Christopher Evelyn Blunt, (16 July 1904 – 20 November 1987) was a British

merchant banker A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commod ...

and

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...

Life

Blunt was born in London, the second son of the Reverend Arthur Stanley Vaughan Blunt and of Hilda Violet Blunt, ''née'' Master. His brothers were the writer

Wilfrid Jasper Walter Blunt Wilfrid Jasper Walter Blunt (19 July 1901 – 8 January 1987), known simply as Wilfrid Blunt, was an English art teacher, writer, artist and a curator of the Watts Gallery in Compton, Surrey, from 1959 until 1983. Life His parents were the Re ...

and the art historian and spy Anthony Frederick Blunt. Blunt was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

but, unlike his brothers, did not attend university. In 1924 he joined the banking house Higginson & Co. (later part of

Hill Samuel Hill Samuel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group's Offshore Private Banking unit. It was formerly a leading British merchant bank and financial services firm before the takeover by TSB Group Plc. in 1987, which itself merged with ...

), becoming partner in 1947. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Blunt was successively attached to the General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force and

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allies of World War II, Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the ...

. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

in 1940, appointed OBE and Officer of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

in 1945. He retired in 1946 with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Blunt was a major numismatist. He was director of the

British Numismatic Society The British Numismatic Society exists to promote the study and understanding of British numismatics. The Society was founded in 1903, focusing on all forms of coinage, tokens, banknotes and medals relating to the British Isles and former parts ...

from 1935 and its president from 1946 and 1950, and the president of the

Royal Numismatic Society The Royal Numismatic Society (RNS) is a learned society and charity based in London, United Kingdom which promotes research into all branches of numismatics. Its patron was Queen Elizabeth II. Membership Foremost collectors and researchers, bo ...

between 1956 and 1961. He was the general editor of the

Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles The Sylloge of the Coins of the British Isles (SCBI) is an ongoing project to publish all major museum collections and certain important private collections of British coins. Catalogues in the series contain full details and illustrations of eac ...

from 1956 to 1987. He was elected a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA) in 1936 and FBA in 1965.

References

External links

Christopher Evelyn Blunt (1904-1987)
at BnF Data {{DEFAULTSORT:Blunt, Christopher Evelyn 1904 births 1987 deaths People educated at Marlborough College British numismatists British bankers Royal Artillery officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Legion of Merit Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the British Academy British Army personnel of World War II Presidents of the Royal Numismatic Society 20th-century British businesspeople