Does snobbery help motivate the archaeological community�s support for clamp downs on collecting? One might conclude �yes,� based on this: http://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-they-collect.html
I�ve had the pleasure of being both a Trustee of the American Numismatic Society and the head of a local ancient coin club, the Ancient Numismatic Society of Washington, DC. Both have done excellent work fostering the appreciation and study of ancient coins. The work of the ANS is unparalleled. But the work of individual collectors has been important too. For example, members of the ANSWDC have written books that have ranged from the major work on Seleucid coins to another on an understudied area in Roman numismatics.
Now, more information is being placed on the Internet. Alfredo De La Fe should be commended for his new contribution. To mock it instead only betrays the academic snobbery behind the archaeological community�s opposition to collectors and collecting.
Showing posts with label numismatics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label numismatics. Show all posts
Hillary More Attuned to Pop Culture than to Concerns of Numismatic Community?
I had to laugh a bit when I read that Hillary Clinton (or her staff) had time to write Jason Segal, a Hollywood personality, to decline an invitation to appear on his television show. See http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hillary-clinton-writes-jason-segel-rejection-letter-318512
In contrast, Secretary Clinton has declined to respond at all to correspondence expressing the sincere concerns of the numismatic community about how import restrictions are damaging small business and the appreciation and study of ancient coins in the United States.
What gives?
In contrast, Secretary Clinton has declined to respond at all to correspondence expressing the sincere concerns of the numismatic community about how import restrictions are damaging small business and the appreciation and study of ancient coins in the United States.
What gives?
Ancient Coins and the Cultural Property Debate at the ANS
The American Numismatic Society (ANS) Magazine is carrying a feature about ancient coins and the cultural property debate. As the ANS notes in an email to members,
The ANS has a long tradition of scholarly numismatic research and publication, often based upon the availability of information about the source of ancient coins, and thus supports efforts to preserve contextual information. On the other hand, much of the membership of the ANS consists of coin collectors and dealers, who have a strong interest in preserving the right to collect ancient coins. In the interest of informing its membership (and the public at large) on the issues involved, we have inaugurated a series of articles in ANS Magazine on various topics relating to ancient numismatics and the cultural property debate. An extended version of the print article is available to view online. All subsequent articles within this column will be published online as well.
For an overview by Rick Witchonke and an archaeologist's perspective by Sebastian Heath, see http://numismatics.org/html/dpubs/nonxml/WitschonkeHeathFinal.pdf
In his overview, Witchonke rightly notes that aggressive application of cultural property laws has disincentivized the sharing of numismatic knowledge. Meanwhile, while I agree with Heath that we all benefit from information gleaned from the Frome hoard, it does not follow that the State should keep all coins once they are recorded or that it is a legal requirement to record all coins found in the UK. In fact, the Treasure Act sets forth the legal duties of finders while the Portable Antiquities Scheme is a voluntary program that encourages coins not legally required to be reported to be recorded. Finally, I commend Heath's desire for greater transparency in the US process for imposing import restrictions on cultural goods, but would nonetheless suggest such restrictions have little practical impact other than to punish those importers who seek to comply with the law.
My own perspective should follow in the next of the series.
The ANS has a long tradition of scholarly numismatic research and publication, often based upon the availability of information about the source of ancient coins, and thus supports efforts to preserve contextual information. On the other hand, much of the membership of the ANS consists of coin collectors and dealers, who have a strong interest in preserving the right to collect ancient coins. In the interest of informing its membership (and the public at large) on the issues involved, we have inaugurated a series of articles in ANS Magazine on various topics relating to ancient numismatics and the cultural property debate. An extended version of the print article is available to view online. All subsequent articles within this column will be published online as well.
For an overview by Rick Witchonke and an archaeologist's perspective by Sebastian Heath, see http://numismatics.org/html/dpubs/nonxml/WitschonkeHeathFinal.pdf
In his overview, Witchonke rightly notes that aggressive application of cultural property laws has disincentivized the sharing of numismatic knowledge. Meanwhile, while I agree with Heath that we all benefit from information gleaned from the Frome hoard, it does not follow that the State should keep all coins once they are recorded or that it is a legal requirement to record all coins found in the UK. In fact, the Treasure Act sets forth the legal duties of finders while the Portable Antiquities Scheme is a voluntary program that encourages coins not legally required to be reported to be recorded. Finally, I commend Heath's desire for greater transparency in the US process for imposing import restrictions on cultural goods, but would nonetheless suggest such restrictions have little practical impact other than to punish those importers who seek to comply with the law.
My own perspective should follow in the next of the series.
Posters No Substitute for Publication Efforts
Coins Weekly is advertising a call for posters to publicise the theme of �Numismatics and Archaeology: coins, stratigraphies and contexts� at a conference being held in Italy. See http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=577
But posters are no substitute for actual publication efforts. During consideration of the renewal of the Italian MOU, the numismatic trade presented to CPAC a report cataloguing in detail Italy's poor stewardship of the coins already in State collections. For instance, a very cursory survey of Italian museums reveals at least 27 institutions with respectable numismatic holdings, but which have failed to publish full catalogues of even part of them.
It's even my understanding that no one has ever gotten around to publishing the coins excavated in Rome even before Italy became a unified nation-- some 150 years ago!
In my opinion, it is cynical in the extreme to claim as archaeologists have that import restrictions on "coins of Italian type" are necessary to further numismatic research when Italy's record in that regard is so poor and will certainly not improve anytime soon given the extreme budgetary pressures facing Italy's cultural establishment.
But posters are no substitute for actual publication efforts. During consideration of the renewal of the Italian MOU, the numismatic trade presented to CPAC a report cataloguing in detail Italy's poor stewardship of the coins already in State collections. For instance, a very cursory survey of Italian museums reveals at least 27 institutions with respectable numismatic holdings, but which have failed to publish full catalogues of even part of them.
It's even my understanding that no one has ever gotten around to publishing the coins excavated in Rome even before Italy became a unified nation-- some 150 years ago!
In my opinion, it is cynical in the extreme to claim as archaeologists have that import restrictions on "coins of Italian type" are necessary to further numismatic research when Italy's record in that regard is so poor and will certainly not improve anytime soon given the extreme budgetary pressures facing Italy's cultural establishment.
Labels:
CPAC,
double standards,
Italian MOU,
Italy,
numismatics,
poor stewardship
ANS Database Upgraded
The American Numismatic Society has upgraded the ability of scholars and collectors to search its extensive collection of ancient coins. For more, see
http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=565
As the story explains,
The new search tool is an open source implementation of several applications used in the Library, Archive, and Museum communities, including Apache Solr for faceted searching. The tool enables users to interact with the ANS collection through keyword searches or by browsing and sorting on numerous categorical and physical attributes common to numismatics. This search tool connects individual objects together by these searchable attributes, allowing users to seamlessly navigate from one object to its relations.
http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=565
As the story explains,
The new search tool is an open source implementation of several applications used in the Library, Archive, and Museum communities, including Apache Solr for faceted searching. The tool enables users to interact with the ANS collection through keyword searches or by browsing and sorting on numerous categorical and physical attributes common to numismatics. This search tool connects individual objects together by these searchable attributes, allowing users to seamlessly navigate from one object to its relations.
BM Coin Cabinet Celebrates 150th Anniversary
CoinsWeekly reports on the 150th Anniversary of the British Museum Coin Cabinet here:
http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=460
At its formation in 1753, the BM was given 20,000 ancient coins. A separate cabinet was formed in 1861. The collection was part of the Department of Manuscripts and then Antiquities before a separate Department of Coins and Medals was set up.
In any event, this again underscores the fact that ancient coins have been actively collected for generations, and that one cannot reasonably assume that an old coin is the product of a recent illicit dig.
http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=460
At its formation in 1753, the BM was given 20,000 ancient coins. A separate cabinet was formed in 1861. The collection was part of the Department of Manuscripts and then Antiquities before a separate Department of Coins and Medals was set up.
In any event, this again underscores the fact that ancient coins have been actively collected for generations, and that one cannot reasonably assume that an old coin is the product of a recent illicit dig.
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