American Numismatic Society

Below is an envelope from 1893 mailed by the C.F. & E. Biele company to the American Numismatic and Archeological Society in New York (now known as the American Numismatic Society). The envelope was bought at auction and was empty so the exact nature of the correspondence is unknown. Presumably it had to do with showcases for the Society's coin collections.

The librarian at the Society stated "Unfortunately, I do not find any mention of the Biele family or correspondence relating to the Society’s purchase of showcases from them, in our Library holdings. All of our existing exhibit cases date from about 1950 or later. There is also no mention of the Biele cases in the published history of the Society. "

The inquiry was noted in the Winter 2003 ANS magazine.

A more recent follow up with the archivist at the ANS also proved unfruitful.

"I've had a chance to review our files. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any references to your family's firm. Initially, I reviewed our limited correspondence files from 1892-93 but I could not find any relevant documentation. I also reviewed the files related to the 1908 construction of our first headquarters, but also could not find anything. (Before ca. 1908, the ANS simply rented office space.)

It is always possible that your family's firm assisted the ANS with a major exhibition in April of 1893 related to the Columbian Exposition; however, that's pure speculation on my part, unfortunately."

While not yielding any new information, once again I am grateful for the assistance of the ANS staff.