A New Resource for the Study of Applied Numismatics

The systematic and comprehensive study of coin finds from recorded material contexts can be (and has been) called by a myriad of names: "Fundnumismatik," "Coins in Context," "Contextual Numismatics," "Numismatic Archaeology/Archaeological Numismatics," "Applied Numismatics," etc. There are a relatively small, but growing, number of specialists in this field and most of them seem to be located in Britain and Germany. An important new resource for those specialists is certain to be the new the Applied Numismatics List. I received an announcement of the list today from a colleague. It has been organized by Kris Lockyear and some other numismatists to help bring various scholars working on related topics into closer contact. According the informal announcement I received, the purpose of the list will be to provide a forum "where we could swap information, reports, data, ask questions regarding databases, statistics and all that sort of thing." I urge anyone who has an active interest in the academic study of coin finds, economy, and other fields that make use of applied numismatics to join and contribute to this resource. Hopefully, it will serve as a important venue for the exchange of information, resources, and serve as a venue to discuss developing methodologies within the field.

Cross-posted from N.T. Elkins, "A New Resource for the Study of Applied Numismatics," Numismatics and Archaeology, 30 April 2008.