2026 Newman Grant Awardees

The Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society (EPNNES) has awarded Newman Grants to seven recipients this year. Created to financially assist numismatic authors and organizations pursuing original research in American and world numismatics, Newman Grants are awarded annually on the late Eric P. Newman’s birthday and assist with direct costs of numismatic research such as travel, photography, and graphic arts services. The 2026 awardees are as follows:

Greg Bennick will continue his series of numismatic interviews, which document the history of numismatics and capture the recollections of today’s hobby leaders and influencers.

Gerard Clavecillas will focus on the work of the Philippine engraver Melecio Figueroa and explore his connections to the renewed U.S. coin designs of the early 20th century.

Mike Ellis will focus on military challenge coins and prepare a comprehensive catalog dedicated to the history, types, and authentication of this series.

Benjamin Gastfriend will study elongated coins produced in conjunction with the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, using source material from the Oregon Historical Society.

Liesel Gentelli will investigate the source of the Massachusetts Bay Colony silver coinage, continuing her previous work that focused on compositional analysis of early Spanish-American coins.

The Peabody Essex Museum will use grant funds to digitize the Mattew Stickney papers in its collection, which represent a rich archive for pre-Civil War American numismatics.

Ángel O. Navarro Zayas will research the early colonial paper money of Spanish-America. Zayas has previously published on this topic, using material from the Archivo General de Indias and other sources.

To learn more about Newman Grants, visit EPNNES’s website.