The Numismatic Chronicle

The Numismatic Chronicle The Numismatic Chronicle is an annual scholarly journal published by the Royal Numismatic Society devoted to the study of coins, medals, tokens and related objects. Founded in the 19th century, it has featured contributions from leading figures associated with institutions such as the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the Bodleian Library, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Over its run the journal has intersected with the work of collectors, curators and scholars linked to Oxford University, Cambridge University, the British Academy and the Society of Antiquaries of London.

History

The periodical was established during the same era that saw the formation of learned bodies like the British Museum's Department of Coins and Medals and societies such as the Numismatic Society of London and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Early contributors included antiquaries associated with the British Archaeological Association, the Surrey Archaeological Society, and the Royal Archaeological Institute. Throughout the 19th century the journal corresponded with work at institutions like the Hope Department, Ashmolean Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the National Museums Liverpool. In the 20th century it published studies connected to scholars from the School of Oriental and African Studies, the Institute of Archaeology, the Institute of Classical Studies, and the Warburg Institute. Prominent numismatists whose research appeared in the journal had affiliations with the British Academy, the Heberden Coin Room, and the Museum of London. The journal’s history overlaps with major exhibitions and projects at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, and the Treasure Act 1996-related discourse. Twentieth- and twenty-first-century contributors included curators and academics linked to the Ashmolean Museum, Cambridge University Library, the University of Edinburgh, University College London, the University of Glasgow, the University of Manchester, the University of Sheffield, and the University of Birmingham.

Editorial and Publication Details

Editorial oversight has been provided by committees drawn from fellows of the Royal Numismatic Society, academics from King's College London, researchers affiliated with the Institute of Historical Research, and curators from the British Museum. Editors and board members have included members of the British Academy, holders of chairs at Oxford University and Cambridge University, fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and recipients of awards such as the Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society. Production and distribution have involved partnerships with university presses, scholarly societies like the Royal Asiatic Society, and learned institutions including the Linnean Society of London. The journal’s publication schedule and indexing arrangements align with standards used by periodicals listed in catalogues maintained by the Bodleian Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Library of Congress, and databases curated by the British Library. Editorial correspondence and archival records are held in repositories such as the British Library, the Bodleian Library, and the archives of the Royal Numismatic Society.

Scope and Content

Content ranges from specialist studies of coinage from antiquity to modern eras, encompassing coins associated with the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Achaemenid Empire, the Sassanian Empire, the Kingdom of Lydia, the Seleucid Empire, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, and Hellenistic monarchies. Medieval and modern numismatic research covers issues tied to the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Scotland, the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of Spain, the Republic of Venice, the Dutch Republic, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Tsardom of Russia, the Mughal Empire, the Safavid dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the Tokugawa shogunate, and the United States of America. The journal publishes typologies, hoard reports linked to finds from sites like Sutton Hoo, analyses of coin iconography synonymous with workshops in Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Pergamon, Athens, Alexandria, Carthage, and studies of medallic art connected to makers active in Florence, Paris, Nuremberg, and Vienna. Methodological pieces engage with techniques developed at laboratories such as those at the Natural History Museum, London and analytical programmes at the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Notable Articles and Contributions

The journal has hosted landmark articles by specialists whose work intersects with projects at the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and national collections like the National Museum of Scotland and the National Museum Wales. Seminal contributions have advanced understanding of coin hoards such as the St. Brice's hoard and research comparable to studies of the Hoxne Hoard and the Staffordshire Hoard in archaeological significance. Papers have elucidated coinage reforms associated with rulers like Augustus, Constantine I, Heraclius, Charlemagne, Henry II of England, Louis IX of France, Isabella I of Castile, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, Peter the Great, and Akbar. Numismatic detective work published in the journal has influenced provenance debates connected to collections at the Hermitage Museum, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Accessibility and Indexing

Back issues are catalogued in bibliographic resources maintained by the British Library, the Bodleian Library, the Cambridge University Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Library of Congress. Indexing and abstracts appear in databases curated by organisations such as JSTOR, Project MUSE, Scopus, Web of Science, and repositories used by researchers at University College London and King's College London. Digital preservation aligns with standards adopted by the Digital Preservation Coalition and national libraries including the National Library of Ireland and the National Library of Wales. The journal is frequently cited in catalogues and bibliographies produced by institutions such as the American Numismatic Society, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Deutsche Numismatische Gesellschaft.

Category:Numismatic journals