![]() ![]() When a coin is discovered by a legal detectorist at an officially organised rally under the supervision of a Finds Liaison Officer, some will still decry a loss of its archaeological context – though they are conspicuously quiet about the routine deep ploughing that thoroughly obliterates archaeological remains and often brings a coin right to the surface in the first place. The success of the 1996 Treasure Act of England and Wales along with the Portable Antiquities Scheme which permits the use of metal detectors and incentivises the declaration of any finds, has proven it possible for all parties to work together for mutual benefit and in defence of heritage. The use of modern metal detectors has of course led to a dramatic increase in the number of ancient coins discovered but also in turn the number of ancient sites identified. For centuries coins have been accidentally unearthed by builders, workmen and farmers. ![]() In the face of numerous arguments that usually display little understanding of how the coin market operates, collectors take a pragmatic view – responding to situations as they are and prioritising above all the preservation of ancient coins that have always and will always be discovered, whether we like it or not.Ĭontrary to the popular image of ruthless treasure hunters desecrating ancient graves to get a few coins, most ancient coins are actually discovered in large, sometimes massive hoards. Many of these detractors knowingly conflate the collecting of ancient coins – duplicated in their millions – with unique works of art like statues or frescoes. Collectors do a huge amount of good that is often ignored while the hobby increasingly needs defending from uninformed, agenda-driven attacks by media, academia and government. The vast majority of collectors are genuine lovers of history who strive to research, document and preserve their artefacts for future generations. The McGill Collection will be of interest to numismatists, including collectors, dealers and museum curators, as well as to historians of the ancient world.Coin collecting has a long and proud history stretching back centuries - a hobby with a strong academic tradition enjoyed by everyone from kings and presidents, to professors, tycoons, celebrities and the common man on the street. Study of the catalogue will be repaid with knowledge of examples of most kinds of ancient Greek and Roman coinage. One may say that nearly all time periods and mints are represented. This combined catalogue is unusual because so few university coin collections have ever been fully catalogued and published and is outstanding on account of its diversity. The published collection consists of 1,763 coins, almost equally divided between Greek and Roman. The volumes are richly illustrated with plates. In Volume III are a Supplement by Louise Cass-Conrad of the Roman coins not in Volume I and Corrigenda to Volumes I and II. Shlosser, contains the ancient Greek (including Judean and Indian) bronze coins and the Greek Imperials. The third and last volume (1984), also by Prof. Shlosser, lists the gold and silver ancient Greek coins. Volume I also contains a Roman Supplement by Vivien Law and a short history of the collection by John Sullivan. The Roman catalogue of Volume I is by D.H.E. This catalogue of The McGill University Collection of Greek and Roman Coins brings together reprints of three volumes. ![]()
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