Numismatics

Numismatics
Claudius II coin (colourised).png
Numismatics
Terminology
Portal
Currency
Coins, Banknotes,
Forgery

Circulating currencies
Community currencies

Company scrip, Local exchange trading system (LETS),
Time dollars

Fictional currencies

Ancient currencies
Greek, Roman, China, India
Byzantine

Medieval currencies
Modern currencies

Africa, The Americas,
Europe, Asia, Oceania
Production
Mint, Designers
Exonumia

Notaphily

Scripophily

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Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the exchange of goods. Lacking a structured monetary system, people in the past lived in a barter society and used locally found items of inherent or implied value. A few people today still use bartering in absence of a monetary system. Early money used by people is referred to as "Odd and Curious", but the use of other goods in barter exchange is excluded, even where used as a circulating currency (e.g., cigarettes in prison). The Kyrgyz people used horses as the principal currency unit and gave small change in lambskins.[1] The lambskins may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horse is not. Many objects have been used for centuries, such as cowry shells, precious metals and gems.

Today, most transactions take place by a form of payment with either inherent, standardized or credit value. Numismatic value may be used to refer to the value in excess of the monetary value conferred by law. This is also known as the "collector value." For example, a collector may be willing to pay more than $2.00 for a United States two-dollar bill, given their low circulation.

Economic and historical studies of money's use and development are an integral part of the numismatists' study of money's physical embodiment.

Contents

Etymology

First attested in English 1829, the word numismatics comes from the adjective numismatic, meaning "of coins", borrowed 1792 from French numismatique, which derives from Late Latin numismatis, genitive of numisma, a variant of nomisma meaning "coin",[2] itself the latinisation of the Greek νόμισμα (nomisma), "current coin, custom",[3] which derives from νομίζω (nomizō), "to hold or own as a custom or usage, to use customarily",[4] in turn from νόμος (nomos), "usage, custom",[5] ultimately from νέμω (nemō), "I dispense, divide, assign, keep, hold".[6]

History of money

Money itself must be a scarce good. Many items have been used as money, from naturally scarce precious metals and cowry shells through cigarettes to entirely artificial money such as banknotes. Modern money (and most ancient money too) is essentially a token - an abstraction. Paper currency is perhaps the most common type of physical money today. However, goods such as gold or silver retain many of the essential properties of money.

History of numismatics

A Roman denarius, a standardized silver coin.

Coin collecting may have existed in ancient times. Caesar Augustus gave "coins of every device, including old pieces of the kings and foreign money" as Saturnalia gifts.[7]

Petrarch, who wrote in a letter that he was often approached by vinediggers with old coins asking him to buy or to identify the ruler, is credited as the first Renaissance collector. Petrarch presented a collection of Roman coins to Emperor Charles IV in 1355.

The first book on coins was De Asse et Partibus (1514) by Guillaume Budé.[8] During the early Renaissance ancient coins were collected by European royalty and nobility. Collectors of coins were Pope Boniface VIII, Emperor Maximilian of the Holy Roman Empire, Louis XIV of France, Ferdinand I, Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg who started the Berlin coin cabinet and Henry IV of France to name a few. Numismatics is called the "Hobby of Kings", due to its most esteemed founders.

Professional societies organized in the 19th century. The Royal Numismatic Society was founded in 1836 and immediately began publishing the journal that became the Numismatic Chronicle. The American Numismatic Society was founded in 1858 and began publishing the American Journal of Numismatics in 1866.

In 1931 the British Academy launched the Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum publishing collections of Ancient Greek coinage. The first volume of Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles was published in 1958.

In the 20th century as well the coins were seen more as archaeological objects. After World War II in Germany a project, Fundmünzen der Antike (Coin finds of the Classical Period) was launched, to register every coin found within Germany. This idea found successors in many countries.

In the United States, the US mint established a coin Cabinet in 1838 when chief coiner Adam Eckfeldt donated his personal collection.[9] William E. Du Bois’ Pledges of History... (1846) describes the cabinet.

C. Wyllys Betts' American colonial history illustrated by contemporary medals (1894) set the groundwork for the study of American historical medals.

Modern numismatics

Modern numismatics is the study of the coins of the mid 17th to the 21st century, the period of machine struck coins. Their study serves more the need of collectors than historians and it is more often successfully pursued by amateur aficionados than by professional scholars. The focus of modern numismatics lies frequently in the research of production and use of money in historical contexts using mint or other records in order to determine the relative rarity of the coins they study. Varieties, mint-made errors, the results of progressive die wear, mintage figures and even the socio-political context of coin mintings are also matters of interest.

Subfields

Exonumia is the study of coin-like objects such as token coins and medals, and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration. This includes elongated coins, encased coins, souvenir medallions, tags, badges, counterstamped coins, wooden nickels, credit cards, and other similar items. It is related to numismatics proper (concerned with coins which have been legal tender), and many coin collectors are also exonumists.

Notaphily is the study of paper money or banknotes. It is believed that people have been collecting paper money for as long as it has been in use. However, people only started collecting paper money systematically in Germany in the 1920s, particularly the Serienscheine (Series notes) Notgeld. The turning point occurred in the 1970s, when notaphily was established as a separate area by collectors. At the same time, some developed countries such as the USA, Germany and France began publishing their respective national catalogues of paper money, which represented major points of reference literature.

Scripophily is the study and collection of stocks and Bonds. It is an interesting area of collecting due to both the inherent beauty of some historical documents as well as the interesting historical context of each document. Some stock certificates are excellent examples of engraving. Occasionally, an old stock document will be found that still has value as a stock in a successor company.

Numismatists

The term numismatist applies to collectors and coin dealers as well as scholars using coins as source or studying coins.

The first group chiefly derive pleasure from the simple ownership of monetary devices and studying these coins as private amateur scholars. In the classical field amateur collector studies have achieved quite remarkable progress in the field. Examples are Walter Breen, a well-known example of a noted numismatist who was not an avid collector, and King Farouk I of Egypt was an avid collector who had very little interest in numismatics. Harry Bass by comparison was a noted collector who was also a numismatist.

The second group are the coin dealers. Often called professional numismatists, they authenticate or grade coins for commercial purposes. The buying and selling of coin collections by numismatists who are professional dealers advances the study of money, and expert numismatists are consulted by historians, museum curators, and archaeologists.

The third category are scholar numismatists working in public collections, universities or as independent scholars acquiring knowledge about monetary devices, their systems, their economy and their historical context. An example would be Kenneth Jenkins. Coins are especially relevant as source in the pre-modern period.

List of publicly displayed numismatic collections

Country State/City Description (Museum Name, etc.)
Argentina Retiro, Buenos Aires Casa de Moneda de la República Argentina
Armenia Yerevan History Museum of Armenia
Austria Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum
Bahrain Manama Central Bank of Bahrain Currency Museum
Belgium Brussels National Bank of Belgium Museum
Brazil Brasília Museu de Valores do Banco Central
Canada Ottawa Currency Museum Bank of Canada
China Beijing China Numismatic Museum[10]
China Shanghai Shanghai Museum
Colombia Bogotá Cundinamarca Casa de Moneda de Colombia
Costa Rica San José Numismatic Museum
Cuba Havana Numismatic Museum
Denmark Copenhagen National Museum of Denmark
France Paris Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque nationale de France
France Paris Monnaie de Paris
Germany Berlin Bode Museum, Museumsinsel
Germany Dresden Coin Cabinet in Royal Palace/Münzkabinett im Residenzschloss
Germany Frankfurt Numismatic Museum/Münzkabinett Historisches Museum Frankfurt
Germany Jena Oriental Coin Cabinet Jena
Greece Athens Numismatic Museum of Athens
India New Delhi National Museum, New Delhi
India Mumbai www.museum.rbi.org.in
Indonesia Jakarta Museum Bank Indonesia
Indonesia Purbalingga Museum Uang Purbalingga
Israel Jerusalem Israel Museum
Italy Florence Mint Tower, Florence Numismatic Museum/Museo della Moneta a Firenze: Torre della Zecca Firenze
Italy Florence National Archaeological Museum in Florence
Italy Lucca Lucca Mint/Zecca di Lucca
Italy Naples Naples National Archaeological Museum
Italy Rome National Museum of Rome Crypta Balbi/Museo Nazionale Romano: Crypta Balbi
Italy Rome Banca d'Italia School groups only and by appointment only. Banca d'Italia Museo della Moneta
Italy Rome Vatican Vatican Museums Philatelic and Numismatic Museum/Museo Filatelico e Numismatico
Japan Tokyo Bank of Japan Money Museum BOJ-IMES[11]
Macedonia Skopje Narodna Banka na Republika Makedonija [1]
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery
Philippines Manila Museo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Qatar Doha Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum
Russia St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum
Spain Madrid Museo Casa de la Moneda
South Africa Johannesburg Absa Money Museum
Suriname Paramaribo Numismatic Museum of the Centrale Bank van Suriname
Sweden Stockholm Royal Coin Cabinet
Sweden Uppsala Uppsala University Coin Cabinet
Switzerland Zurich Money Museum
Ukraine Odessa Odessa Numismatics Museum
United Kingdom Cambridge Fitzwilliam Museum
United Kingdom Glasgow Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery[12]
United Kingdom London British Museum Department of Coins and Medals
United Kingdom Manchester Manchester Museum[13]
United Kingdom Oxford Ashmolean Museum
United States Colorado Springs American Numismatic Association Money Museum
United States Washington, D.C. National Numismatic Collection (NNC), Smithsonian National Museum of American History

List of important numismatic scholars

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Glyn Davies. Chronology of Money 1900 — 1919. ISBN 0 7083 1351 5. http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/amser/chrono14.html. Retrieved 2006-08-09. 
  2. ^ nomisma, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus
  3. ^ νόμισμα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  4. ^ νομίζω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  5. ^ νόμος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  6. ^ νέμω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  7. ^ Suetonius, Augustus 75 on-line text.
  8. ^ Brigham Young University library web page
  9. ^ Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. 1985. p. 281. ISBN 0824720377. 
  10. ^ http://english.cntv.cn/program/cultureexpress/20110527/105007.shtml
  11. ^ http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english_htmls/index.htm
  12. ^ http://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/collections/collectionsummary/coinsandmedals/#d.en.199557
  13. ^ http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/collection/money/
  14. ^ http://www.oeaw.ac.at/numismatik/mitglieder.html
  15. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/sep/29/mark-blackburn-obituary
  16. ^ http://tenthmedieval.wordpress.com/tag/obituaries/
  17. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8848951/Mark-Blackburn.html
  18. ^ http://www.britac.ac.uk/fellowship/elections/2003/burnett_a.cfm
  19. ^ http://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/about_us/staff/coins_and_medals/joe_cribb.aspx
  20. ^ http://bnf.academia.edu/FrancoisThierry/About
  21. ^ http://www.moneyandmedals.org.uk/

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Numismatics — • The science of coins and medals Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Numismatics     Numismatics     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Numismatics — Nu mis*mat ics, n. [Cf. F. numismatique.] The science of coins and medals. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • numismatics — (n.) study of coins, 1829, from NUMISMATIC (Cf. numismatic). Also see ICS (Cf. ics) …   Etymology dictionary

  • numismatics — [no͞o΄miz mat′iks, nyo͞o΄miz mat′iks, no͞o′mis mat′iks, nyo͞o′mis mat′iks] n. [see NUMISMATIC] the study or collection of coins, medals, tokens, paper money, etc. numismatist [no͞o miz′mə tist, nyo͞omiz′mə tist; no͞omis′mə tist, nyo͞omis′mə tist] …   English World dictionary

  • NUMISMATICS — Interest in Jewish coins arose already in the late Middle Ages, e.g., with maimonides and estori ha parhi . Special studies, however, were carried out only considerably later. For geographical reasons and due to the fact that Jewish coins bear… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Numismatics — The study of the physical embodiment of various payment media (i.e. currencies). The study of numismatics as it applies to coins, is often in the research of the production and use of the coins to determine their rarity. Numismatics has many… …   Investment dictionary

  • numismatics — noun plural but singular in construction Date: circa 1828 the study or collection of coins, tokens, and paper money and sometimes related objects (as medals) • numismatist noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • numismatics — /nooh miz mat iks, mis , nyooh /, n. (used with a sing. v.) the study or collecting of coins, medals, paper money, etc. [1820 30; see NUMISMATIC, ICS] * * * …   Universalium

  • numismatics — noun a) The study of coins (or of medals) b) The collecting of coins (or of medals) See Also: numismatist, exonumia …   Wiktionary

  • NUMISMATICS —    the name given to the study and science of coins and medals …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

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