Elvira Eliza Clain-Stefanelli (; 1914-2001) was a

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

, director of the

National Numismatic Collection The National Numismatic Collection is the national coin cabinet of the United States. The collection is part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Overview The National Numismatic Collection comprises approxima ...

of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, and advisor to the

US Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

Biography

She was born in Bucharest, Romania and studied history at

Franz Joseph University Royal Hungarian Franz Joseph University ( hu, Magyar Királyi Ferenc József Tudományegyetem) was the second modern university in the Hungarian realm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Founded in 1872, its seat was initially in Kolozsvár (Cluj ...

. She received a masters degree in history at the University of Cernauti. In 1939, she married Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli (1914-1982), whom she met in Rome. The Clain-Stefanellis later moved to Berlin and were conducting research on coins in 1943 when they were sent to the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

because Vladimir's passport had been stolen and used by an "enemy of the state." The Clain-Stefanellis emigrated to the United States in 1951. Elvira worked at Stack's Coin Galleries before joining the Smithsonian Institution in 1957, where Vladimir had been curator of the Division of Numismatics for one year. Over her several decades at the Smithsonian, she grew the

(NNC) from approximately 60,000 pieces in 1956 to over 960,000 pieces in 1982. She was appointed Executive Director of the NNC in 1983 and served in that role until her retirement in 2001. In addition to her curatorial role at the Smithsonian, Clain-Stefanelli was an accomplished author, especially noted for her ''Numismatic Bibliography'' (1984), a work listing over 18,000 publications on all facets of numismatics. In 1994, Clain-Stefanelli was appointed to the newly-formed Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (the predecessor of the

Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (or CCAC) was established in 2003 to advise the United States Secretary of the Treasury on coinage-related issues, replacing the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (CCCAC). See also * Citizens' ...

), which was created by Congress to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on commemorative coin programs. She served on the committee until her death in 2001.

Elvira Clain-Stefanelli Memorial Award for Achievement in Numismatics

This award "was established and first given in 2013 to honor women who have made significant contributions to numismatics. These contributions, whether in research, leadership or mentorship, must have made a lasting impact on the numismatic community and demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the betterment of numismatics." Previous recipients of the award are: * 2021 Ellen Feingold *2020 Dorothy C. Baber *2019 Carrie Best *2018 Prue Morgan Fitts * 2017 Charmy Harker *2016 Mary Counts Burleson * 2015 Michele Orzano *2014 Diane Piret * 2013 Elvira Clain-Stefanelli

Publications

* ''The Beauty and Lore of Coins, Currency, and Medals'' (with Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli), Riverwood Publishers Ltd, 1974. * ''Chartered for Progress : two Centuries of American Banking; a pictorial essay'' (with Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli), Acropolis Books, Ltd., 1975. * ''Das Grosse Buch der Münzen und Medaillen'' (with Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli), Munich, Battenberg, 1976. * ''Highlights from the Money Collection of the Chase Manhattan Bank, Washington, DC'', Smithsonian Institution, 1979. * "Italian Coin Engravers since 1800", Smithsonian Institution, Bulletin 229 (Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Paper 33), 1970. * ''Life in Republican Rome on its Coinage, Washington, DC'', Smithsonian Institution, 1999. * ''Medals Commemorating Battles of the American Revolution'' (with Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli), Washington, DC, Smithsonian Institution, 1973. * ''Monnaies européennes et monnaies coloniales américaines entre 1450 et 1789'' (with Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli), Fribourg, Office du Livre, 1979. * ''Numismatic Bibliography ''Munich, Battenberg, 1984. * ''Select Numismatic Bibliography'', Stack’s, 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clain-Stefanelli, Elvira 1914 births 2001 deaths American numismatists Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Women numismatists Smithsonian Institution donors Romanian emigrants to the United States