When The Hobby Got Sick

INFLUENZA FORCED ANA TO CANCEL 1918 CONVENTION

The hobby and business of numismatics have faced various obstacles over the decades: recession, depression (both economic and emotional) as well as natural disasters that can interrupt planned shows and coin club meetings. These often-unanticipated circumstances can at least temporarily curtail the enjoyment of collecting. It is happening again this year with the coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19. A flu outbreak 102 years ago, known at the time as the Spanish Influenza, forced the American Numismatic Association to cancel its planned October 5-9, 1918 convention in Philadelphia. The cancelation was abrupt as the city’s Board of Health did not announce a widespread ban on public gatherings until October 3. An ANA official already in Philadelphia conferred directly with health officials there to clarify if the ban included the planned convention at the Historical Society. It did. As reported in the November 1918 issue of The Numismatist, the ANA’s official publication, the organization’s Committee of Arrangements noted: “…we concluded that the convention must be postponed and the president (Carl Wurtzbach) ordered it postponed immediately.” How did the ANA notify its members on just a few days’ notice? A century ago, World War I was still underway and would not end until the armistice of November 11, 1918, most people’s homes still did not have telephone service available, there was no email, no texting, no internet. The committee reported: “At midnight we sent telegrams and letters to members who had announced their intentions to attend, and sent additional messages during the forenoon of Friday until all those who had informed the committee they expected to be present were sent telegrams.” Some ANA members had already started their passenger train journeys to Philadelphia before the formal cancellation, so a handful of members did gather to enjoy a scaled-down numismatic get-together. The Committee of Arrangements indicated: “We had a small social gathering at the Hotel Stenton and at the homes of two members of the committee, and enjoyed the opportunities for conversation on the study in which we are all mutually interested… The general consensus was that as the convention this year was thus postponed, and in view of the state of our country and our absorption in the war, with all its anxieties and many extra duties, it would be well to postpone having any convention this year….” The ANA did hold a business meeting a few months later in Springfield, Massachusetts, on December 11, 1918, and the next ANA convention was held as planned in Philadelphia, October 4-8, 1919. There were 60 people in attendance at the 1919 convention, compared to approximately 7,000 who attended the ANA 2019 Chicago World’s Fair of Money. Many collectors also now enjoy numismatic camaraderie online as well as through hobby publications, such as COINage. The American Numismatic Association and the hobby have survived a century of epidemics, wars, and the roller coaster ride of the U.S. and global financial markets. I’m optimistic about the future. How about you?