| The history of money is a story thousands of years old. Numismatics is the scientific
study of money and its history in all its varied forms. Money itself must be a
scarce good. Many items have been used as money, from naturally scarce precious
metals and conch 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.
Numismatics
Coin collecting has existed since ancient times, it is known that Roman Emperors
were among some of the earliest coin collectors. It is called the "Hobby
of Kings" and rightfully so due to its most esteemed founders. Numismatics
reached its apex due to the great demand during the late Middle Ages and the
early Renaissance. In this period ancient coins were collected a great deal
by European royalty and nobility. It is known that Roman Emperors Augustus and
Julius collected Greek coins. Other collectors of coins are Pontif Boniface
VIII, Italian poet Petrarch, 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.
The 19th century was the most productive in building up national collections
and in publishing catalogues. Theodor Mommsen fostered the idea of a general
corpus of all Greek coins from all collections, an idea which is still not possible
to be realized.
In 1931 the British Academy promoted the idea of the sylloge, systematic publications
of single collections, according to mints and each coin illustrated. Some hundred
volumes appeared until today. The idea was taken over by scholars of medieval
Britain and in 1993 in the field of Islamic numismatics.
In the 20th century as well the coins were more and more seen as archaeological
object. After World War II in Germany a project "Fundmünzen der Antike
(Coin finds of the Classical Period)" were launched, to register every
coin found within Germany. This idea found successors in many countries.
Modern Numismatics
Modern numismatics are the study of the coins of the mid 17th to the 21st century,
the period of machine struck coins. Their study serve more the need of collectors
than historical studies and it is quite often successfully pursued by amateur
scholars 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 colourful "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 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 is 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 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 numismatics 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.
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