sentinel Publishing Company. [1] In 1950, he organized the first coin club in New Hampshire. [3] Between 1948-51 he served in the New Hampshire National Guard. [4]

In the 1950s, he began photographing coins, including the 1804 dollar, several coins from the collection of Louis E. Eliasberg, and many large cents used by William Herbert Sheldon in Penny Whimsy. During that time, he discovered 12 new varieties of colonial coins. [5]

The Red Book and Middle Career (1956-2002)

Bressett began free-lance editorial work on Red Book in 1956. He went to work for Richard S. Yeoman at Whitman Publishing in Racine in 1959. [6] He wrote several books while at the publishing house and in 1962 became the editor of the Whitman Red Book and Blue Book. [7] From 1964 to 1968 Bressett was the Editor and Publisher of the Whitman Numismatic Journal. [8] In 1971, following Yeoman’s retirement, he became editor of the Red Book. In 1976, he wrote a variety catalog of Vermont coppers, where he introduced the Bressett numbering system for the series. This system is still the standard for the series today. [9]

From 1986-2002, he wrote the column “Consumer Alert” for the ANA’s magazine The Numismatist . [10] Bressett was on the American Numismatic Association Board of Governors from 1989 to 1994, serving as Vice President and then as President from 1995 to 1997. [1] [11] During his time as president, he wrote a monthly column for The Numismatist.

Bressett coined the term "double die" to refer to the 1955 doubled die cent. [12] [13]

Post-Red Book Work (2018-present)

Bressett retired from full-time editing in 2018 and is now listed as “editor emeritus”. [14] In 2021, he released A Penny Saved: R.S. Yeoman and His Remarkable Red Book, an in-depth look at the history behind A Guide Book of United States Coins . [15]

In March 2022, Bressett released a new book, Bible Lore and the Eternal Flame. [16] At the National Money Show in Colorado Springs that same month, his collection of ancient and British coins was auctioned off. [17] He celebrated his 75th (Diamond) anniversary as a member of the ANA in September 2022. [18]

In March 2024, Bressett launched a new monthly column for the American Numismatic Association's website, called "Money Musings". [19] [20]

Other Numismatic Work

Bressett worked as a consultant for the F. Newell Childs collection that later sold at auction for over $8 million. [21]

In 1966, he was appointed to the U.S. Assay Commission by President Lyndon B. Johnson, [22] and in 1996 was made a member of the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee. [8] He served on the commission from 1996 to 2003, and promoted the 50 State Quarters program. [23]

He first taught at the ANA Summer Seminar in 1975, where he has also taught the subject to hundreds of students through courses at Colorado College and other places. In 1980, Bressett left Whitman to work for A. M. Kagin in Des Moines, Iowa. From 1982 to 1988 he worked at ANA as Director of ANACS. In 1986, he dove with Mel Fisher in Florida for the treasure of the sunken Nuestra Señora de Atocha. [2] From 1983 to 1988 he also served as Director of Coin Authentication and Educational Programs for the American Numismatic Association.

Numismatic Ambassador

For several years, he promoted the Peace 2000 project around the world. [24]

Awards and honors

Bressett has received numerous awards in recognition of his service and dedication to numismatics, including election to the National Numismatic Hall of Fame in 1996 [25] the American Numismatic Association Medal of Merit, and the 1998 Chester L. Krause Memorial Distinguished Service Award (jointly awarded to both him and his wife Bert). [22] He received a Clemy Award from the Numismatic Literary Guild in 1983, the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, was named Numismatist of the Year in 2004, received the American Numismatic Society’s Distinguished Service Award in 2016, and the Burnett Anderson Memorial Award for Numismatic Writing in 2018.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Red Book, Whitman Publishing created a silver dollar-sized medal featuring Bressett and R.S. Yeoman that was included with a commemorative edition of the 2006 Red Book. The medal was limited to 500 pieces in nickel-silver, included in a Red Book-style envelope. Bressett received a unique .900 fine gold example at the 2006 World’s Fair of Money in Denver.

In 2010, the American Numismatic Association named one of their Young Numismatist Literary Awards after Bressett, where articles submitted by people ages 18-22 can win awards and numismatic books. [26]

In 2021, he was named one of the "Top 10" in Coin World's "Celebrating 60: The Most Influential People in Numismatics 1960-2020". [27]

Books written or edited

Personal life

In 1950 he married Bertha "Bert" Britton. They had four children, Philip (1951), Richard (1954-2020) and Mary (1955) and Mark [28] before her death in 2012. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Numismatic Association</span> Numismatic association based in the US

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.

<i>The Numismatist</i> Monthly publication of the American Numismatic Association

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.

Below are the mintage figures for the United States cent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella (United States coin)</span> Four-dollar coin minted 1879–1880

The United States four dollar coin, also officially called a Stella, is a unit of currency equivalent to four United States dollars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pattern coin</span> Sample coin to demonstrate the design of a coin

A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, but produced to evaluate a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike, to proof standard or piedforts. Many coin collectors collect and study pattern coins because of their historical importance. Many of the world's most valuable coins are pattern coins; nearly 25 of the pieces listed in 100 Greatest US Coins are pattern coins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large cent</span> One-cent coin in the United States from 1793 to 1857

The United States large cent was a coin with a face value of 1/100 of a United States dollar. Its nominal diameter was 11⁄8 inch (28.57 mm). The first official mintage of the large cent was in 1793, and its production continued until 1857, when it was officially replaced by the modern-size one-cent coin.

<i>A Guide Book of United States Coins</i> Numismatic guide book

A Guide Book of United States Coins (The Official Red Book), first compiled by R. S. Yeoman in 1946, is a price guide for coin collectors of coins of the United States dollar, commonly known as the Red Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard S. Yeoman</span> American numismatist, artist and author

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Q. David Bowers</span> American numismatist and writer (born 1938)

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.

The Chester L. Krause Memorial Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor conferred by the American Numismatic Association. 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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farran Zerbe</span> American numismatist (1871–1949)

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheldon coin grading scale</span> 70-point coin grading scale

The Sheldon Coin Grading Scale is a 70-point coin grading scale used in the numismatic assessment of a coin's quality. The American Numismatic Association based its Official ANA Grading Standards in large part on the Sheldon scale. The scale was created by William Herbert Sheldon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis and Clark Exposition gold dollar</span> Commemorative United States coin

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar</span> United States commemorative coin

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capped Bust</span> Former design used on United States coinage

The Capped Bust coinage of the United States consisted of a half dime, dime, quarter and half dollar.

Flowing Hair coinage was issued in the United States between 1793 and 1795. The design was used for the first half dime, half dollar, dollar, and the first two large cents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1804 dollar</span> Coin worth one US$

The 1804 dollar or Bowed Liberty Dollar was a dollar coin struck by the United States Mint, of which fifteen specimens are currently known to exist. Though dated 1804, none were struck in that year; all were minted in the 1830s or later. They were first created for use in special proof coin sets used as diplomatic gifts during Edmund Roberts' trips to Siam and Muscat.

The Bank of New York Hoard is the name given to identify a treasure trove of several thousand Fugio Cents that were discovered at the Bank of New York. Sometime in 1788, a keg of Fugio cents was acquired by the bank and stored in the basement. The coins were forgotten until they were rediscovered in 1856, this time at the bank's current location. At that time the coins were placed in cotton bags and put away until a final rediscovery of the coins was made in 1926. The coins were then given out as souvenirs and keepsakes to clients until 1948 when the American Numismatic Society examined the remaining 1,641 coins. Several of the coins were donated to the Society; others were sold to collectors. All of the coins found were in mint state condition, most with brown toning. The find was important to collectors who wished to obtain a mint state example of the coin.

Elvira Eliza Clain-Stefanelli was a numismatist, director of the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution, and advisor to the US Mint.

William F. "Bill" Fivaz is an American numismatist and author.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Kenneth Edward Bressett - Biography". wustl.edu. EPNNES & Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 Roach, Steve. "Editor's Q&A: Ken Bressett has done it all in the world of numismatics". Coin World. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  3. ↑ Bressett, Kenneth (December 1995). "From Your President". The Numismatist. 108 (12): 1446.
  4. ↑ Bressett, Kenneth (2021). A Penny Saved: R.S. Yeoman and His Remarkable Red Book. Pelham, Alabama: Whitman Publishing. p. 227.
  5. ↑ Bressett, Kenneth (2021). A Penny Saved: R.S. Yeoman and His Remarkable Red Book. Pelham, Alabama: Whitman Publishing. p. 231.
  6. ↑ Garrett, Jeff. "Ten Questions for Numismatic Legend, Ken Bressett". CoinWeek.com. Coin Week. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Kenneth Bressett named first Editor Emeritus of the Red Book". expo.whitman.com. Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Bressett, Kenneth". PPLD.org. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Vermont Coppers 1785-1788: Introduction". coins.nd.edu. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  10. ↑ Bressett, Kenneth (2021). A Penny Saved: R.S. Yeoman and His Remarkable Red Book. Pelham, Alabama: Whitman Publishing. p. 287.
  11. ↑ "ANA PRESIDENTS 1891 TO THE PRESENT". Money.org. American Numismatic Association. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  12. ↑ Bowers, Q. David. "HURRICANE DIANE AND THE 1955 DOUBLED DIE CENT". coinbooks.org. The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS). Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  13. ↑ Roach, Steve. "Market Analysis: MS-65+ 1955 Lincoln, Doubled Die Obverse cent brings $124,875". coinworld.com. Amos Media Company. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  14. ↑ "Jeff Garrett Pays Tribute to Kenneth Bressett "Red Book" Editor Emeritus". Whitman.com. Whitman Coin and Collectibles Expo. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  15. ↑ "R.S. YEOMAN AND HIS REMARKABLE RED BOOK". coinbooks.org. The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS). Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  16. ↑ Bulfinch, Chris. "Ken Bressett to meet and greet at ANA National Money Show". coinworld.com. Amos Media Company. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  17. ↑ "CNG Brings Bressett Collection to Auction at ANA Money Show". coinweek.com. CoinWeek, LLC. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "ANA Celebrates 75th Anniversary of Kenneth Bressett's Membership". ngccoin.com. Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  19. ↑ "The American Numismatic Association Teams Up with Numismatic Legend Ken Bressett for Monthly Reading Room Column". money.org. USCoinNews. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  20. ↑ Bressett, Ken. "Money Musings". readingroom.money.org. The Reading Room. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  21. ↑ Stack’s Bowers. "Classic US Coins – The Sultan of Muscat-Watters-Brand-Childs-Pogue 1804 Dollar". Coinweek.com. CoinWeek, LLC. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  22. 1 2 "NGC Licenses Official Red Book Logo for Labels; Ken Bressett to Autograph". NGCcoin.com. Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  23. ↑ "2001 Annual Report" (PDF). USMint.gov. United States Mint. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  24. ↑ Bressett, Kenneth. "Peace 2000 Worldwide Program Articles and Ephemera File". archive.org. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "Numismatic Hall of Fame Past Inductees". American Numismatic Association. American Numismatic Association. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  26. ↑ "New Categories and Prizes Announced for ANA YN Literary Awards". money.org. American Numismatic Association. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  27. ↑ Coin World: Celebrating 60-The Most Influential People in Numismatics 1960-2020. Amos Media (Coin World). 2021. p. 77.
  28. ↑ Bressett, Kenneth (2021). A Penny Saved: R.S. Yeoman and His Remarkable Red Book. Pelham, Alabama: Whitman Publishing. p. 225.
  29. ↑ "Bertha Bressett Obituary". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved August 26, 2018.

Sources

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