Christopher Evelyn Blunt, (16 July 1904 – 20 November 1987) was a British merchant banker and

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 ...

Life

Blunt was born in London, the second son of the Reverend Arthur Stanley Vaughan Blunt and of Hilda Violet Blunt, ''née'' Master. His brothers were the writer

Wilfrid Jasper Walter Blunt Wilfrid Jasper Walter Blunt (19 July 1901 - 8 January 1987) known simply as Wilfrid Blunt, was an art teacher, writer, artist and a curator of the Watts Gallery in Compton, Surrey, from 1959 until 1983. Life His parents were the Rev. Arthur S ...

and the art historian and spy Anthony Frederick Blunt. Blunt was educated at

Marlborough College ( 1 Corinthians 3:6: God gives the increase) , established = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = Nicholas Holtam , head_label = Master , head = Louis ...

but, unlike his brothers, did not attend university. In 1924 he joined the banking house Higginson & Co. (later part of

Hill Samuel Hill Samuel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group's Offshore Private Banking unit. It was formerly a leading British merchant bank and financial services firm before the takeover by TSB Group Plc. in 1987, which itself merged with ...

), becoming partner in 1947. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Blunt was successively attached to the General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force and

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...

. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in 1940, appointed OBE and Officer of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight u ...

in 1945. He retired in 1946 with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

. Blunt was a leading numismatist. He was director of the

British Numismatic Society The British Numismatic Society (BNS) is an organisation for promoting and realization of the study of British coins and medals. It was founded in 1903. Publications Its principal publication is the ''British Numismatic Journal'', (published fro ...

from 1935 and its president from 1946 and 1950, and the president of the

Royal Numismatic Society The Royal Numismatic Society (RNS) is a learned society and charity based in London, United Kingdom which promotes research into all branches of numismatics. Its patron was Queen Elizabeth II. Membership Foremost collectors and researchers, bo ...

between 1956 and 1961. He was the general editor of the

Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles The Sylloge of the Coins of the British Isles (SCBI) is an ongoing project to publish all major museum collections and certain important private collections of British coins. Catalogues in the series contain full details and illustrations of eac ...

from 1956 to 1987. He was elected FSA in 1936 and FBA in 1965.

References

External links

Christopher Evelyn Blunt (1904-1987)
at BnF Data {{DEFAULTSORT:Blunt, Christopher Evelyn 1904 births 1987 deaths People educated at Marlborough College British numismatists British bankers Royal Artillery officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Legion of Merit Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the British Academy British Army personnel of World War II Presidents of the Royal Numismatic Society 20th-century British businesspeople