Dear Colleagues and Friends,

For those who are attending the Joint AIA/APA Annual Meeting from Jan. 8-11 in
Philadelphia, I would like to call your attention to an AIA session entitled
"Contextual Numismatics: New Perspectives and Interdisciplinary Methodologies":

Session 7C

Contextual Numismatics: New Perspectives and Interdisciplinary Methodologies
Sunday, January 11, 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Organizers: Nathan T. Elkins, Goethe Universität Frankfurt / University of
Missouri; Stefan Krmnicek, Goethe Universität Frankfurt

Colloquium Overview Statement:

The participants in this panel expound innovative and dynamic approaches to
the contextual study of ancient coins within an interdisciplinary framework.
Coins have often been reduced to mere aesthetic objects or chronological
refer­ences divorced from consideration of their original contexts in which they
were once embedded. A multidisciplinary treatment of the individual dimensions
of an ancient object (functional, social, historical, political, personal, etc.)
provides a better understanding of its contemporary meaning. In the study of
ancient art and culture, for example, modern scholarship has successfully
applied such ap­proaches. Unlike most art objects, however, coins also have an
equally strong prac­tical and functional quality, which must be investigated in
conjunction with their other dimensions and within the wider context of material
culture. Therefore, the numismatist ought to formulate proper methodologies that
address these factors suitably.

Using the above methodologies and approaches, the first two papers in this
panel explore the theoretical premises in which numismatics can be applied in a
wider interdisciplinary framework. The third examines the relationship between
hoarders and hoards, while the fourth considers the semantic value of certain
coin types. The final paper reconsiders chisel cuts on Athenian tetradrachms in
relation to function in light of hoard context. Fleur Kemmers, who has
successfully ap­plied the concept of Bildsprache to coins from excavated
contexts, and who is sen­sitive to the advantages of developing numismatic
method and theory, provides discussion.

1. Session Introduction (Nathan T. Elkins, Goethe Universität
Frankfurt/University of Missouri)

2. Two Sides of a Coin: Etic Structures and Emic Perspectives in Numismatics
(Stefan Krmnicek, Goethe Universität Frankfurt)

3. Working in Between: Numismatics as Historical Archaeology (Nanouschka
Myrberg, Stockholm University)

4. Interrogating Ancient Coin Finds: What They Say, and What They Do Not
Know (Georges Depeyrot, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Delia
Moisil, National Museum of History of Romania)

5. Coin Imagery, Authority and Communication: the Case of the Later
Soldier-Emperors, ca. A.D. 260–295 (Ragnar Hedlund, Uppsala University)

6. Chisel Cuts: Bureaucratic Control Marks on Fifth Century Owls in the Near
East? (Richard Fernando Buxton, University of Washington)

Discussant: Fleur Kemmers (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen)

On contextual material approaches to numismatics, one should also take note of
the session which has been organized by Kris Lockyear for the 2009 Roman
Archaeology Conference in Ann Arbor. That sesssion is entitled "Incorporating
Coin Finds into the Archaeological and Historical Narrative."

The Friends of Numismatics will be having a session entitled "Coins and
Identity," which will be listed in the APA's program and which will take place
Sunday afternoon.

All best,
Nathan

-----------------------------------
Nathan T. Elkins

Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Assistent der antiken Numismatik
Insitut für Archäologische Wissenschaften, Abt. II
Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität

Ph.D. Candidate, Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology
Dept. of Art History and Archaeology
The University of Missouri

Numismatics and Archaeology (my weblog): http://coinarchaeology.blogspot.com