Provenance Glossary: Dr. Jay M. Galst (1950-2020)

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Created: 10 Feb 2023; Updated: 13 Mar 2023 (video added).
Note: I have “cross-posted” portions of the text as an entry in FORVM’s Numiswiki. See also: Complete “Provenance Glossary.”

Jump directly to selected Biographical & Bibliographic References


Jay Galst as portrayed on a pair of silver New York Numismatic Club Medals: Presidential (1989-1989) & Posthumous (1950-2020). (These two NOT my coll.) Photos by American Numismatic Society..


Dr. Jay M. Galst (1950-2020) was a New York ophthalmologist and numismatist. He assembled important collections of coins of ancient and medieval coins of the Holyland, and medals and coins from antiquity to the present associated with the human eye, vision, and related medical practice. The latter collection featured prominently in his 2013 book with Peter van Alfen, Ophthalmologia, Optica & Visio in Nummis (New York: American Numismatic Society). (Google Books has a 118-page preview.)

5th century BCE silver Hemiobol (6mm, 0.34g) from Macedon, Skione, depicting a human eye on the reverse. This coin was illustrated on Plate XIII, No. 9, of his 2013 magnum opus, Opthalmalogia … in Nummis. My collection; coin image by CNG (edited). Link to full description, provenance, photos, etc. (or click photo).

Galst frequently exhibited his Holyland and ophthalmological collections, as well as serving as an exhibit judge for the American Numismatic Association. He was a Fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society (London), and a Life Fellow and Sage Society member of the American Numismatic Society (ANS). He was a past president of the Bronx Coin Club (1998-2006) and New York Coin Club (1988-1989), where he also served as chairman of the board of directors (2001-2020).

4th century BCE silver Obol (Ma’eh) from famous Samaria Hoard (CH 8.587, CH 9.413), published by Meshorer & Qedar in 1991, and acquired by the Athena Fund. After the Athena Fund was liquidated, Galst acquired the coin from Stack’s, 3 Dec 1996 (their dated envelope shown behind Galst’s distinctive white, hand-written collector ticket). He donated a number of his coins from this hoard to the ANS (see e.g., American Journal of Numismatics Vol. 14 (2002): p. 183). My collection & photos. Click photo for description.

Some of Galst’s coins, medals, and books now reside in the ANS collection. Other coins and medals from his collection have been sold in multiple auctions by Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), including many of the coins illustrated in his 2013 book, and are now in private collections.

John Hyrcanus bronze Prutah, c. 132/1 BCE. As CNG wrote of another specimen from the Galst coll: “…some of the most important [coins] in the history of Judaea, as the first Jewish dynastic coinage ever struck. The lily, the ancient symbol of Jerusalem and of rebirth, supplanted on early coinage the traditional position of the Seleukid king on the obverse, marking Jewish religious independence.”
Galst’s tag is marked “ANA 8” in green ink, possibly referencing his ANA 2002 exhibit, “The Many Names of Jerusalem as Depicted on Ancient Coins” (awarded 2nd place in its class).
My collection (full description not yet added); photo by CNG.

In 2020 he died of complications due to COVID. The New York Times published Jay Galst’s obituary on 16 August 2020 (link below). Peter van Alfen wrote biographical memorial essay for the ANS Magazine (Volume 19, Issue 2, 2020, p.57-58) and the ANS Pocket Change blog (link below).

Imitation Dirham by Latin Kings of Jerusalem, c. 1250-1291. Previously part of the important Erich Wäckerlin (d. 2018) collection of Crusader coinage.
My collection (full description not yet added); photo by CNG.

SELECTED BIOGRAPHICAL & BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:

The New York Times Obituary, 16 August 2020: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/16/obituaries/dr-jay-galst-dead-coronavirus.html

ANS Pocket Change Blog (van Alfen):

Jay M. Galst, M.D.

Pete Smith’s American Numismatic Biographies (Jan 2023 update: pg. 162): https://archive.org/details/2012AmericanNumismaticBiographies/page/162/mode/1up

See also:

Newman Numismatic Portal bio: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/PersonDetail/531371

The E-Sylum (4/12/2020) Vol 23, No. 15, Article 12 [via NNP]: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/periodical/627576

Google Books Preview: Jay M. Galst & Peter van Alfen (2013). Ophthalmologia Optica & Visio in Nummis. Page 546.

ANS Magazine, Winter 2021, Galst & van Alfen, “Ophthalmologia in Nummis,” Vol. 11, No. 3: pp. 23-31. Article on Galst’s exhibits, placed within the broader context of the history of Medicina in Nummis. [Note: The same issue as Arnold-Peter Weiss’ infamous “CAVEAT EMPTOR: A Guide to Responsible Coin Collecting“!]

CoinWeek, 28 July 2021, Peter van Alfen, “Ancient Coins From the Jay M. Galst Collection: ANS” — a valuable & thorough article.

CNG Auction 117 (19 May 2021) & Triton XXV (11 Jan 2022) both opened with biographical essays on Galst, and offered selections from his collection: https://issuu.com/cngcoins/docs/cng_117_virtual_catalog ; https://issuu.com/cngcoins/docs/cng_triton_xxv_virtual_catalog.