American Numismatic Society Research Articles

R. Ross Holloway, 1934–2022

R. Ross Holloway, 1934–2022

Numismatics & Bibliographic Description: How Rutgers University Libraries Described Coins with MODS

Realia pose challenges when utilizing bibliographic metadata standards. Rutgers University Libraries, in collaboration with Rutgers University’s Classics Department, created a large digital library collection of ancient Roman coins in RUcore, Rutgers University’s Community Repository. RUcore records use Metadata Object Description Standard (MODS) for descriptive metadata and many custom fields. Therefore, it was necessary to adapt numismatic description to fit this structure. During the planning stage of the project, Numismatic Description Standard (NUDS), a numismatic database standard implemented and maintained by the American Numismatic Society (ANS), and VRA Core, an art-centered XML metadata standard created by the Visual Resources Association, provided valuable insights. However, this project faced challenges in terms of interoperability and time constraints that required altering the team’s approach to this unique set of resources in a digital library environment. Key issues were encoding B.C.E. dates in a machine-readable format for optimal searching and browsing, developing local controlled vocabularies, providing subject access to the iconography on coins, and the research-intensive work of metadata description. This article provides “how to” information, as well as a critical analysis of lessons learned and opportunities for improvement as the linked data landscape has changed both bibliographic and numismatic description.

Old-Regime France and Its Jetons: Pointillist History and Numismatics. By James E. McClellan III (New York, American Numismatic Society, 2020) 268 pp. $100.00

<i>Old-Regime France and Its Jetons: Pointillist History and Numismatics</i>. By James E. McClellan III (New York, American Numismatic Society, 2020) 268 pp. $100.00

The J. Sanford Saltus Award

This article traces the origins and recent developments of the J. Sanford Saltus Award for Lifetime Achievement in Medallic Art. Initiated in 1913 at the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and first awarded in 1919, the Saltus Award continued to be one of the most prestigious and most coveted awards for sculptors and other artists engaged in numismatic design and handheld sculpture.

Touraj Daryaee. “Middle Persian Graffiti on Sāsānian and Arab-Sāsānian Coins at the American Numismatic Society”

Dechiffrement de 15 graffiti en moyen-perse sur des monnaies sassanides et arabo-sassanides dans les collections de l’American Numismatic Society a New York augmentant ainsi le corpus qu’on possede de ce type d’inscriptions essentiellement constitue de noms propres, de chiffres et de formules.

Catalogue of Coins of the Kings of the Spartocid Dynasty in the 2nd Century BC (Hygiaenon, Spartocus and the Paerisades)

AbstractIn this article questions are examined relating to the minting of coins by the kings of the Bosporan dynasty of the Spartocids in the 2ndcentury BC: Hygiaenon, Spartocus and the Paerisades. Most of the scholars studying the coins issued by thearchonHygiaenon confined his emissions to the middle of the 2ndcentury BC (Shkorpil, Oreshnikov, Zograf, Shelov, Karÿshkovskiï). Stolyarik proposed a new dating for the issues of Hygiaenon coins, namely the first quarter of the 2ndcentury BC but, starting out from the data obtained through comparative analysis of the typology of the Hygiaenon stater with two monograms on its reverse and in the light of the results obtained from the investigation of posthumous Lysimachus staters minted in Byzantium by H. Seyrig and C. Marinescu, the emissions of Hygiaenon coins can be dated to the end of the first half or middle of the 2ndcentury BC (c. 160-150 BC). The issue of coins by King Spartocus is only known thanks to a single didrachma bearing the name Spartocus and published in 1821 by Kohler, whose article was translated into Russian by G. Spasskiï in 1850. Kohne (1857), Prince Sibirsky (1859), Burachkov (1884) and others dated the Spartocus didrachma to the end of the 3rdcentury BC, although as early as 1877 A. von Sallet drew attention to the fact that in the legend on that didrachma (now held in the collection of the SHM) the letterepsilonwas of lunar shape – Є. In view of this von Sallet dated the Spartocus coin to the 2ndcentury BC. Later, after accepting von Sallet’s comments, Podshivalov started assigning the Spartocus didrachma a date ofc. 170 BC (1884, 1887, 1888). The second didrachma bearing the name of King Spartocus (held by the American Numismatic Society), published by K. Golenko in 1982 and then re-published by Anokhin (1986, No. 152) and Stolyarik, bears a legend incorporating anepsilonof rectangular shape (E). When we know about the different shape of the letterepsilonin the legends of the two didrachmas, it has to be acknowledged that they could not have been issued at one and the same time. This then raises the question as to the authenticity of the second didrachma bearing the name Spartocus. Staters bearing the name of King Paerisades come from different periods starting with the first decade of the 2ndcentury up until 111/110 BC. The end of their issue is established by the death of Paerisades V. The staters vary on account of different letters and monograms found on the reverses. Conclusive study of these coins has so far remained a desideratum. A different chronological classification of staters bearing the name of King Paerisades is proposed, based on analysis of the typology of the monograms on the posthumous Lysimachus staters minted in Byzantium and Chalcedon carried out by H. Seyrig and C. Marinescu.

Recent Work on the Monetary and Metrological History of Egypt, 868–1517 C.E.

It is a truism in the fields of Islamic history that those who study the course of Islam in Egypt are blessed with a relative abundance of surviving primary sources, whether they be literary, documentary, archaeological, or material. This is also the case for numismatic evidence. In fact, the coinages of Muslim Egypt (and of the Syrian areas controlled by dynasties based in Egypt) are the subject of one of the deepest historiographies in Islamic numismatics. From the early catalogues of the British Museum and Khedival collections edited by Stanley Lane-Poole in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, to the 1982 catalogue of the Egyptian National Collection prepared by an Egyptian–American team and published by the American Research Center in Egypt, to subsections of numerous other catalogues, many specimens of Egyptian coinage have been made available for study. Using this numismatic evidence, from 1956 to 1980 the coinages of three Egyptian dynasties were analyzed in separate and significant monographs: Oleg Grabar’s The Coinage of the Tulunids (New York: American Numismatic Society, 1957); Paul Balog’s Coinage of the Mamlūk Sultans of Egypt and Syria (New York: American Numismatic Society, 1964); and Balog’s The Coinage of the Ayyūbids (London: Royal Numismatic Society, 1980). While these three works did not and do not represent the final word about these coinages, in bringing the numismatic evidence to a wider audience of scholars interested in related topics they in turn stimulated further numismatic scholarship. Until recently, however, the numismatic developments of the Ikhshīdid period (935–969) and the Fāṭimid period (969–1171) lacked focused studies aiming for comprehensive treatment of those eras. The appearance of three works published over 2006–2007 have filled this lacuna. 1 (This leaves only the Ottoman period of Egypt without its own monographic treatment. Coins minted in Egypt prior to the rise of the Ṭūlūnids are best approached as subsections of Umayyad and ʿAbbāsid numismatics.) Moreover, the recent posting of a digital resource presenting the entire holding of Islamic glass weights preserved in the Gayer-Anderson Museum provides a useful resource for those interested in the small-scale metrology of Islamic Egypt. As a result, students and scholars now have at their fingertips a chronologically comprehensive set of references to aid in their study of numismatics and wider monetary history for Islamic Egypt. Moreover, these works solidify the important roles played by Jere L. Bacharach and Norman D. Nicol, who along with Paul Balog (d. 1982) have done so much to advance the field.

The American Numismatic Society Library and Numismatic Scholarship

Abstract This article discusses the early development of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) Library in its richer historical context, congruous with developments in numismatic scholarship and th...

The politics of visualizing an imperial demise: transforming a Byzantine chronicle into a Sicilian visual narrative

A large, brightly painted, gilded image renders in graphic detail the discarding of the body of a slain Byzantine emperor, blood still dripping from his neck. On the middle of the same page in this...

Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins: The Early Spanish-American Mints and Their Coinages, 1536–1773 Sewall Menzel The American Numismatic Society, New York, 2004. 496 pp., over 2,000 illus., $125.00 cloth

Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins: The Early Spanish-American Mints and Their Coinages, 1536–1773 Sewall Menzel The American Numismatic Society, New York, 2004. 496 pp., over 2,000 illus., $125.00 cloth

Agoranomia: Studies in Money and Exchange Presented to John H. Kroll (review)

Reviewed by: Agoranomia: Studies in Money and Exchange Presented to John H. Kroll Robert Weir Peter G. van Alfen, ed. Agoranomia: Studies in Money and Exchange Presented to John H. Kroll. New York: The American Numismatic Society, 2006. Pp. 259; 14 plates. US $125. ISBN 10: 0-89722-298-9; ISBN 13: 978-0-89722-298-3. This volume is a collection of twelve essays presented by friends, colleagues, and students of John H. (“Jack”) Kroll in honour of his 2006 retirement from the Classics Department of the University of Texas at Austin. His four-decade long academic career in numismatics has had a profound influence on the discipline, particularly in the areas of Athenian coinage and the origin of coinage, as is clear from the bibliography of serious writing on both of these topics. This is a handsome book. The paper stock is heavy and slightly glossy; the fonts are easy on the eye; the margins are comfortable; and the fourteen plates of black and white coin photographs at the back of the volume are of the highest technical quality in almost every instance. Each contribution is followed by its own bibliography. Three indices (locorum [247–251], hoard [253–254], and general [255–259]) provide access to all articles. Upon closer inspection, one finds that ten of the twelve contributions are arranged in chronological order by topic, with two wider-ranging articles placed at the end to round out the volume. Except for Hélène Nicolet-Pierre and Raymond Descat, all contributors submitted their articles in English, even if it was not their first language. All translations into English are fluent. Spot checks of the indices revealed no errors. Indeed, the standard of editorial overall is satisfactorily and consistently high: this reviewer noted only two obvious errors on the first read-through (110: 1,200 drachmai would be 120 mnai, not 200; and 117: 4,500 drachmai would be 0.75 talents, not 1.25). The form is clearly sound, but how about the substance of the book? Nicolet-Pierre (“Les talents d’Homère,” 1–20) reviews the use of the Homeric and Linear B term talanta, which she defines either as a unit of [End Page 174] weight for gold or as a pair of hand-held balance scales. She draws a connection between the latter meaning and two handheld balances of gold foil recovered from the third shaft grave of Mycenae’s Grave Circle A, and concludes that such talanta were Bronze Age status symbols that Homer (mis)remembered as an attribute of Zeus. Descat (“Argyrônetos: Les transformations de l’échange dans la Grèce archaïque,” 21–36) surveys the transition from multifarious transactions and notions of value (timê) determined by social considerations to a simpler and less socially embedded system where silver alone was what mattered. Homeric society did practice some exchanges outside the traditional and generally aristocratic host-guest relationships, i.e. exchanges between strangers that required more or less immediate reciprocity between “vendor” and “purchaser”, but these became the norm, thanks principally to foreign trade (the example of Archaic Chios is conspicuous). Robert W. Wallace (“KUKALIM, WALWET, and the Artemision Deposit: Problems in Early Anatolian Electrum Coinage,” 37–48) proposes, on the basis of reverse punch-links and stylistic factors, that some early Lydian fractions bearing the names of Kukalim and Walwet were struck simultaneously ca. 580 BC. Whereas the latter name likely identifies king Alyattes (ca. 610–560 BC), the former cannot denote king Gyges (circa 680–644 BC), though a homonymous descendant of the early sixth century is a possibility. In his publication of a recent hoard of early Abderan fractions, most of them previously unknown hemiobols, Jonathan H. Kagan (“Small Change and the Beginning of Coinage at Abdera,” 49–59) proposes that Abdera’s first coins included small change, an event which the hemiobols’ weight standard dates to ca. 530 BC. The significance of the hemiobols is two-fold. First, their appearance right at the outset of Abderan coin production challenges the view that cities minted only large denominations at first (52). Secondly, metrological analysis reveals that the hemiobols were clearly the product of a batch process...

Hacksilber to Coinage: New Insights into the Monetary History of the Near East and Greece. By Miriam S. Balmuth. Numismatic Studies, no. 24. New York: The American Numismatic Society, 2001. Pp. 134 + 38 figs. $50.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewHacksilber to Coinage: New Insights into the Monetary History of the Near East and Greece. By Miriam S. Balmuth. Numismatic Studies, no. 24. New York: The American Numismatic Society, 2001. Pp. 134 + 38 figs. $50.Eleanor GuralnickEleanor GuralnickChicago, Illinois Search for more articles by this author Chicago, IllinoisPDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 63, Number 2April 2004 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/422283 Views: 9Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref * Permission to reprint a book review in this section may be obtained only from the author.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Jonathan Wood, Yi-Ting Hsu An Archaeometallurgical Explanation for the Disappearance of Egyptian and Near Eastern Cobalt-Blue Glass at the end of the Late Bronze Age, Internet Archaeology (Jan 2019).https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.52.3

The Silver Coinage of Cappadocia, Vespasian-Commodus. By William E. Metcalf. Numismatic Notes and Monographs, no. 166. New York: The American Numismatic Society, 1996. Pp. xiv + 173 + 54 pls. $75.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewThe Silver Coinage of Cappadocia, Vespasian-Commodus. By William E. Metcalf. Numismatic Notes and Monographs, no. 166. New York: The American Numismatic Society, 1996. Pp. xiv + 173 + 54 pls. $75.Stuart D. SearsStuart D. SearsThe American University in Cairo Search for more articles by this author The American University in CairoPDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 62, Number 1January 2003 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/375932 Views: 2Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Permission to reprint a book review in this section may be obtained only from the author.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Piotr Jaworski, Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski, Shota Mamuladze The rise and fall of the Roman fort in Apsaros: recent numismatic evidence, Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean , no.30/230/2 (Dec 2021): 289–306.https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.2083-537X.pam30.2.11

In brief. The California Court of Appeal's second decision in Naftzger v. The American Numismatic Society

In brief. The California Court of Appeal's second decision in <i>Naftzger v. The American Numismatic Society</i>

The mystery of the Kalasa: A link to Bharat Natayam?

The author describes a 3rd/4th century A.D. Indian coin and suggests that the female figure portrayed on the reverse as standing by a kalasa or vase may provide a clue to the possible place of origin of the Bharat Natayam, a dance discussed by S. Soundarapandian in an earlier issue of The Mankind Quarterly. Key Words: Numismatics, Yaudheya Gana, Bharat Natayam, India. Amongst the most nicely executed bronze coins of ancient India are those of the Yaudheya Gana.1 The coins seem to have been struck during the third or fourth century A.D. and are, fortunately, relatively common. Four of them in my collection weigh 11.17, 11.5, 11.27 and 10.7 grams, a rather remarkable consistency for bronze coins of that time. Such consistency of weight is strong evidence that these coins were dependent on their copper content for their monetary value and were thus not of a flat nature. The diameters of my four coins range from 22 to 25 millimeters. The specimen weighing 11.17 grams has a diameter of 23 millimeters and can be described as follows: Obverse: Standing, facing representation of the war god Karttikeya. In his right, extended hand he holds a spear nearly as long as lic is tall. Under his left arm (also extended away from his bod; ), that is, in the lower right field, is a peacock facing toward him. Around the perimeter is an inscription in Bramhi characters transliterated as Yaudheyaganasya jayah Victory to the Yaudheya nation. Karttikeya wears an object on his head, perhaps a helmet. Reverse: Karttikeya's wife is portrayed full length. Her right arm is bent and raised, while her left hand rests on her hip. In the left field there is a vase (kalasa) containing what appears to be a plant or plants represented by three lines. In the right field is a triratna (a religious symbol) over which there are three dots. The whole design is encircled by 27 rather large dots. Illustrations and information about the coin are to be found in John Allan, A Catalogue of the Indian Coins in the British Museum, 1936, reprinted in 1967, Plate XL, nos 2-6; Centennial Publication of the American Numismatic Society, New York, 1958, Plate L no. 5.; P. L. Gupta, Coins (in the series, India - The Land and People), New Delhi, 1969 (Bhadra 1891), Plate 10, no. 101.; E. J. Rapson, The Coinage of Ancient and Medieval India, Plate III, no. 14.; John M. Rosenfield, The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans, Berkeley, 1967 No. 286; and D. C. Sircar, Studies in Indian Coins, Delhi, 1968. Plate IV, no. 20. The whole design follows somewhat the general pattern of the contemporary Kushan coinage, which, in turn, seems to have been influenced by the Roman coinage which circulated to some extent in India at that time. Sircar believes that the weight is on the 100-Rati standard. (The rati seed is reddish and about the size of a large barley seed.) What is the significance of the flower vase? …

Theos Epiphanes: Crisis and Response

Burton Y. Berry gave a unique silver tetradrachm to the American Numismatic Society in 1959. The obverse of the coin bears the diademed and draped bust of a Ptolemaic king wearing sideburns, and, in the left field behind the king's portrait, a six-pointed star or comet (*). The reverse bears an eagle facing left on a thunderbolt, an inscription ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟϒ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ (“of Ptolemy the king”), a six-pointed star or comet in the right field, and a monogram (ΠΑ) in the left field in front of the eagle. Dawson Kiang first published the tetradrachm in 1962. Dating it to the reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor (180–145 BCE), Kiang supposed that the portrait was an effigy of that monarch. In this article, I shall identify the portrait with Ptolemy V Epiphanes and submit a new hypothesis about the origin of his surname in 199/8 BCE.

An eighth century hoard from Eastern Saudi Arabia

Editor's note. The article published here was completed on October 22, 1966. Although never published before, copies have long been on file in both the Dept. of Coins and Medals in the British Museum, and at the American Numismatic Society. The basic content of the hoard was reported on in Coin Hoards 1 (1975). In 1986, Robert W. Morris revised the text of his paper and sent me a copy. After the founding of Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, I asked him whether he would like to publish the paper, a suggestion to which he responded enthusiastically. On August 25, 1990, just ten days after I sent him a letter about my plans for preparing his text for publication, Robert W. Morris died from complications of myeloma. An avid amateur numismatist for many years, Morris was interested in the pre-Islamic and Islamic coinage of northeastern Arabia (where he had lived and worked for Aramco) right up until his death. It is hoped that, while there may be certain details in the paper which professional numismatists might wish to correct, the body of material presented here will be of interest to a wide audience of scholars concerned with the late pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods in eastern Arabia.

An ‘Ayyār coin from Sīstān

The coin described below is in the collection of the American Numismatic Society, New York, and, so far as is known, is a unique specimen. The photograph and technical details are by kind permission of the Society, and the authors are grateful to Dr Michael Bates, Curator of Islamic Coins, for his helpfulness here.

BOOK REVIEWS

BOOK REVIEWS

(S. P.) Noe The coinage of Metapontum. With additions and corrections by A. Johnston. 2 parts in 1. (American Numismatic Society, numismatic notes and monographs, 32 and 47.) New York: American Numismatic Society. 1984. Pp. ix + 120, [23] plates. $32.00.

(S. P.) Noe The coinage of Metapontum. With additions and corrections by A. Johnston. 2 parts in 1. (American Numismatic Society, numismatic notes and monographs, 32 and 47.) New York: American Numismatic Society. 1984. Pp. ix + 120, [23] plates. $32.00. - Volume 106