Pocket Change

Collectively branded as Pocket Change, the ANS publishes new content frequently on its blog, in The Planchet podcast, as well as videos. Back-issues of ANS Magazine are also available.

A Countermark Christmas
   ANS    
A Countermark Christmas
By Matthew Wittman

I was casting about for a subject appropriate to the holiday season when I came across this coin:

ANS, 1943.132.4

And so I figured I would review some of our more interesting countermarked coins for the holiday season. This 1843 US large cent was apparently countermarked for one A. S. Warner as a Christmas gift in 1845. I am not sure if the maker had a full set of letter punches because a C has been used instead of a G in “GIFT.” It has also been suggested that the maker may have been drinking.

ANS, 1957.109.4

This is a silver four drachm minted in Alabanda around 170…

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Identifying Roman Coins on Micropasts
   ANS    
Identifying Roman Coins on Micropasts
By Matthew Wittman

Micropasts is a web platform that hosts crowd-sourced collaborative research projects focused on archaeology, history, and heritage. The admirable goal of…

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Profiles in Research: Katherine Smoak
   ANS    
Profiles in Research: Katherine Smoak
By Matthew Wittman

Last week Katherine Smoak, a graduate student in the Department of History at Johns Hopkins University, visited the ANS to…

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The Poor Widow’s Mite
   ANS    
The Poor Widow’s Mite
By David Hendin

Tyndale Bible at the Bodleian Library, Oxford

Every year at Christmas time, I seem to see mentions of the “poor widow’s…

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Mysteries from the Vault: Ancient Amulet
   ANS    
Mysteries from the Vault: Ancient Amulet

With close to a million objects in the American Numismatic Society’s collections, the curatorial team occasionally comes across items that…

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NEH-Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Project
   ANS    
NEH-Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Project
By Matthew Wittman

The American Numismatic Society has been chosen as one of ten publishers to participate in the Humanities Open Book project, a…

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Coins at NYC's Tenement Museum
   ANS    
Coins at NYC's Tenement Museum
By Matthew Wittman

Orchard Street, ca. 1898Tenement Museum

The Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side explores the history of immigration in New York City with a…

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Gilbert & Dean and Counterfeiting in Boston, 1806-1808
   ANS    
Gilbert & Dean and Counterfeiting in Boston, 1806-1808
By Matthew Wittman

A combination of restrictive regulations and lack of available specie ensured that there was a persistent dearth of coinage in the…

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ANS Magazine 2015, Issue 4
   ANS    
ANS Magazine 2015, Issue 4

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Collecting Coins and the Conflict in Syria by Ute Wartenberg Kagan

The Starosselsky Collection: Imperial Histories and Cultural Currencies…

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PELLA: Coins of the Kings of Macedonia
   ANS    
PELLA: Coins of the Kings of Macedonia
By Matthew Wittman

The American Numismatic Society has launched a digital project that promises to be an important new research tool in ancient…

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Architecture on Roman Coinage
   ANS    
Architecture on Roman Coinage
By Matthew Wittman

The American Numismatic Society is pleased to announce the publication of Monuments in Miniature: Architecture on Roman Coinage, a new book…

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The Talented Mr. Wood
   ANS    
The Talented Mr. Wood
By David Hill

American Numismatic Society

Howland Wood: long-time ANS curator, Oriental coin authority, Huntington Award winner, and…illustrator? I must admit, I didn’t know…

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