Numismatics
38212
223995149
2008-07-06T21:32:48Z
Lightbot
7178666
Units/dates/other
{{Numismatics}}
{{Otheruses4|numismatics as a science|collecting|coin collecting}}
'''Numismatics''' ({{lang-la|numisma, nomisma}}, "coin"; from the {{lang-el|νομίζειν ''nomízein''}}, "to use according to law") is the [[scientific]] study of [[currency]] and its [[History of money|history]] in all its varied forms. While '''numismatists''' are often characterized as students or collectors of [[coins]], the discipline also includes a much larger study of [[payment]] media used to resolve [[debt]]s and the exchange of [[Good (economics and accounting)|good]]s. Lacking a structured [[monetary system]], people in the past as well as some today lived in a [[barter]] society and used locally found items of inherent or implied value. Early money used by primitive 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., [[cigarette]]s in prison). The [[Kyrgyz]] people used [[horse]]s as the principal currency unit and gave small change in lambskins.<ref name="Timeline">{{cite web|url=http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/amser/chrono14.html|title= Chronology of Money 1900 — 1919 |accessdate= 2006-08-09|author=Glyn Davies|ISBN 0 7083 1351 5}}</ref> The [[sheepskin|lambskins]] may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horse is not. Many objects have been used for centuries, such as [[Conch|conch shells]], [[precious metal]]s and [[Gemstone|gem]]s.
Today, most transactions take place by a form of payment with either inherent, standardized or [[Credit (finance)|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's value" or "intrinsic value."
[[Economic]] and [[historical]] studies of money's use and development are separate to the numismatists' study of money's physical embodiment (although the fields are related; economic theories of money's origin depend upon numismatics, for example).
==History of money==
{{main|History of money}}
Money itself must be a [[scarcity|scarce]] good. Many items have been used as money, from naturally scarce [[precious metal]]s and [[conch shell]]s through [[cigarette]]s to entirely artificial money such as [[banknote]]s. 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==
[[Image:Maximinus denarius.jpg|left|frame|A [[Ancient Rome|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.<ref>[[Suetonius]], ''Augustus'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Augustus*.html#75 75 on-line text].</ref>
[[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 [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles IV]] in 1355.
The first book on coins was ''De Asse et Partibus'' (1514) by [[Guillaume Budé]].<ref>''[[Brigham Young University]] [http://net.lib.byu.edu/aldine/44Bude.html library web page'']</ref>. 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 begin 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.<ref>{{cite book | title=Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science | date=1985 | isbn=0824720377 | pages=281}}</ref> 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===
{{main|Exonumia|Notaphily|Scripophily}}
[[Exonumia]] is the study of [[coin]]-like objects such as [[token coin]]s and [[medal]]s, and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration. This includes [[elongated coin]]s, encased coins, souvenir medallions, tags, badges, counterstamped coins, [[wooden nickel]]s, [[credit card]]s, and other similar items. It is related to numismatics proper (concerned with coins which have been [[legal tender]]), and many [[coin collector]]s are also exonumists.
[[Notaphily]] is the study of [[banknote|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 [[United States|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 [[stock]]s and [[Bond (finance)|Bond]]s. 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 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. These often called professional numismatists authenticate or [[Coin grading|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. Coins are especially relevant as source in the pre-modern period.
==See also==
{{wikt|numismatics}}{{commonscat|Coins}}
{{portalpar|Numismatics|United States penny, obverse, 2002.jpg}}
* [[Coin collecting]]
* [[Coin grading]]
* [[American Numismatic Association]]
*[[Joseph Pellerin]]
* [[Commodity money]]
* [[Money creation]]
* [[Where's George?]]
* [[Where's Willy?]]
* [[Auction catalog]]
* [[Currency Trading]]
* [[Manillas]] - a form of primitive or archaic money.
==Notes==
<div class="references-small">
<!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags-->
<references/>
</div>
[[Category:Numismatics]]
[[Category:Exonumia]]
[[Category:Collecting]]
[[Category:Numismatics| ]]
[[Category:Methods and principles in archaeology]]
[[ast:Numismática]]
[[be-x-old:Нумізматыка]]
[[bs:Numizmatika]]
[[bg:Нумизматика]]
[[ca:Numismàtica]]
[[cv:Нумизматика]]
[[cs:Numizmatika]]
[[da:Numismatik]]
[[de:Numismatik]]
[[et:Numismaatika]]
[[el:Νομισματική]]
[[es:Numismática]]
[[eo:Numismatiko]]
[[eu:Numismatika]]
[[fr:Numismatique]]
[[gl:Numismática]]
[[ko:화폐학]]
[[hr:Numizmatika]]
[[ia:Numismatica]]
[[is:Myntfræði]]
[[it:Numismatica]]
[[he:נומיסמטיקה]]
[[ka:ნუმიზმატიკა]]
[[lv:Numismātika]]
[[lt:Numizmatika]]
[[hu:Numizmatika]]
[[mk:Нумизматика]]
[[nl:Numismatiek]]
[[ja:貨幣学]]
[[no:Numismatikk]]
[[oc:Numismatica]]
[[pl:Numizmatyka]]
[[pt:Numismática]]
[[ro:Numismatică]]
[[ru:Нумизматика]]
[[simple:Numismatics]]
[[sl:Numizmatika]]
[[fi:Numismatiikka]]
[[sv:Numismatik]]
[[ta:நாணயவியல்]]
[[tr:Nümismatik]]
[[uk:Нумізматика]]
[[wa:Manoyince]]
[[zh:货币学]]