Peter van Alfen

Hellenistic Royal Coinages (HRC)(http://numismatics.org/hrc/) is a National Endowment for the Humanities funded project based at the American Numismatic Society in New York City. HRC is a web-based resource for users to learn about, research, and conduct different types of analyses on the coinages produced by the different dynasties and rulers of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East during the Hellenistic period (ca. 323–31 BC). These include the coins struck by (and in the name of) Alexander the Great and those struck by his successors, such as the Seleucids in the Near East and the Ptolemies in Egypt.

(http://numismatics.org/pella/) As a component of the National Endowment for the Humanities funded Hellenistic Royal Coinages project, PELLA is an innovative research tool aiming, among other things, to provide a comprehensive typology and catalogue of the coinages struck by the Macedonian kings of the Argead dynasty (c. 700–310 BC), arguably the most influential coinages of the ancient Greek world. Fueled first by indigenous precious metal mines in their native Macedonia, and later by the spoils of their conquests, including the rich treasures of the Persian Empire, the Argeads’ numismatic output was monumental. For centuries after their deaths, coins in the name of Philip II (ruled 359–336 BC) and Alexander the Great (ruled 336–323 BC) continued to be produced by successor kings, civic mints, and imitators from Central Asia to Central Europe. The coinage of the Argeads themselves and that produced in their names has been extensively studied, but to date no comprehensive, easily accessible catalogue of their coinages exists. PELLA is designed to fill that gap, cataloguing the individual coin types of the Argead kings from Alexander I (ruled 498–454 BC), the first of the Macedonian kings to strike coins, down to Philip III Arrhidaeus (ruled 323–317 BC), the last of the titular kings to do so. Included as well as are the numerous posthumous civic and successor coinages struck in the names of the kings.

The current version of PELLA provides links to examples of the coinage (in the name) of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus present in a dozen collections located in the United States and Europe (see Contributors). The PELLA project currently focuses on the coinage (in the name of) Alexander III and Philip III, using reference numbers from Martin Price's  The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus  , London 1991, as the means of organizing the coinages from various institutions. The next stage will focus on the coinage (in the name of) Philip II, using Le Rider,  Le monnayage d'argent et d'or de Philippe II frappé en Macédoine de 359 a 294 , 1977, as the means of organizing the coinages. Pella will then focus on the coinages of Alexander I to Perdiccas III using SNG ANS as the means of organizing the coinages from various institutions.

As part of the National Endowment of the Humanities funded Hellenistic Royal Coinages project, Antigonid Coins Online (AGCO) is a new research tool that will provide wide access to the coins listed in various print typologies of the coinages produced by the Hellenistic Antigonid dynasty (306–168 BC). This first version of AGCO, launched in July 2020, features only the coinage of Demetrius I Poliorcetes (r. 294–287 BC) based on the typology published in Edward T. Newell’s 1927 volume, The Coinages of Demetrius Poliorcetes with cross-references as well to those types in the name of Alexander III of Macedon catalogued by Martin Price in his 1991 volume The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus . Future versions of AGCO will incorporate the coinages of additional Antigonid kings. While the coins of Demetrius in the ANS collection serve as the core of the current searchable catalogue, links to coins (many of which are unique) in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the British Museum, the Munzkabinett der Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and other public and private collections, are also available.

(http://numismatics.org/sco/) In January, 2018, the American Numismatic Society launched Seleucid Coins Online. At the time it was announced that the development of Seleucid Coins Online (SCO) would take place in two parts in imitation of the print volumes, Seleucid Coins: A Comprehensive Catalogue by Arthur Houghton, Catharine Lorber, and Oliver Hoover, published in two parts in 2002 and 2008 by the American Numismatic Society and Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. The first part, by Houghton and Lorber, presented and interpreted all the numismatic material for Seleucus I to Antiochus III known up to 2002. The second part, by Houghton, Lorber, and Hoover, did the same for the Seleucid kings from Seleucus IV to Antiochus XIII. In total, more than 2,491 primary coin types were published in these volumes.

This current version of SCO (v.2), launched in November, 2018, completes the type corpus incorporating material related to Seleucid Coins, Part I, covering the reigns from Seleucus I to Antiochus III (c. 320–187 BC), and the material in Part II covering the reigns from Seleucus IV to Antiochus XIII (187–64 BC) as well as the posthumous Roman imitations (63–14/13 BC). Note that the numbering system of SCO now corresponds fully to the print publications; the numbering system used in SCO v.1 has been deprecated.

As part of the National Endowment for the Humanities funded Hellenistic Royal Coinages project, Seleucid Coins Online (SCO) is a new research tool that will provide wide access to the coins listed in the print volumes of Seleucid Coins—not only the entries in the main catalogue, but also pieces presented separately in the appendices (e.g., plated issues, non-Seleucid coins bearing Seleucid countermarks, etc.). While the Seleucid coins in the ANS collection (some 5,129 pieces) serve as the core of the searchable catalogue, all types in the original publications will be included in the database, ultimately with links to coins (many of which are unique) in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the British Museum, the Munzkabinett der Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and other public and private collections. When necessary, entries in the catalogue will provide corrections to descriptions and interpretation with explanatory commentary by Oliver Hoover. Links to relevant bibliography in DONUM, the ANS online library catalogue, and eventually to articles are envisioned for the future in order to make Seleucid Coins Online virtually a one-stop research tool for Seleucid numismatics.

CoinHoards is a component of the National Endowment for the Humanities funded Hellenistic Royal Coinages project developed by the American Numismatic Society (ANS). An innovative research resource, CoinHoards provides primary data and other information on 2,387 hoards of coins produced by Greeks and other non-Roman peoples in the Mediterranean and adjacent regions between ca. 650 and 30 BCE. In addition to a basic description, users will find on the page devoted to each hoard mapping tools for the findspot and mint(s) where the coins found in the hoard were produced, bibliographical references, and a list of the hoard contents. Where possible, each type of coin listed is linked to a typological description, such as those found on PELLA, Seleucid Coins Online, and Ptolemaic Coins Online. Additional links are provided where possible to relevant resources associated with the hoard, which might include the MANTIS record of individual coins from the hoard held in the ANS collection, ANS publications, the notebooks of Edward T. Newell, and associated correspondence, notes, and archival material.

The current version of CoinHoards is based on the print publication Inventory of Greek Coin Hoards, edited by Margaret Thompson, Otto Mørkholm, and Colin Kraay published in 1973 by the ANS for the International Numismatic Commission. Future versions of CoinHoards will incorporate material from the print publications Coin Hoards, vols. 1–10, published by the Royal Numismatic Society, and more recently by both the Royal Numismatic Society and the ANS. For more information about the viability of this database with regard to statistical and geographic analyses, please see our Statement of Completeness and Accuracy.

(www.numismatics.org/aod) Art of Devastation is a new catalogue and research tool designed to help in the identification, cataloguing, and contextualization of the abundant and varied types of non-monetary numismatic items issued during and immediately after the First World War (1914-1918). These items include art medals, commemorative medals, and tokens, but do not include military decorations. Art of Devastation aims to be the first comprehensive, easily searchable, linked data catalogue of the c.10,000 different types of medals and tokens produced in response to this major conflict.

(https://numismatics.org/pocketchange/) The ANS Magazine, currently edited by Peter van Alfen, is published four times a year as a benefit for American Numismatic Society members and features articles written by the curatorial staff and other contributors on variety of numismatic and economic topics. The Magazine also provides news about activities at the Society.

This volume represents the first comprehensive look at ancient Arabian coinage in toto since George Hill’s 1922 British Museum catalogue. In addition to a catalogue and updated typologies of Philistian, Nabataean, Minaen, Qatabanian, Sabaean, Himyarite, and Gerrhean coinages, among others, and die studies of the owl and Alexander imitations, this volume features essays written by numismatists, archaeologists, and epigraphists that situate the coins within their political, social, and economic contexts. As these studies demonstrate, the beginnings of coinage in Arabia followed two very distinct traditions, the first along a line running roughly from Gaza on the Mediterranean coast to the Hadhramawt on the Arabian Sea, the other in eastern Arabia, running along the Persian Gulf coast from the mouth of the Euphrates to the Oman peninsula.

An expanded special edition in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the American Numismatic Society. This anniversary volume is the largest ever AJN with over 600 pages of text plus 117 plates written by over 30 contributors, including Curators and Trustees, past students and visiting scholars in the ANS's Graduate Summer Seminar, as well as recipients of the ANS’s Archer M. Huntington award for outstanding career contributions to numismatics. Deserving special mention is Edward T. Newell’s (1886–1941) posthumous contribution, "Coins from the Excavations at Beisan (Nysa-Scythopolis, Tel Beth Shean): 1929–1935." One of the preeminent numismatists of his and subsequent generations, Newell was an ANS President, Huntington Medal recipient, and stands among the Society’s greatest benefactors. It is most fitting that his lost manuscript was discovered and edited in time for inclusion in this anniversary volume.

Offered to John H. Kroll on his retirement from the University of Texas at Austin, this volume features essays on Greek coinage, exchange, and polis economies from the Archaic to Hellenistic periods. Included in the collection are studies that explore aspects of Homeric and Archaic exchange, the law of sale, and cavalry costs. Other studies examine the social, economic and historical contexts of coinages from Abdera, Athens, "Lete," Lydia, Mylasa, and Side, and present new interpretative approaches to "cooperative" coinage and those from archaeological sites.

This study seeks to ascertain the identification and origins of the commodities in trade between the Levant and Aegean during the Persian period, ca. 540-330 B.C.  Using Semitic and Greek textual sources, as well as numismatic, epigraphic and archaeological evidence, I identify and discuss nearly 200 commodities, including spices, pigments, dyes, chemicals, and manufactured items such as coinage and ceramics.  In the final chapter, a synthesis of the material is presented along with the historic and economic conclusions for Persian period trade that can be drawn from the assembled evidence.

See: https://numismatics.org/store/sma3/

Timed to coincide with the centennial of US involvement in the
First World War, the exhibition, The Art of Devastation, opened
on January 27, 2017 at the Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar
College. Jointly curated by Patricia Phagan (Vassar) and Peter
van Alfen (ANS), this exhibition explored for the first time on
American soil the intertwined roles of posters and medals in
shaping public opinion of the war and in steering Americans
into it. This 356 page companion volume includes six chapters focusing on
Great War art and propaganda by experts in medallic and graphic
arts of the early 20th century, followed by a complete, full-color
catalog of the 130 medals and posters featured in the exhibit.

In this richly illustrated catalogue of the ANS exhibit, "Full Circle: The Olympic Heritage in Coins and Medals," the author examines the role that numismatic material relating to both the ancient and modern Games has played in social and political contexts. In addition to the introductory essay, the catalogue provides a brief overview of the history of the Games and discusses over 130 objects, including ancient Greek coins, vases and sporting equipment, as well as modern medals, coins, and Olympic ephemera.

Studies in Mycenaean Inscriptions and Dialect (SMID) contains glossaries of individual Mycenaean terms, tablet and series citations, and subject indices all linked to bibliographical references. As a reference tool, SMID is both complex and comprehensive, with indices of linguistic, archaeological, historical, religious, and cultural topics, as well as individual words and phrases in the tablets.

Studies in Mycenaean Inscriptions and Dialect (SMID) contains glossaries of individual Mycenaean terms, tablet and series citations, and subject indices all linked to bibliographical references. As a reference tool, SMID is both complex and comprehensive, with indices of linguistic, archaeological, historical, religious, and cultural topics, as well as individual words and phrases in the tablets.

This chapter considers the relationship between the consumption of commodities imported via long distance trade and the ideal of communal economic self-sufficiency (autarkeia). In the first part of the chapter, aggregated data for commodities appearing in long distance Levantine-Aegean trade in the archaic and classical periods are presented. Drawn from textual and archaeological sources, these data demonstrate not only the wide range of commodities in trade—dozens of items including raw materials, processed goods, and finely wrought objects—but also the apparent increase in the number of items appearing in trade over time. Based on these observations, the second part of the chapter argues that a process of increasing “democratization” of access to imports, including co-called luxury goods, and the concurrent development of consumerism in the Aegean world, and in Athens particularly, complicated any notion of communal economic self-sufficiency. As individuals developed life styles involving imported goods, and poleis became dependent on the import taxes derived from these goods to fill state coffers for communal purposes, the ideal of autarkeia moved ever farther from becoming a reality.

Paper delivered at the International Meeting on Underwater Cultural Heritage and Site Protection, in support of the implementation of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, UNESCO Headquarters, 22 September 2016

This video discusses the history of the American Numismatic Society's J. Sanford Saltus award for achievement in medallic art, and provides an overview of the medallic art of Portuguese sculptor João Duarte, a recent recipient of the award.

This is a video about The Art of Devastation (AoD), a new research tool designed to help in the identification, cataloguing, and contextualization of the abundant and varied types of non-monetary numismatic items issued during and immediately after the First World War (1914-1918). These items include art medals, commemorative medals, and tokens, but do not include military decorations. The Art of Devastation aims to be the first comprehensive, easily searchable, linked data catalogue of the c.10,000 different types of medals and tokens produced in response to this major conflict.