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by Fresco Sam-Sin, Leiden University

The Great Court of the British Museum

With the generous support of the The Nicholas Lowick Memorial Fund for the promotion of Oriental Numismatic Research I was able to visit the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum in the last week of January, 2018. My goal was to have a last close look at the first cash coins of the Aisin era (1616-1636) before finalizing a chapter in which this coinage plays the leading role. My interest this time was especially in one specific, tiny dot. For me, that dot is crucial in answering the question of whether this coinage is genuine Aisin cash, or an anachronistic invention. Aisin cash was cast under the eyes of the first Manchu khans. Their lineage took over Ming China to establish the last dynasty of China, the Daiqing (1644-1912). Aisin coinage throws a new light on the formative years of a ruling elite busy shaping what would become one of the biggest land empires in history.

Aisin cash or not?

As always, the department’s staff was very helpful and interested. Curator of East Asian money, Helen Wang, went out of her way to make sure that I had time and space to write and to look at the coins, look again, and then to look some more. I aim to finish my chapter in the coming weeks, and then hope to find an opportunity to present its outcome to the Royal Numismatic Society.

In the final instalment of Society prizes for 2018, it has been the pleasure of the Council to consider nominations for the Samir Shamma Prize for Islamic Numismatics.

Thanks to the generosity of our late Honorary Fellow Mr Samir Shamma, in 1992 The Royal Numismatic Society awards this prize every two years for the book or article(s) published during the previous three years which in the view of the Council is most useful to students of Islamic numismatics.

This last few years have been rich in numismatic scholarship and publications, and in reflection of this, and the equal merit of both works, the Council has decided that for this prize too, as with the Lhotka and Parkes Weber Prizes for 2018, two winners will split the award for the following works:

Hassan al-Akra, L’histoire de Baalbek à l’époque médiévale d’apres les monnaies (636-1516), Beirut/Damascus (Institut français du Proche-Orient) 2016

Arianna d’Ottone Rambach, ‘La collezione di Vittorio Emanuele III – Monete arabe’, Bollettino di Numismatica 35 (2015)

The Standing Caliph Coinage
by Tony Goodwin

The Standing Caliph coinage of late Seventh Century Syria was highly unusual in having an image of the Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Malik on the obverse. First issued in Jerusalem around 690CE, it was then struck in considerable variety, in both gold and copper, at 19 separate mints. This is the first comprehensive survey of the Standing Caliph coinage and describes images, legends and mint practices in detail. It also includes historical background to show how the coinage fitted in to the caliph’s wide ranging programme of reforms. The book concludes with a catalogue of 450 coins, all of which are illustrated. It is aimed at numismatists, archaeologists and collectors, but should also be of interest to students of early Islamic history and art.

ISBN: 978-1- 909492-63- 9
v +169p, illustrated throughout (Archetype Publications 2018) Pb £36

A copy has been given to the RNS library

Notifications of Society prizes continue this week with the announcement of the Parkes Weber Prize.

The Parkes Weber Prize was instituted in 1954 through the generosity of the late F. Parkes Weber and is under the administration of the Council of the Society.

It is awarded for an original essay of not more than 5,000 words on any subject relating to coins, medals, medallions, tokens or paper money.

In 2018 the RNS Council decided to award the prize to two new voices in the field, whose original contributions addressed distinct numismatic topics with originality and rigour. They are:

George Green, ‘The relationship between the Romans and their gold coinage A.D. 64−A.D. 200’

Charlotte Mann, ‘The circulation of Festival coins struck for the Eleusinian Mysteries’

The Council congratulates both winners and extends its thanks to the expert readers who assisted the Council in evaluating all entries in the context of their particular period and region of focus. Entries are warmly invited for the Parkes Weber Prize 2019, and information submitting work for consideration can be found here.

One of the most pleasurable duties of he RNS is to award a range of prizes, most of them in memory of former members of the Society, in recognition of outstanding work done in service of numismatics. Further information about the Society’s honours and awards can be found here. This year the Society has awarded three prizes (the Lhotka Memorial Prize, the Parkes Weber Prize and the Samir Shamma Prize for Islamic Numismatics), the results of which will be presented in three consecutive posts on this blog over the coming days.

Lhotka Memorial Prize

The Lhotka Memorial Prize was endowed in 1962 by the late Honorary Fellow, Professor J.F. Lhotka (University of Oklahoma), in memory of his father, Dr. J.F. Lhotka.

It is awarded to the author of the book or article in English considered most helpful to the elementary student of numismatics and published in the previous two calendar years. Previous winners can be viewed here.

In 2018 it was decided to award the prize to two authors, whose different but excellent works were judged to make equally valauble contributions to the promotion of numismatic study. These are:

Dario Calomino (2016) Defacing The Past: Damnation and Desecration in Imperial Rome, Spink, in collaboration with the British Museum.

‘Like many rulers, Roman emperors used inscriptions, sculptures and coins to project their authority. But the imperial image could be outraged and subverted for political and religious reasons. The memory of Roman emperors and high-ranking officials could be officially condemned after their death through a process known as ‘damnatio memoriae’, meaning that a person’s memory was attacked and largely erased. This was particularly true if rulers were overthrown or executed. Their names were erased and their portraits defaced. Imperial images were also mutilated and destroyed by Rome’s enemies to contest the imperial authority.’

This volume is available to purchase via Spink and Co. Ltd here.

Peter Thonemann (2016) The Hellenistic World: Using Coins as Sources, Cambridge University Press.

‘Coinage is one of our key sources for the rich and fascinating history of the Hellenistic world (323–31 BC). This book provides students of the period with an up-to-date introduction to Hellenistic gold, silver and bronze coins in their cultural and economic contexts. It also offers new perspectives on four major themes in contemporary Hellenistic history: globalisation, identity, political economy and ideology. With more than 250 illustrations, and written in a lucid and accessible style, this book sheds new light on the diverse and multicultural societies of the Hellenistic world, from Alexander to Augustus. The author assumes no prior knowledge of Hellenistic history, and all Greek and Latin texts are translated throughout.’

This volume is available to view and purchase via Cambridge University Press here.