The science of numismatics - what is it? Numismatics in Russia

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Choosing numismatics as an interesting hobby usually turns into a lifelong business. This is an exciting and interesting activity that allows you to collect works of art and study the history of each individual exhibit.

The Science of Money Development

Numismatics studies money as objects that at different times had different shapes and values. The significance of the coin as historical evidence was understood in antiquity, but the systematic development of the study of coins did not begin until the end of the eighteenth century. The Austrian priest Joseph Hilarius Eckel wrote the work Doctrina Numorum Veterum (Doctrine of the Ancients) in eight volumes (Vienna, 1793-1799), where an attempt was made to consider all the coins of ancient Greek and Roman coinage. After some time, Eckel's work was revised by other researchers.

This gave impetus to the scientific phenomenon of numismatics. What is the study of the great numismatic collections, learned in Europe. The systematization of knowledge was started, catalogs appeared. From Austria to other countries, numismatics stepped like a science to well-known universities under the supervision of experienced historians and archaeologists. In the late 1850s, antiquarian societies arose with a specialization"studying coins".

How to become a numismatist

Knowledge is the main tool for collecting coins. Along with them comes the desire to study in depth the development of money in the world. Everyone can become a numismatist and engage in a pleasant and useful hobby. Numismatics is the science that studies how money has evolved over the years. To engage in this fascinating business, you just need to start researching the technique of collecting coins. There are various organizations and associations that you can join. But this is not necessary in order to consider yourself a numismatist. Once you have made the decision to learn and collect coins, the first thing you need to understand is that your collection will never be complete.

Interesting hobby

Start your new hobby by reading about different types of coins, learn about their history.

• Find out about the different materials used to make coins.
• Explore the reasons and factors behind their value. With the accumulation of knowledge of history, you can find out that the value of an old coin does not always depend on its antiquity.
• Please note the production date of each coin and additional information about its rarity.
• If the date is erased, the rarity level of the coin is determined by the engraved image.
• Remember that cleaning a coin can reduce its value.
• Find out what is a "remake" in numismatics? Especially for numismatistsmake copies of coins with different finishes, characteristic of different eras. I call these items brand new. Sometimes this term is applied to fakes.
• Continued study of the history and significance of coins.

What is a coin

First of all, you need to have an idea about the meaning of the term "coin" itself. This is a piece of metal or other material, certified by a sign that determines the denomination. All these data are determined by documents that are issued by the executive branch for the issuance of money. The most obvious physical attribute of a coin is the material from which it was made - it was almost always, up to modern times, metal. In ancient times, even wood and bone were used. The metals chosen for minting must be in sufficient quantity to provide mints with raw materials. The choice of material varied from culture to culture. In China, at first the choice of metal fell on copper, in India - silver, in many countries they used an alloy of gold and silver (electrum) or silver. Usually English terms are used in the description of the coin, but standard catalogs almost universally use abbreviations that are derived from Latin. For example, A. V. (Aurum) is gold, AR (Argentum) is silver, AE (AES) is copper or its alloys. Proof coins are especially interesting for numismatists. What is proof in numismatics? On the absolutely smooth polished shiny field of the coin there is a matte legend made in a contrasting color. The inscriptions are located under the straightangle to the field, and traces of polishing material are often visible. During the production of the coin, two or more strikes were made. Collectors carefully store such exhibits to preserve their shine and dullness.

How coins were made in ancient times

Each ancient coin was produced by hand. Metal, be it bronze, silver or gold, is poured into molds to produce flan - blanks. They were cooled, heated below the melting point and placed in a matrix. An image made of metal for transferring to a coin was called a lot. The second lot in the form of an image was knocked out on the other side of the blank. The matrices were cut by hand and consisted of a couple of parts. The engravers had different qualifications, so coins of the same type may have stylistic differences from a coin of another issue series. The names of the coins often came from the name of the ruler or the technology of making money. On the issue of the name “penny”, numismatics believes that the name comes from the image on the obverses of St. George the Victorious with a spear, later a simple rider appeared, but also with a spear. It is believed that the people dubbed the small money in honor of the spear.

As the coins are described in the catalogs

In ancient times, a common way to make money was to mint coins of a specified weight from a certain alloy, which is called denomination. The numismatics believes that such a comparison of the weight of each series can determine the standard of the coins, which may be significant for chronology or attribution.a certain product. The margin is the area on the surface of the coin around the inscriptions that provides the background. It is often divided into left and right. One of its parts has its own name. This is a term that originates in Greek from the words "ex" and "ergona" and means belonging to the mint. There is a legend for the catalog. This term comes from a form of the Latin verb "lego", which means "to read". It describes the content of the coin. The legend may indicate the authority that issued the document for coinage, designate the mint, describe inscriptions and images. Inscriptions and symbols may surround or frame images and continue in cropping. As numismatics says, such an addition is called attributes and adjuncts.

Do I need knowledge of terminology

Ancient coins have been collected by collectors for centuries. Longer than the current owners of these treasures. Many old coins on the market are sold to collectors by the heirs of other collectors.

Attribute or nimbus is an addition to the image in the form of a wreath or diadem, scepter or palm branch, drapery, headdress, branch, cornucopia, ball, spear. The adjunct is usually found on a field or in an inscription. In the description, the images are listed from left to right after the description of the central figure. The need for terminology is recognized by the numismatics, that such a necessary division into the terms obverse and reverse or “heads” and “tails” to the front and back of the coin helps to describe the exhibits. None of these couples have anyrelation to the technique of coin production. It is important to know what is shown on the front matrix and on its back. The history of the origin of the coins and who they belonged to before can be worth more than the collection itself. Especially if the exhibits came from a well-known collector or auction.

What material is used in the collections

Many old coins found in controlled archaeological sites. Numismatics of Russia demonstrates most of them in museum collections. The ancient coins that are offered on the market today were found mainly in a group of treasures. These are exhibits that were lost or buried in antiquity and were found by amateurs with metal detectors near archaeological sites. In ancient times there were no banks. Feeling the danger, the owners of we alth simply buried them in the ground. Some countries prohibit searching for ancient coins with a metal detector. Some states have laws that allow treasure hunters to keep or sell some or all of what they find, and this is the source of antiquities on the market today.