If you were to stop Defiance residents and ask where the Andrew L. Tuttle Museum is, they probably could tell you, "On Third Street. It used to be some bank building."

But if you were to ask them who Tuttle was, you would likely get a blank look. Although Mr. Tuttle was born in Defiance in 1918 and graduated from Defiance High School, there are still few details known about his life. The museum is rare because most museums are named for famous people, and no one really knows much about Andrew L. Tuttle. A portrait shows a handsome young man with a serious look.

"I first heard about him in 2003," says Defiance historian Randy Buchman. "He was a real estate evaluator on the international level. He was coming back from Florida when he was killed in an automobile accident. Among his things was a hand-written will saying that if the City of Defiance would fund a museum in his honor, they could have all his coin and early American Indian artifacts as well as other memorabilia he had collected on his overseas trips."

Both the two main collections are large. His international travels gave Tuttle great opportunities to add to the coin collection, and Indian artifacts had been found and saved by both his father and grandfather, as well as by Andrew himself.

The coin collection is so vast that only portions are shown at one time, with displays changed periodically. Coins are shown according to the current theme of the museum - foreign coins (and paper money) may be displayed according to country, while others are from historical eras. (When I visited, the focus was on colonial America up through the War of 1812.)

The coins currently on display are housed in the vault of the former bank building.

To read the complete article, see:
One man's legacy(www.countryliving.coop/departments/mans-legacy/)

The Andrew Tuttle collection of coins and currency is extensive, including traditional and nontraditional coinage and currency from many countries and time periods. Presently coins from the United States Colonial Era are displayed in the massive vault that was part of the former Home Saving and Loan, and which now is an attraction of the Andrew L. Tuttle Memorial Museum.

To read the complete article, see:
Tuttle Coins from the American Colonies(www.cityofdefiance.com/main/index.php/tuttle-coins-from-the-american-colonies)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
WOMAN TURNS BANK BUILDING INTO HER HOME(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n13a31.html)