An in-depth look at some of the most important Canadian historical coins, medals and related artifacts handled by leading U.S. specialist John Kraljevich will highlight the Ottawa Numismatic Society’s Nov. 24 Zoom meeting.
Kraljevich, director of Numismatic Americana at Stack’s Bowers Galleries, is set to deliver a special presentation focusing on standout Canadian material encountered during his career, along with insights from several landmark cabinets he has catalogued, including those of John J. Ford Jr., John Adams and Lucien LaRiviere. Widely regarded as one of the most engaging and influential numismatists of his generation, he is expected to offer members a rare behind-the-scenes perspective on some of the field’s most significant historical items.
A native of Chester County, Pa., Kraljevich graduated from the University of Virginia before beginning his professional numismatic career with Bowers and Merena Galleries in 2000. Specializing in early American issues and numismatic Americana, he went on to author or co-author many award-winning auction catalogues, including those for the Lucien LaRiviere Collection (2001), the Eliasberg World Gold Coins Collection (2005), the Norweb Collection of Washingtoniana (2006), the D. Brent Pogue Collection (2015–17), the Archangel Collection (2019), the John Adams Collection of Comitia Americana (2019) and the ongoing Sydney F. Martin Collection sales. Over his career, he has produced more Numismatic Literary Guild award-winning catalogues than any other writer.
In 2007, Kraljevich founded John Kraljevich Americana while continuing to work closely with Stack’s Bowers Galleries. His expertise has focused particularly on colonial and early American coins and medals, including the Betts medal series. Among his most significant projects are the catalogues for the D. Brent Pogue Collection — the most valuable coin collection ever sold, with realizations exceeding $150 million.
Beyond auction cataloguing, Kraljevich has contributed to the Guide Book of United States Coins and numerous standard references, including 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens and Eric Newman’s The Early Paper Money of America. He has also lectured widely at numismatic and non-numismatic events and has been featured in interviews with the Washington Post, National Public Radio and the BBC.
His long list of honours includes several major awards from the American Numismatic Association, among them Young Numismatist of the Year (1993), the Heath Literary Award (2002), an honorary Doctorate of Numismatics (2015), Numismatist of the Year (2016) and the Medal of Merit (2018). In 2022, the Numismatic Literary Guild presented him with its Ribbit Award, which recognizes an individual who combines prominence with approachability, humour and modesty.
The Nov. 24 presentation is open exclusively to paid ONS members. Collectors interested in attending the Zoom presentation can join the Ottawa Numismatic Society at: https://snoons.wildapricot.org/join-us