NNP

Sponsored in part by a grant from the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society, George Cuhaj’s latest work, Medals of the Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, is now available on Newman Portal. 

Cuhaj’s work documents medals issued by Catholic dioceses, archdioceses, and church institutions in the United States from 1789 through 2020. Organized primarily by diocese, the work identifies and describes medals that commemorate bishops, cardinals, cathedrals, jubilees, church anniversaries, and other significant ecclesiastical events. The catalog includes medals ranging from small medalets to large presentation pieces and captures both widely distributed commemoratives and more obscure issues from diocesan archives, collectors, and institutional collections.  

The study further situates these medals within the broader development of the Catholic Church in the United States. Beginning with the establishment of the first U.S. diocese in Baltimore in 1789 and the subsequent expansion of dioceses across the country, the book traces how medallic art has been used to commemorate clerical leadership, cathedral construction, anniversaries, and institutional milestones. The result is both a reference guide for collectors and a historical record of American Catholic hierarchy expressed through medallic art.

Link to George Cuhaj books on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/booksbyauthor/521