Our coin collection
The Antiquaries have an extensive coin collection with more than 5,000 coins covering the numismatic history of England from the Iron Age to the present, with more limited collections of foreign (non-English) coins. Some of our coins are on display in the galleries of the Great North Museum, including our recently acquired Prince Henry silver penny. Research enquiries should be directed to the Keeper of Coins, Dr Rob Collins.
The core of the collection is formed from more than 2,000 coins of Roman republican and imperial issues, with another 1,000 coins from pre-Roman Greece. There are substantial collections of coins of the Early Medieval (British and Continental issues), with a particularly impressive collection of Northumbrian stycas. We also have a very respectable collection of Medieval and Post-Medieval hammered coinage. Coin-related collections include coin weights, communion tokens, lead tokens, Wall Pilgrimage badges, and medals.
The history of the collection
The formation of the Coin Collection was called for from the first public letter proposing the formation of an antiquarian society in Newcastle in 1813. In keeping with other collections that originated in that era, the coin collection was founded on gifts from gentlemen’s cabinets, a so-called ‘boys’ collection’. As such, the collection has never had any constraints, geographically or chronologically, but represents a wide range of numismatic interests that reflect the traditions of the grand tour, antiquarianism, and British imperial service. The first 334 coins, tokens, and counters were donated in 1813, and donations and acquisitions have continued to the present. In the past decade, the 1996 Treasure Act and the advent of the Portable Antiquities Scheme with an officer based in Newcastle has had a beneficial impact on opportunities to enhance numismatic and archaeological collections for the society.
Publications
Many of the Society’s coins have been published in Archaeologia Aeliana and Proceedings in reference to their discovery and/or donation. Two series have also been collated in single publications:
- Andrew Meadows & Roderick Williams, The Collection of the Society of Antiquaries Newcastle upon Tyne, Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum volume XIII, British Academy (2005), available in the GNM library controlled access section, shelfmark BG 230; and
- Elizabeth J E Pirie, Catalogue of the Early Northumbrian Coins in the Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle upon Tyne, Department of Archaeology, Newcastle University (1982); available in the GNM library controlled access section, shelfmark BG 190