Mark Borckardt writes:

Jon P. Amato was born in New York in 1940 and studied in the United States and Canada, earning his bachelor's degree from Arizona State University, his master's degree from the StateUniversity of New York at Buffalo, and his doctorate degree in economic geography from the University of Toronto.

He served for 20 years as a professor in the departments of Geography and Planning at Buffalo State College and the State University of New York at Albany. His professional publications includedworks on environmental analysis, agricultural location theory, and regional land use planning. He worked for 12 years as a professional economic developer for the states of Arizona and New York. Heprovided technical assistance to rural Arizona communities, and assisted several New York communities in their efforts toward economic revitalization.

A long-time coin collector who joined the American Numismatic Association in 1981, Amato joined the numismatic cataloging staff of Heritage Auctions after he retired from his position with theState of New York. He returned to his long-time home in Albany, New York in 2010, and continued as a part-time Heritage cataloger, working on nearly every catalog for the past seven years. Herecently began researching 1796 quarters with plans to publish a background and census of that issue. The Heritage cataloging staff plans to continue that research project in his memory.

His numismatic works include: "An Analysis of 1796-97 Draped Bust Half Dollars," The Numismatist, September 2001.

"Surviving 1796-97 Draped Bust Half Dollars and Their Grade Distribution," John Reich Journal, February 2005.

The Coinage of Augustus Saint-Gaudens as Illustrated by the Philip H. Morse Collection, with James L. Halperin, Mark Van Winkle, and Gregory Rohan (Numismatic Literary Guild ExtraordinaryMerit Award, August 2007).

"Jules Reiver's 1796-97 Draped Bust Half Dollar Varieties," John Reich Journal, April 2007.

"The Bayside New York Collection of 1796-1797 Half Dollar Varieties," John Reich Journal, November 2008.

"Breakup of the 1796-97 Half Dollar Reverse A," John Reich Journal, May 2012.

"American Indian Treaty Payments," The Numismatist, November 2010 (Numismatic Literary Guild Large Club Publications Best Article Award, August 2011).

The Draped Bust Half Dollars of 1796-1797: Numismatic Background and Census, James L. Halperin and Mark Van Winkle, editors, 2012 (Numismatic Literary Guild Extraordinary Merit Award,August 2013).

Numismatic Background and Census of 1802 Half Dimes: A Classic American Rarity, 2017 (Numismatic Literary Guild Extraordinary Merit Award, August 2017).

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: 1802 HALF DIMES (http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n20a02.html)