General

A Die Study of Victorian Shillings Dated 1865. Part 1 – Validating the Statistical Methods – Gary Oddie

For some years the equations proposed by Warren Esty have been used to estimate the number of dies used to strike a particular issue or coinage. The equations are used to give point estimates of the number of dies and the coverage and also 95% confidence limits on these numbers. However, the equations are based on assumptions, and as reasonable as they are, it is still only a model, and therefore the question has often been asked “do you believe the results?”The acquisition of an 1865 shilling with the die number 102 (a rarity according to specialist collectors) led to the realisation that a study of the die numbered coinage can be used to test the statistical models. This is simply because we know what the answer is, as the dies are all numbered.A virtual collection of 184 shillings dated 1865 was gathered and used to systematically test the statistical methods with increasing sample size. This confirms that the equations

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“MCHBI” – A BNS Online Map Application for Medieval Coin Hoards in Britain and Ireland – Rob Page

The British Numismatic Society is pleased to announce the availability of a new feature on its website which allows users to explore Medieval Coin Hoards in Britain and Ireland (“MCHBI”). This brief article shows how to access the website and some examples of the products that can be generated.  The facility should prove of interest to numismatists, historians, archaeologists and metal detectorists.  With nearly 1900 hoards uploaded and increasing daily it is already the largest compilation of Medieval hoard data from Britain and Ireland, and will be continuously added to in order to keep it as up-to-date as possible.

Bedford Numismatic Society Open Day: 23/10/2022 – Gary Oddie

This note presents the recent history of the Bedford Numismatic Society, how it survived the decline of membership over the past few decades and how its numbers have steadily risen over the past decade. The informality has been the main key to success and when it was proposed to hold an open day to recruit further members it was supported throughout by all of the members. The second part of the note describes the planning and operation during the open day which has potentially found six new members from the 20+ that came on the day. The final section is left empty and will be completed in a few months’ time when we know how successful the event was and which areas of advertising were the most useful.

Women in British Numismatics – Gary Oddie

It has long been recognised that numismatics is predominantly a male pursuit. This note presents data from several sources (British Numismatic Society, Token Corresponding Society, Museums and academia etc) regarding the gender balance within each sector. It is clear that there is a significant difference between the hobby/amateur/collector/society/voluntary side of the subject (5-10% women) and the larger scale professional/academic/museum/university side of numismatics (30-50% women). There is no discussion as to how these differences have arisen or indeed how they may be addressed, but it is hoped the data will be of use for those suggesting future directions in the subject.

A Day at The Fitzwilliam Museum – Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest – Gary Oddie

This brief note gives details of a visit made to the new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum with the title “Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest”. The exhibition is the largest numismatic exhibition to have been created in the UK, filling three rooms of the top floor of the museum. The exhibits cover the period 1750 to 2022 and there is something for everyone interested in coins, tokens, paranumismatica and paper money. Topics of protest and dissent are covered from many countries. There is even a credit card in there!The curator, Richard Kelleher, has put together something quite original, modern and far reaching and it is definitely worth making a visit or two before it closes in early January.