Award Recipients
The MCA annually issues two awards to medal researchers and contributors, the Carl Carlson Award and the Georgia Stamm Chamberlain Award.
Carl Carlson Award
The Carl Carlson Award, named for a true pioneer in the field of researching medals, is awarded to individuals who have made major long term contributions.
2024: Robert Lewis Fagaly
2023: William Hyder
2022: David E. Schenkman
2021: Barry D. Tayman
2020: Benjamin Weiss
Ben was introduced to the field of medal collecting in 1972. Since his retirement in 2000 he has been concentrating on the art and history of historical and commemorative medals. His collection consists of European and American medals, dating from the 16th through the 19th centuries. Images, descriptions and historical commentaries of this collection are described in his published website, "Historical and Commemorative Medals". He has also published articles on the role medals play in religious and racial bigotry, his latest being a book titled, "Medallic History of Slavery: Racial Oppression as Chronicled by Historical and Commemorative Medals".
Ben has received awards from the Numismatic Literary Guild and a medal issued jointly by the Token and Medal Society and the American Israel Numismatic Association. For ten years he was the Webmaster of the Medal Collectors of America website. He is currently a Juror for the American Medallic Sculpture Association and a Board Member of the Medal Collectors of America.
2019: Philip Attwood
2018: Anne Bentley
Anne Bentley is Curator of Art & Artifacts at the Massachusetts Historical Society. She has authored and co-authored extensively on the subject of medals, including the book "Comitia Americana and Related Medals," the Columbia-Washington medal, and another book, "Medallic Portraits of Admiral Vernon". At the Society, she has organized numerous exhibitions of the MHS's extensive medal collection.
2017: John Kraljevich
John’s expertise has been sought out by institutions such as the Smithsonian and the ANS. He is a dealer and cataloger of Colonial coins and medals, with a general knowledge of U. S. numismatics that is almost encyclopedic.
2016: Neil Musante
Neil Musante wrote the book on John Adams Bolen medals and recently published an extensive series on C.C. Wright medals in The MCA Advisory. He has just published a handsome and informative, much-needed magnum opus on Washington medals after years of research.
2015: Q. David Bowers
The author of over 60 books as well as countless articles, columns and auction catalogues, Dave has long since earned the award. Indeed, the very profusion of his written output has served to mask his expertise in medals. Dave is an expert in Colonial coinage, Federal coinage and modern. He is an expert in copper, silver and gold. He is an expert in paper money, tokens and numismatic history. There is almost nothing that has escaped his voracious appetite for knowledge about our hobby.
Thus, Dave Bowers is the consummate generalist, whereas most of us in MCA are specialists. It boggles our minds that someone who knows so much about so many categories would have room left to know as much and care as much about medals as do we. Mind boggling, perhaps, but true.
Of Dave's 60 plus books, only one is devoted to our specialty: "100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens". Some viewed these rankings as a popularity contest and were miffed when their favorite(s) did not do better. However, the purpose of the book was not to declare winners and losers but, rather, to set as appetizing a menu as possible. To this end, it succeeds totally. Anyone leafing through the pages will be uplifted by the breadth and beauty of what is out there.
Only those with the strongest immune systems will escape unbitten by the bug. If collecting medals has a raison d’être, it is captured by this book.
Dave Bowers has the bandwidth to take a general view, but he also possesses the detailed knowledge that permits him to write eloquent descriptions of individual medals. His writings on such pieces as the Washington and Columbia medal, the Kittanning medal and the New Haven Sesquicentennial are uplifting at the time and memorable over time, not only because he presents the relevant history, but also because he can convey why these pieces are far out of the ordinary. His ability to capture the essence is a rare gift for which we medals collectors, as well as numismatists of all stripes, can be profoundly grateful.
We honor Dave Bowers by gathering him into the select company of prior award winners, along with the revered Carl Carlson himself. However, even as we honor, we are honored. In his 66 years in the hobby, Dave has taught more to more people, inspired more enthusiasm and stood taller than any who have come before him.
2014: Tony Lopez
2013: Warren Baker
2012: D. Wayne Johnson
2011: Scott Miller
2010: Mashiko
2009: Stephen K. Scher
2008: Hank Spangenberger
2007: David T. Alexander
2006: Michael Hodder
2005: David Menchell
2004: George Fuld
2003: Tony Terranova
2002: Christopher Eimer
2001: Bob Julian
2000: Joe Levine
1999: John W. Adams
Georgia Stamm Chamberlain
The Georgia Stamm Chamberlain Award, named for a writer known for exploring uncharted waters, is awarded to promising newcomers in the field of researching medals.
2024: Robert Rodriguez
2023: Michael Wehner
2022: Julia Casey
2021: Christopher R. McDowell
2020: Zachery Jacobson
Zach is currently working as an attorney in Boston. He collects all things Benjamin Franklin related and does so in tandem with his older brother Ben. The collection began when their step-father, Stuart Karu, who had been collecting Franklin for about 40 years before selling his collection to Zach and Ben around 8 years ago. The collection includes paintings, busts, prints, books, statuettes, and, of course, medals and medallions. To date he has written two articles for MCA, one on the medallions of Jean-Baptiste Nini depicting Franklin, and the other, more recent one, on the plaster model by Augustin Dupre for the Libertas Americana medal.
2019: Patrick McMahon
2018: Jacob Lipson
Jacob Lipson is a recent graduate of McGill, who is currently working for Heritage Auctions as a cataloguer. He became interested in medals after seeing a medal in the McGill collection, which he also wrote about.
2017: Chester Sullivan
Dr. Sullivan is a professor at the University of Kansas and a Castorland medal specialist.
2016: Harry Watterson
Harry Watterson has written excellent articles on American Legion medals and is completing a work of the medal sculptor Julio Kilenyi.
2015: Thomas Garver
2014: Ruth Britt
2013: Larry Baber
2011: Wayne Homren
2010: Skyler Liechty
2009: Anne Bentley
2008: Tony Lopez
2007: Leonard Augsburger
2006: Max Spiegel
2005: John Kraljevich
2004: Vicken Yegparian
Carlson and Chamberlain
MCA Named Awards
Details on the lives and contributions of Carl Carlson and Georgia Stamm Chamberlain.
