I have some great memories from the 1991 Centennial ANA Convention. At the time I wasconducting interviews for American Numismatic Biographies. On the morning of August 15, Isat outside before the bourse opened. For about an hour I sat with John J. Ford and heard somegreat stories. A few of them I was able to print.

As the show was winding down, I walked through the exhibit area. Gene Hessler was therepacking up his exhibit. I knew Gene from an interview I had done in May. At his side was theHowland Wood Memorial Award that he had won for his exhibit. This was thefirst time I really thought about the award. Five years later I received the same award.

Gene celebrated his 95th birthday last week. Wayne Homren suggested I write something aboutGene in honor of the occasion.

Eugene Joseph Hessler was born on July 13, 1928, in Mount Healthy, Ohio, a Cincinnati suburb.He showed an early interest in music and began taking music lessons in the second grade. Hebegan playing with various bands while in high school.

During the 1951-53 Korean war era, he played with an Army band and performed withCannonball Adderley. In 1953-54 he performed around Cincinnati with the Gene HesslerOrchestra. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1955 with a B. A. in musiceducation.

Gene moved to New York in 1955 and received a master's degree from the Manhattan School ofMusic in 1957. He got a job playing in the pit orchestra for various Broadway shows includingAnnie, Camelot, How to Succeed in Business and The Music Man. He also played with the RadioCity Music Hall orchestra. When the Bolshoi Ballet Orchestra and the Leningrad Philharmoniccame to New York, Hessler played with them.

In 1964 he joined a band sponsored by the State Department on a tour of Africa. In 1966 hetoured the world with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. On each of these tours he gatheredlarge quantities of coins from local dealers and money changers. He also gathered examples ofworld currency. He was interested in their designs and engraving.

Lester Merkin was a navy veteran and professional saxophone player who opened a coinbusiness in Manhattan in 1958. Gene Hessler visited the store and Merkin became a mentor. In1967, Hessler joined the ANA as member #58664.

With a recommendation from Lester Merkin, Gene applied for the job as curator of the ChaseManhattan Bank Money Museum in Rockefeller Center. He was hired to replace someone namedZerbe who had the position there before him. He worked there from 1967 to 1977 whilecontinuing to work as a musician. Later from 1986 to 1988, he was curator of the MercantileMoney Museum in St. Louis. That museum was formed by someone named Newman.After 1988 he worked as a free-lance writer contributing 350 articles to numismatic publications.

He served as editor of Paper Money, the journal of the SPMC from 1984 to 1998. He contributedthe column to The Numismatist and is a contributing editor.

Hessler wrote a script for the ANA series broadcast on National Public Radiothat was nominated for a Peabody Broadcasting Award. He made an appearance on the TV show He also appeared on the NBC show twice and was listed in Who'sWho in the East. He is frequently quoted in newspaper articles as an expert on paper money.

Hessler has written five books on paper money topics.

He also wrote his memoir, Hey, Mister Horn Blower: Memoirs of a Life in Music andNumismatics, published in 2009.

He has received many awards and honors over the years.

In 2022, the Cincinnati Numismatic Association authorized a literary award named for Hessler.They were struck in silver and bronze by the Osborn Mint.

I spent hours trying to find Hessler in Census records to identify his parents. Well, you mightask, how many Hessler's can there be in Mount Healthy, Ohio. I found 33 in the 1940 Census.Eventually I found Jean Hessler in the 1930 and 1940 census. His parents were Joseph (1899-1986) and Clara (1899-1973) living on Elizabeth Street. Joseph was proprietor of a tailor shop.That fits with other sources.

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see: COINING "SYNGRAPHICS"
(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v05n29a11.html)
U.S. ESSAY, PROOF AND SPECIMEN NOTES, 2ND EDITION(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v07n31a09.html)
INTERNATIONAL ENGRAVER'S LINE(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v08n42a09.html)
NEW BOOK: HEY! MISTER HORN BLOWER BY GENE HESSLER(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v12n13a02.html)
BOOK REVIEW: U.S. FEDERAL LARGE-SIZE NOTES(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n48a05.html)