Numismatics

Essential and Accidental in Standards

February 25, 2007

The earliest standards were created to support the administration of the government, which in antiquity primarily consisted of religion, justice, taxation and warfare. Crucial standards included the calendar, units of length, area, volume and weight, and uniform coinage. Uniform coinage in particular was a significant advance. Previously, financial transactions occurred only by barter or by [...]

16 comments Read the full article →

Ptolemy IV, Philopator

January 15, 2006

The word is “deaccession”, a fancy way of saying a museum is selling off a portion of its collection. This can happen for many reasons. For example, the museum may have received a bequest that was outside the parameters of its collection, it may have acquired items in the past that are now outside of [...]

1 comment Read the full article →