Berliner Numismatische Zeitung

Berliner Numismatische Zeitung
Title	Berliner Numismatische Zeitung
Discipline	Numismatics
Language	German
Country	Germany
History	1892–present
Frequency	Quarterly

Berliner Numismatische Zeitung is a German numismatic periodical founded in the late 19th century that has chronicled coinage, medallic art, and monetary history across Europe and beyond. The journal has published research on classical antiquity, medieval principalities, modern nation-states, and colonial mints, engaging scholars associated with museums, universities, and learned societies in Berlin, Vienna, Rome, and Paris. It has been cited in catalogues raisonné, museum inventories, exhibition catalogues, and academic monographs produced by curators and professors from institutions such as the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the British Museum, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

History

The publication was established during a period of institutional consolidation in Berlin alongside organizations like the Kaiser-Wilhelms-Gesellschaft, the Prussian Academy of Sciences, and the Deutsche Numismatische Gesellschaft, reflecting intellectual currents similar to those surrounding the Deutsches Reichsmünzkabinett and the Royal Coin Cabinet of Sweden. Early volumes engaged with debates stimulated by excavations at sites linked to the Roman Empire, the Hellenistic world, and the Byzantine Empire, intersecting with scholarship associated with the Archaeological Institute of Rome, the École Française de Rome, and the German Archaeological Institute. During the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich the journal navigated changing cultural policies affecting museums such as the Pergamonmuseum and the Neues Museum and scholarly networks connected to the Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Leipzig. Post-World War II reconstruction saw contributors affiliated with the Free University of Berlin, the University of Bonn, the Max Planck Society, and the Institut für Numismatik reestablishing research continuity.

Publication and Editorial Information

The periodical has been issued under editorial boards composed of curators from the Münzkabinett, professors from the University of Vienna, and members of the Royal Numismatic Society, with production practices paralleling publishers like Walter de Gruyter and Franz Steiner Verlag. Distribution historically extended to libraries and archives such as the British Library, the Library of Congress, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and subscriptions were held by museums including the Ashmolean Museum, the Museo Nazionale Romano, and the Rijksmuseum. Editorial correspondence and submission guidelines have reflected standards comparable to journals like Revue numismatique, American Journal of Numismatics, and Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, while peer review and editorial oversight involved scholars connected to institutions like the Bavarian State Library, the Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, and the Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen.

Scope and Content

Articles have ranged from studies of coinage issued under rulers such as Augustus, Constantine, Charlemagne, and Otto I to analyses of minting technologies used in Florence, Venice, Hamburg, and Cologne, often referencing finds from excavations at Delphi, Pompeii, and Troy. The journal features numismatic catalogues, hoard reports tied to discoveries in regions like Anatolia, Iberia, Gaul, and the Balkans, and iconographic studies engaging objects housed at the Louvre, the Vatican Museums, the Hermitage Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thematic issues have addressed topics including Renaissance medalists active in Rome and Florence, Ottoman coinage circulated in Constantinople and Bursa, colonial coinages from Spanish America and British India, and comparative work involving scholars from the University of Oxford, Sorbonne, and the University of Cambridge.

Notable Contributors and Editors

Prominent contributors have included curators and historians associated with names such as Theodor Mommsen, Eduard G. Böhmer, Heinrich Dressel, and Georg Dehio, alongside later figures linked to the work of numismatists at the British Museum, the American Numismatic Society, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Editors and authors connected to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Saxon State Library, the University of Halle, and the University of Munich have shaped the journal’s direction, while international collaborators from institutions like the Collège de France, the Bibliotheca Hertziana, and the Institute for Advanced Study have contributed comparative perspectives. Contributions have also intersected with scholarship by archaeologists and epigraphists associated with names such as Arthur Evans, Wilhelm Dörpfeld, and Luigi Pernier.

Impact and Reception

The journal has influenced catalogue projects, museum acquisition policies, and academic curricula at universities including Humboldt University, the University of Vienna, and the University of Bologna, and it has been cited in monographs published by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Brill. Its reception among numismatists and antiquarians has been reflected in reviews appearing in Revue des Études Anciennes, Numismatic Chronicle, and Jahrbuch der Königlich Preußischen Kunstsammlungen, while debates arising from articles have intersected with exhibitions organized by institutions such as the British Museum, the State Hermitage, and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. The journal’s scholarship has informed provenance research, restitution discussions involving museums like the Pergamonmuseum and the Ethnological Museum, and interdisciplinary work with historians at institutions such as the Institute of Historical Research and the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory.

Archives and Accessibility

Archival runs are held by national and university libraries including the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, the Bodleian Library, and the National Library of France, with microfilm and digitized back-runs accessed via collections at the Getty Research Institute, the Library of Congress, and Europeana. Researchers consult holdings alongside catalogues from the Münzkabinett, auction records from firms such as NumisBids and Sotheby’s, and databases maintained by the American Numismatic Society, the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and the Fitzwilliam Museum. Preservation and digitization projects have involved collaborations with the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the European Commission, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, facilitating access for scholars based at institutions like the University of Leipzig, the University of Zurich, and Yale University.

Category:Numismatic journals