Howland Wood (May 30, 1877[1] -1938), was an American numismatist, and former Chairman of the American Numismatic Association (ANA).
Wood was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1877. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in 1900. He married Elizabeth Marvin in 1913, and they had two daughters. He lived in Boston, where he had a photo engraving business. His work for the American Numismatic Society would take him to New York City in 1913.[2]
Wood had a long association with the American numismatic community. He was secretary to the Boston Numismatic Society from 1908 to 1913. He also served as general secretary to the ANA from 1905 to 1909, and then governor and chairman from 1909 to 1912. Wood became an associate editor of The Numismatist from 1909 to 1910, and was an associate editor and later editor of the American Journal of Numismatics from 1910 to 1920. He was also the curator of the American Numismatic Society Museum from 1913 to 1938. He received the Archer M. Huntington Award, which recognizes outstanding career contributions to numismatic scholarship, in 1920.[3]
Wood was the author of several numismatic publications, including:
Wood died of pneumonia in Flushing, Queens early in 1938.
Beginning in 1952 an award in his name was first presented, the most prestigious award provided to numismatic exhibitors by the ANA. In 1969 he was commemorated in the ANA Numismatic Hall of Fame.[4]
Within Canadian numismatics, Wood is best remembered for his work on the Blacksmith tokens, which he first systematically described in a publication in 1910. While other Canadian numismatists had commented on them before, Wood was the first to categorize them. His numbering system is still used today.