Washington University in St. Louis and the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society (EPNNES) have announced plans to create the Newman Numismatic Portal, an online research tool that will become the ultimate go-to resource for the study of coins and currency. A commitment of $2 million from EPNNES will support the project.

“I have long wanted to make the literature and images of numismatics, particularly American numismatics, available to everyone on a free and forever basis,” said Eric P. Newman, president of EPNNES. “Today’s digital technologies, combined with the funds recently assembled from auctions of some of our foundation’s holdings, now make this possible.”

Newman is among America’s most distinguished numismatic scholars and a 1935 graduate of Washington University School of Law. He has written more than 100 articles and several volumes on numismatic subjects, including many of the standard reference books in the field. He began collecting coins nearly a century ago and built one of the nation’s strongest private collections of U.S. and Colonial American coinage and paper money.

Newman and his wife, Evelyn, made a major gift in 2004 to establish the Newman Money Museum at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University.

“We are proud to be involved in the creation of the Newman Numismatic Portal, which is made possible by the generosity of EPNNES,” Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton said. “The study of numismatics involves many disciplines, from art to metallurgy, economics, politics and history. Making these significant scholarly resources widely accessible for the first time will elevate numismatic research to a new level.”

Washington University Libraries will launch a preliminary version of the Newman Numismatic Portal in 2015. “The project will begin by digitizing Eric Newman’s extraordinary collection of books, periodicals and correspondence on numismatics, as well as images of coins and currency,” said Jeffrey Trzeciak, university librarian. “We also are undertaking discussions with libraries, publishers, auction companies, and others in the field of numismatics to make the new online resource as comprehensive as possible.”

Said Wayne Homren, past president of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society and editor of The E-Sylum, “I am delighted to bring my CoinLibrary numismatic search and organization project to this effort and welcome the great boost that this commitment provides to numismatic scholarship.”

Anyone wishing to provide materials for inclusion in the project is encouraged to contact NNPCurator@wustl.edu