Russell Rulau is an American numismatist. He has been involved in coin collecting for over 60 years. From his earliest days as a casual collector, Rulau has contributed to numismatics as a writer, editor and club organizer. His interest in world coins led him to create the "Coin of the Year" award. The award is presented annually by Krause Publications

Krause Publications

Krause Publications is a publisher of leisure-time & enthusiast magazines and books. Best known for its Standard Catalog of World Coins, a series of numismatic catalogs commonly referred to as Krause-Mishler catalogues or simply Krause catalogues. They provide information, pricing, and...

' World Coin News.

Literary career

While working for Amos Press, Rulau edited publications such as Coin World

Coin World

Coin World is an American weekly numismatic magazine. It is the world’s #1 publication for coin collectors and the weekly newspaper of the entire numismatic field...

and Numismatic Scrapbook. He was also responsible for creating World Coins Magazine.

He later worked for Krause Publications, and contributed to the editing of the World Coin News and Bank Note Reporter. He has also written several numismatic books, including How to Order Foreign Coins, Modern World Mint Marks, World Mint Marks, Hard Times Tokens, Early American Tokens, U.S. Merchant Tokens 1845-1860, U.S. Trade Tokens 1866-1889, Tokens of the Gay Nineties and Latin American Tokens. For many years, he also served as the North American representative for the Pobjoy Mint

Pobjoy Mint

The Pobjoy Mint is Europe’s leading private mint which produces legal tender commemorative and circulating coins, medals and tokens for governments, central banks and major companies throughout the world from its premises in Surrey, England.-History:...

.

Numismatic Honours

In addition to the American Numismatic Association

American Numismatic Association

The American Numismatic Association was founded in 1891 by Dr. George F. Heath in Chicago, Illinois. The ANA was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics along educational, historical and scientific lines, as well as enhance interest in the hobby.The ANA national headquarters and museum is...

, Rulau is a member of various other numismatic groups. These include the American Numismatic Society

American Numismatic Society

The American Numismatic Society is a New York City-based organization dedicated to the study of coins and medals.-Introduction:...

, Royal Numismatic Society

Royal Numismatic Society

The Royal Numismatic Society is a learned society and charity based in London, United Kingdom which promotes research into all branches of numismatics...

 and the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association. He is also a recipient of the Numismatic Literary Guild's coveted Clemy Award, and several awards from the American Numismatic Association

American Numismatic Association

The American Numismatic Association was founded in 1891 by Dr. George F. Heath in Chicago, Illinois. The ANA was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics along educational, historical and scientific lines, as well as enhance interest in the hobby.The ANA national headquarters and museum is...

. These awards include the Glenn Smedley Memorial Award, Lifetime Achievement Award and Medal of Merit.