Doubly Devastating Loss to Argentine Numismatics

By Tom Michael

Recently, we learned of the passing of our friend Héctor Carlos Janson on Sept. 29, 2019. Janson was a tireless researcher of all areas of Argentine coinage and had published numerous catalogs on the subject, which have become the standard specialized works for this area of study and collecting. During his career, Janson amassed the largest collection of Argentine coins ever assembled by a single collector. He used this body of material to research and write the most complete and detailed coin catalog for Argentine coins; La Moneda Circulante En El Territorio Argentino 1574-2019, this final edition of which was published just a few months prior to his death.

I still remember my astonishment and delight upon seeing Janson’s 1998 edition of La Moneda Circulante En El Territorio Argentino 1767-1998. It included coin varieties, tokens, emergency issues and countermarked pieces I had not seen before (or had only heard of.)In his wonderful generosity, Janson allowed me to use his work to improve our Standard Catalog of World Coins (SCWC) series. Janson became, and remained until his passing, an enthusiastic contributor to the SCWC volumes, corresponding and sending me his new editions as they were released.

Janson was a founding member of the Federal Institute of Numismatic Researchers of the Argentine Republic (IFINRA) and truly understood the advantage we all gain by working together in our pursuit of numismatic study. In May of 2017, Janson donated his vast collection to the Historical and Numismatic Museum of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, which now also carries his name in honor. The collection included many rarities among more than 2800 pieces. In particular, Janson’s collection held the second-known example of the 1813 PTS J 2 Escudos, the other of which resides in the Museum of the Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires.

Sadly, almost one year ago another seminal Argentine numismatist preceded Janson to the afterlife.

On Nov. 3, 2018, well known Argentine numismatic researcher and author, Arnaldo J. Cunietti-Ferrando, passed away. Cunietti-Ferrando’s books, articles and lectures covered the full spectrum of coins, medals, banknotes and tokes from all regions of Argentine numismatic study. His classic work on Argentine Coins was the first standard reference I had access to in the late 1980s to build my knowledge in this area. Later, I was privileged to correspond with Cunietti-Ferrando as he lent his vast experience towards improving our Standard Catalog of World Coins series, particularly for the 1801-1900 edition.

Working from within the Argentine Numismatic Association, Cunietti-Ferrando was instrumental in organizing the break-out Buenos Aires Numismatic Center and dedicated years of his life to its continued growth. The Historical and Numismatic Museum of the Bank of the Argentine Nation provided a collecting base for Cunietti-Ferrando, as founder and director, to build one of the largest public collections in the country. At his passing, he was serving as President of the Buenos Aires Institute of Numismatics and Antiquities.

Cunietti-Ferrando was also a founding member of the Federal Institute of Numismatic Researchers of the Argentine Republic (IFINRA) an organization that has proven essential in disseminating the vast amounts of outstanding study being accomplished in Argentine numismatic circles with interested collectors world-wide. Visit their website at INFINRA.org. ♦

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This article was originally published in World Coin News. If you want to read more stories like this, click here.