Category Archives: Dumbarton Oaks

Medieval European Numismatics in the United States

By David Yoon for American Numismatic Society (ANS) …… The International Congress on Medieval Studies has met every May at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo for over 50 years, with the notable exception of the years 2020 through 2022 due to COVID. The resumption of an in-person conference this year was a welcome opportunity to […]

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Bulgar Slayer: The Coinage of Basil II

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. No lonelier man ever occupied the Byzantine throne – or any other, for that matter. Basil was ugly, dirty, coarse, boorish, totally philistine and almost pathologically mean. He was, in short, profoundly un-Byzantine. And all these things, one suspects, he would have readily admitted. He was not concerned with […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coins of the Iconoclasts

By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. The Iconoclastic Controversy was a period of near civil war in the Byzantine Empire that began in about 726 CE and lasted until about 787. It was revived in 814 and finally concluded in 843. The Controversy involved a religious dispute between Iconodules (“image servants”), who venerated icons […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coins – The Anonymous Folles of Byzantium

By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. Imperial Byzantine coinage served both economic and propaganda purposes. The coins routinely identified the reigning emperor or empress by name and title, and usually portrayed the ruler in some vigorous pose that demonstrated power and authority. One great exception was the copper coinage that began to appear circa […]

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The Image of Jesus on Ancient Coins

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. As with politicians, nothing is more important to gods than image … Perhaps this is the secret of the longevity of the God of Israel, that He never allowed an image of Himself[1]. THE OLD TESTAMENT’S STRICT PROHIBITION of idolatry inhibited the development of religious art in […]

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Kolbe & Fanning Sale Closes Tomorrow, July 15 at Noon

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers are currently holding Sale 146, which will close in a live online auction on this Saturday, July 15. The 400-lot sale features selections from several private European libraries and the specialized holdings of an American collector, and covers ancient, foreign and U.S. numismatics. Some highlights of the sale include: Lot […]

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Why Museums Hate Ancient Coins

The Fitzwilliam Museum – Cambridge, England By Mike Markowitz for Coinweek …. Ancient Coin Series AS COLLECTORS OF ANCIENT COINS, one of the most Frequently Asked Questions we encounter is “Don’t these things belong in museums?” The answer, sometimes with a patient sigh, sometimes with a snort of derision, is an emphatic, “No!” The Dirty Little Secret […]

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