Money Talks: Negative Muon Analysis of Roman Gold from the “Year of the Four Emperors’’ 

With a new non-destructive technique—muonic X-ray emission spectroscopy—a recent study has been performed on Roman gold coins from the AD 68/9 Civil Wars, the so called “Year of the Four Emperors.” By being able to confirm what the true internal compositions of these aurei are, the research team was able to confidently show that they were occasionally seriously debased. On May 27 at 6:00 PM ET, Dr. George Green, Early Career Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and lead author on this study, will discuss the applications of negative muons to the cultural heritage sector and walk us through what his team have learned about Roman gold coinage produced during the “Year of the Four Emperors.” More.

This event will be held in-person and virtually. A link will be sent to all active members on the morning of the talk. Register to attend in person.

International Congress of Medieval Studies

The ANS is sponsoring a session on medieval numismatics at the virtual International Congress of Medieval Studies on Monday, May 9. The session is entitled Coinage, Money, and the State in Medieval Europe. Mark Salton Associate Curator of Medieval, Renaissance and Early European NumismaticsDavid Yoon will present the paper “State Action, Improvisation, and the Making of Visigothic Coinage.” ANS Members Ruth Pliego and Jane Sancinito will also present during this session.

ANS Lyceum: Numismatic Methods and Theories

This ANS Lyceum course continues with lessons on metallurgical analysis, metrology and weigh standards, and statistical analysis. The course is being taught by Chief Curator Peter van Alfen, Mark Salton Associate Curator of Medieval, Renaissance and Early European Numismatics David Yoon, Andrew M. Burnett Assistant Curator of Roman Numismatics Lucia Carbone, Assistant Curator of American Numismatics Jesse Kraft, and ANS Fellows Warren Esty and Paul Keyser.

May Long Tables

ANS Director of Data Science Ethan Gruber will give an introduction to nomisma.org —the engine behind our collaborative online resources; ANS Fellow Richard Beleson will present coins relating to the Colosseum; Dr. Ben Lee Damsky will take a close look at A Mysterious Medallion of Antoninus Pius; and ANS Fellow Len Augsburger, ANS Librarian and Archivist David Hill, and Kim Dumas will showcase digitized ANS archival material newly-available through the Newman Numismatic Portal.

Beth Deisher received 2022 Q. David Bowers Award

ANS Fellow and Trustee Beth Diesher was honored with the Central States Numismatic Society’s 2022 Q. David Bowers Award, recognizing her lifetime achievement in numismatics. She was presented with the award on April 30 at the Central States Numismatic Society Convention. More.

Payment, Profit, or Prestige? The Political Economy of Achaemenid Coin Production, ca. 550–330 BCE

On April 21, ANS Chief Curator Dr. Peter van Alfen hosted our second hybrid Money Talks where he presented the various reasons suggested for the production of ancient coinage in general and Achaemenid royal coinage in particular. Drawing upon theoretical approaches in the fields of economics and political science, he proposed a framework for understanding the rationalities behind ancient coin production beyond just state payments, especially those made for military purposes. Watch on YouTube.

Jesse Kraft’s April Lectures

On April 7, Assistant Curator of the American Numismatics Dr. Jesse Kraft presented a talk entitled, “Fips, Levies, Shillings, and Dollars: Language and the Circulation of Spanish-American Small Change in the Early United States” for the Business History Conference (BHC). On April 8, Dr. Kraft broadcasted live from the ANS Brooklyn Medallic Art Co. facility on “MACO Die Shells: An Essential Stage between Model and Medal” for the Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP) Symposium. 

Lucia Carbone’s April Lectures

On April 7, Andrew M. Burnett Assistant Curator of Roman Numismatics Dr. Lucia Carbone gave a virtual talk titled “Latino e Moneta” (Latin and Money) for the World Day of the Latin Language (Giornata Mondiale della Lingua Latina) at the University of Rome TorVergata. On April 8, she taught a session for a University of Michigan Graduate Seminar in Numismatics titled “The Impact of Roman dominion over the monetary system of the Western Province.” On April 13, she taught a session for a Columbia University Graduate Seminar in Numismatics titled “Portraits of women on Roman coinage in the late Republic and early Roman Empire”.

The ANS at the Central States Convention

The Central States Numismatic Society’s 83rd Anniversary Convention took place from April 27–30 in Schaumburg, IL. Assistant Curator of American Numismatics Dr. Jesse Kraft and Assistant Director of Membership and Development Austin Goodwin Andrews welcomed new members, greeted old friends, and represented the Society as ANS Trustee and Fellow Beth Deisher received CSNS’s 2022 Q. David Bowers Award.

April Long Tables

Roman Historian Dr. Hannah Cornwell spoke on the values reflected on Roman coins in the 40s–30s BCE; Marina Fischer, Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary, gave a tour of the Nickle Galleries at the University of Calgary; ANS Archivist and Librarian David Hill looked at the archives of Hans Schulman, Mark and Lottie Salton, and Maurice Frankenhuis; and ANS Fellow John Kraljevich delved into the American practice of counterstamping foreign coins in the 19th century. Watch these lectures and more on YouTube.