March 2020 eNews
Announcements and Upcoming Events
Updating the Coinage of Hadrian on OCRE
The ANS is updating Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE). New research on the coins of Hadrian necessitates a significant upgrade—these coins making up 10% of coinage on OCRE. This work encompasses years of research and new finds to redefine the system for categorizing Hadrianic coinage. To support this project, we started our first ever gofundmecampaign! More…
Announcing the ANS podcast: The Planchet!
The ANS has launched a podcast! Hosted by our Publications Director Andrew Reinhard, each episode of The Planchet will be a conversation with numismatists covering a range of topics. Episode 1 features ANS Assistant Curator of the Americas Dr. Jesse Kraft on how Americans spent foreign currency before the Coinage Act of 1857. The Planchet is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google/Android. Subscribe and hear a new episode each month! More…
A Digital Money Talks | Antony and Cleopatra: A Match Made on Coinage
Our April 4 Money Talks with Dr. Lucia Carbone has moved online! Coins represented a central element in Mark Antony and Cleopatra’s dynastic propaganda. Their monetary policy in the East represented a real ‘revolution.’ In the iconography, the medium, and the weight of their coins, Antony and Cleopatra introduced radical changes that became the norm in the Imperial Age. As with any Money Talks, you will be able to ask Dr. Carbone questions and hear responses in real time. The session is open to ANS members only. RSVP to Emma Pratte at membership@numismatics.org for the link. More…
Digitizing the Medieval and Modern Collection
We are pleased to announce that the ANS will begin enhancing and further developing the digitization of our Medieval and Early Modern Collection, with an emphasis on the approximately 22,000 coins that represent Europe in the years 1500–1700.
This vital area of the Society’s collection can now be addressed thanks to a grant from an anonymous donor of up to $200,000 over 12 months, which will help support this project. This magnanimous donation comes at a critical time for the ANS, which like many other nonprofits is being challenged by the ongoing economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Such a financial investment in the Society’s future provides encouragement and inspiration to us all.
The ANS is honored to receive the 2020 BAMS President’s Medal
The British Art Medal Society (BAMS) makes its annual premier award, known as the President’s Medal, to an individual or an organization considered to have made a significant contribution to the understanding, appreciation and encouragement of the art of the medal. We are excited to announce that the BAMS Council decided to give the 2020 award to The American Numismatic Society. In making the award, the Council was mindful of the ANS’s outstanding publications, exhibitions, The J. Sanford Saltus award, and most recently saving the Medallic Art Company Archives. The Council felt that enthusiasm for the art of the medal is growing, thanks to the ANS’s initiative and its indefatigable pursuit of excellence. More…
White Gold has Arrived!
White Gold: Studies in Early Electrum Coinage is now in print and available for purchase. Edited by Peter van Alfen and Ute Wartenberg with Wolfgang Fischer-Bossert, Haim Gitler, Koray Konuk, and Catharine C. Lorber, this co-publication with The Israel Museum features 21 new works of scholarship on early electrum coinage. Several years in the making, White Gold weighs in at over 8 lbs (4 kg), its 717 pages containing text, b/w, and full-color images, charts, maps, and tables, including three pull-outs. $105 for ANS Members. Purchase. More Information…
Coinage of Philip II published to PELLA
As a component of the NEH-funded Hellenistic Royal Coinages project, PELLA is a research tool aiming, among other things, to provide a comprehensive typology and catalog of the coinages struck by the Macedonian kings of the Argead dynasty (c. 700–310 BCE). The new updated version of PELLA now provides 4,995 individual coin type pages with links to over 20,000 examples of the coinage (in the name) of Philip II, the coinage (in the name) of Alexander the Great, and the coinage of Philip III Arrhidaeus that are present in 19 collections located in the United States and Europe. More…
One Ton of MACO Cataloged
Assistant Curator of the Americas Jesse Kraft is chipping away at the expansive MACO collection and archives. He recently surpassed a milestone by officially cataloging one-ton worth of material. To put this into perspective, this included nearly every medal, plaque, belt buckle, and key fob that MACO produced from 1907 to halfway through 1980!
Hidden Power: Late Cistophoric Production and the Organization of Provincia Asia (128–89 BC)
Available for pre-order! Late Cistophoric Production and the Organization of Provincia Asia (128–89 BC) by Dr. Lucia Carbone catalogs and illustrates some 1,737 cistophoric tetradrachms and fractions from the mints of Ephesus, Pergamum, Tralles, Laodicea, Apamea, Adramyteum, Nysa, and Smyrna. Most of the coins included in the study are late cistophori, issues between 133/4 BCE and the 60s BCE. $70 for ANS Members. More…
Old Regime France and its Jetons: Pointillist History and Numismatics
Available for pre-order! Old Regime France and its Jetons: Pointillist History and Numismatics, by James E. McClellan III delves into the history of non-monetary tokens of Bourbon-era France, including their origins, hidden messages, and the people who engraved them. $70 for ANS Members. More…
A Digital Money Talks | Coins and Computation: New Developments in the Computer-Aided Die Study
Join Zachary Taylor from Trinity University and Chief Curator Peter van Alfen for a virtual Money Talks on The Computer-Aided Die Study (CADS). Die studies help numismatists learn about the ancient money supply, mint layout and manufacturing processes, and much more, but can be tedious and strenuous to conduct. CADS aims to solve this problem by automating a vast majority of the ‘busy work’ in a die study, cutting the time needed for sorting and clustering by orders of magnitude. More…
March in Review
A Major Digital Archive Publication
270 documents pertaining to Greek coin hoards have been added to the ANS Digital Archives (ARCHER), and 60 new archival authorities have been added into the ANS Biographies. These authorities include numerous prominent numismatists, archaeologists, dealers, and collectors, as well as some individuals who are not so prominent—people only attested through our archives and a scant provenance records from other museums. Each of these authorities will be created or updated in the Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) project, along with links back to our archival records. More…
Ancient Gems and Their Connection to Coins: An Introduction
On March 11, Paweł Gołyźniak gave a presentation onAncient Gems and Their Connection to Coins: An Introduction. His lecture gave an overview of the study of ancient engraved gems and their relationship to coins—discussing various engraving techniques and materials to place these precious objects in their historical and political settings. Available on YouTube now!
The magazine is on the way!
The first ANS Magazine of 2020 will be arriving soon. Mailed out last week, this issue will include An Exhibition of the Medallic Arts: Presenting the work of Victor D. Brenner by Jesse Kraft, All that Glisters is not Gold: Copper and Value in Precolonial Africa by David Yoon, and a feature on the ANS 2020 Annual Gala.
Remember to check Pocket Change!
The ANS has been publishing a blog, Pocket Change, since 2015. It features stories from the lighter side of numismatics in which our curators and staff write about things like numismatic fortune telling traditions or judging a medallic arts competition. In February, we made a commitment to post regularly in an effort to reach out to our members outside of the New York area and it could not have come at a better time. We hope you enjoy! Visit Pocket Change
Working through the Pandemic
Even with a global pandemic, the ANS has not slowed down! Among other things, the curatorial department is doing a major push on data clean-up in our collection’s database—over 25,000 records have been cleaned-up this last week alone, working on a new component of the NEH-funded Hellenistic Royal Coinages which will be launched soon, and updating the coinage of Hadrian on OCRE. The library cataloging continues as well as improvements and updates to DONUM. Our Publications Director Andrew Reinhard is working to edit, typeset, proofread, and design The Tiflis Dirhams of Möngke Khān, by Kirk Bennett, and In the Treasure Room of the Sakra King: The Native Copper Coinage of Northern Gandhara (ca. 550–1100 CE), by Waleed Ziad. On top of this, we are preparing upcoming Money Talks for virtual consumption, writing for Pocket Change, working on the next ANS Magazine, and planning a new episode of The Planchet.
