New Academic Program in Value and Equivalency

It has been announced that Frankfurt University and the Technical University at Darmstadt will begin their new program in Wert und Äquivalent (Value and Equivalency). This interdisciplinary program will be directed by faculty of international renown from the two universities who are active in a number of related disciplines: African prehistory, ethnology, Classical and Roman provincial archaeology, numismatics, European prehistory, Near eastern archaeology, North American ethnology, and philology.

The program officially begins on April 1, 2009 and applications for 11 doctoral scholarships with a stipend of 1200 Euro per month are being accepted until January 10, 2009. The scholarships are valid for two years and are renewable for a third year.

One scholarship holder can work in archaeology and the cultural history of the Near East, one in Near Eastern philology, two in Classical archaeology (one in Frankfurt and one in Darmstadt), two in Roman provincial archaeology/auxiliary archaeological sciences (numismatics, papyrology, epigraphy), one in European prehistory, one in African prehistory, and three in ethnology with an emphasis on Africa, North America, and South East Asia.

There are also two post-doctoral fellowships for a tenure of two years. One is available in European prehistory and one in ethnology.

For further information and application details visit: http://www.value.uni-frankfurt.de/

More on the Colosseum Sestertii

A shameless plug.

Since I started this website, I have received several inquiries about the Colosseum sestertii. Those individuals may be interested to know that a third article on the Colosseum sestertii will appear in Numismatic Chronicle 2009: N.T. Elkins, "What are they doing here? Flavian Colosseum Sestertii from Archaeological Contexts in Hessen and the Taunaus-Wetterau Limes (with an Addendum on NC 2006)."

This short article discusses five Colosseum sestertii that were produced through archaeological excavation at three different sites in the area around modern Frankfurt, Germany. What is peculiar is that the type is very rare (with only five obverse dies known and approximately 50 extant specimens) and so the number that has appeared in this tight geographical region of approximately 20 km is remarkable. In the article I make reference to other archaeological work on coin supply and circulation in the area and propose an historical explanation for the presence of these coins in a region where they would otherwise be unexpected. The short article will be followed by an addendum listing specimens that were missed or which have surfaced since the 2006 die study and catalogue ("The Flavian Colosseum Sestertii: Currency or Largess?"), as well as some additional references for previously catalogued specimens and corrigenda. No new dies or links have appeared.

This short article provides no great revelations, but may be of interest for those who are interested in the Colosseum sestertii or who would like the supplemental information for the more important article and die study from 2006.

I was contacted early in the summer by a production crew making yet another documentary on the Colosseum and they were interested in discussing evidence provided by the coin representations. They seemed most interested in the argument about the location of the imperial box, discussed in the first article ("Locating the Imperial Box in the Flavian Amphitheatre: The Numismatic Evidence"), though most readers will have recognized that the numismatic evidence was used more as a way at introducing some of the fundamental problems with the idea that the box was located on the southern side, a thought which seems to have been perpetuated since Lugli wrote it as an assumption in a few of his works. In most cases, I do not believe that coin representations were meant to be 100% faithful renderings of the monuments in question and am sceptical about many attempts to base reconstructions on numismatic evidence alone. If I recall correctly, the inquiry was for a British documentary and so if anyone sees discussion of the Colosseum sestertii or the location of the imperial box in some new British documentary, please do let me know!

End shameless plug.

Photo: Colosseum sestertius of Domitian for Divus Titus, AD 81. Münzkabinett der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Objektnummer 18204487

We Need to Change the status quo

Yesterday evening I delivered an invited lecture, "Der Handel mit antiken Münzen in den USA," to the Frankfurter Numismatische Gesellschaft, a local society of collectors, at Frankfurt's Historisches Museum in Römerplatz. I discussed the many problems with an unregulated and unconcerned market, the distasteful nature of the dialogue that has developed in North America, and the urgent need for thoughtful collectors, archaeologists, and law enforcement to find common ground in the face of organized and unconcerned commercial interests.

The presentation lasted approximately one hour and we had a very good discussion afterwards that also lasted about an hour. I also enjoyed conversing further with several members of the society over dinner in a traditional restaurant in Frankfurt’s historic Römerplatz.

Most of the participants in the discussion understood the inherent problems with the current status quo and many were interested in actively working towards proactive solutions. Other activities on these issues are tentatively scheduled later this summer. It was a very open and welcoming group and I would like to reiterate my thanks to them for their invitation and hospitality.

I have put the text of my lecture online, with selected slides from the presentation. I have also put the lecture in the list of links on the left hand side of this webpage.

(Image: Römerplatz - Frankfurt am Main)

Donation of Auction Catalogues by Prof. Ted Buttrey and the Staff of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

A couple of months ago I contacted Prof. T.V. Buttrey (Emeritus) at the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University about some images of Colosseum sestertii from additional auction catalogue references I had found. Prof. Buttrey is always helpful in providing images from the museum's excellent collection of auction catalogues to other scholars and collectors.

Through the course of our discussions Prof. Buttrey learned I was managing the cast collection and the photo and auction catalogue archive at Frankfurt University with a colleague and told me that the Fitzwilliam had a number of duplicate catalogues they wanted to part with. I was happy to learn that he found several duplicates that would fill gaps in our collection. My colleague and I were astonished to learn a pallet with 280 kilograms of auction catalogues was waiting for us today! We have yet to begin accessioning these catalogues, but there is no doubt that this substantial donation, for which we are most grateful, will greatly improve our archive here in Frankfurt.

Image from coinarchives.com: Sestertius of Balbinus, AD 238, with Liberalitas reverse (Auction Adolph Hess, Lucerne and Gilhofer & Ranschburg, Vienna, 22. May 1935, lot 2613 = UBS Gold & Numismatics 78 (9. Sept. 2008), lot 1832).

The Geldmuseum of the Deutsche Bundesbank and Chocolate Euro Notes

Yesterday I had a final bit of dental work done following the removal of the wisdom teeth - loving the easy access to health care in Europe, but not so much the dental work per se. Anyway, after seeing the dentist, my head was too full of anesthetic to get any work accomplished. Since Wednesday afternoons officially fall outside of my contractual Dienstzeit at the university, I decided to visit the Geldmuseum (Money Museum) of the Deutsche Bundesbank here in Frankfurt.

Even though I have been in Frankfurt for the better part of the past three years, this was the first time I had visited the museum, which is about a 25-minute walk from the university campus at which I work. I always seemed to forget to go and I never did go on weekends because it is a bit out of the way from where I live and from the city center.

While most people may not have any interest in this little-known museum, numismatists or ancient coin enthusiasts might find the detour off the beaten path worth it. In many ways, it is your typical money museum. Several cases show you how money developed from the electrum coinages in western Turkey up through the modern day. There is a particularly excellent display that demonstrates how modern Euro notes are printed, with examples of the notes, printing plates, papers, holograms, and inks used. There is also a rather interesting medieval coin hoard on exhibit, with the vessel in which it was found, and includes a description of its find context and the information learned from it. (By the way, most all of the signs and descriptions were provided in both German and English). One room in the museum contains glass cases with ancient through modern coins, and this will be the room of greatest interest to anyone interested in ancient coins. They do not have a particularly large collection of ancient coins on display, but there are some rather uncommon and well-preserved specimens. Two EID MAR coins of Brutus were on display (an aureus and a denarius) as was an Athenian dekadrachm. These displays did not relate the previous history of any of these objects. There were also a number of interactive computer displays and learning centers.

It did not appear that photography was permitted in the museum and so I refrained (its is always difficult to photograph coins in cases anyway). The gift shop was also typical of a money museum. One could purchase a large brick of shredded Euro notes, a million Euro worth, for €13,95. There were also some Euro coin proof sets on sale as well as some other coin-related things. The gift shop of the European Central Bank, located in Frankfurt's city center, also sells things like this. I picked up a couple of postcards of coins that are in the collection, but unfortunately there was not a very diverse selection. I also bought some small chocolate Euro notes. Since I did not get to take any photos in the museum itself, I illustrate this post with the chocolates and postcards. A series of scholarly lectures at the museum will be hosted through the summer and begins in April.

Italy Returns Thousands of Looted Coins to Bulgaria: Is there a Connection to Past Criminal Activities?

On Friday, 9 January 2009, the SofiaEcho reported that about 3,800 coins smuggled into Verona, Italy from Bulgaria were seized in 2005 and will be soon returned to their country of origin. Four Bulgarians were detained in Verona and have been deported; they are expected to be tried according to the law. The report also states that the coins may have been smuggled by the same gang that robbed the Veliko Turnovo museum in 2006. The full text of the article reads:

"Bulgaria will receive back from Italy close to 3800 antique coins and other archaeological objects, smuggled into the country in 2005, Bozhidar Dimitrov, director of the National History Museum said, quoted by Bulgarian language Sega daily on January 9 2009.

The significant part of the valuables consists of silver and bronze Roman and Byzantine coins, which experts have valued at around 35000 euro, Sega daily said.

Four Bulgarians have been detained in Verona, Italy, for trying to sell the objects. They have been deported to Bulgaria and will be tried in accordance with local legislature.

Dimitrov has said that the authorities suspect that the coins could have been smuggled out of the country by the same criminal group that committed the robbery at the Veliko Turnovo museum in February 2006.

At that time more than 10 000 golden, silver and bronze coins were stolen from the museum's numismatic fund. Among them were valuable coins dating back to the time of Alexander the Great. At the time police said that the robbery had been very well planned and that an insider might have helped."

The report is significant for a number of reasons. First of all it highlights the fact that Bulgaria continues to be a major source of ancient coins for the black market in ancient coins and antiquities and is a major supplier to indiscriminate dealers and collectors in Europe and North America. See some previous comments in my posts on "The Illicit Antiquities Trade in Bulgaria," "Der Handel mit antiken Münzen. Ausmaß and Netzwerke (The Trade in Ancient Coins: Scale and Networks)," "Archaeology Magazine's 'Under Threat' List Includes Bulgaria," and especially see my lecture "The Ancient Coin Trade in the USA: Scale and Structure" as well as Center for the Study of Democracy's 2007 report on Organized Crime in Bulgaria: Markets and Trends (Chapter 5, pp. 177-202, The Antiquities Trade - Dealers, Traffickers, and Connoisseurs). Secondly, it indicates that authorities suspect this incident may well be related to a previous robbery in which ancient coins were stolen from a Bulgarian museum, though the article from SofiaEcho does not name any specific suspects.

It is well known that Bulgaria, which forbids the unlicensed and unscientific excavation of antiquities and their export, is a major source for western markets. The report on Organized Crime in Bulgaria, cited with a link above, estimates that between 30 and 50 Bulgarian nationals living in Western Europe and the United States actively arrange for the shipment of mass quantities of these coins to market nations. Any collector, dealer, or scholar working with the ancient coin trade will also recognize that many of the bulk suppliers of ancient coins are Bulgarian. These "wholesalers" sell fresh supplies of ancient coins to both other dealers and collectors. Higher quality coins will be sold wholesale to other dealers while "cheaper" or more "common" material that is less valued by the market will be disposed of in bulk lots directly to collectors via eBay or VCoins. One commonly sees packages of a thousand or more "uncelaned coins" on places like eBay. It is not a very big secret. To some degree corruption in Bulgaria allows looters and smugglers to operate with relative impunity.

In 1999, Frankfurt customs officials intercepted a shipment of 60kg of ancient coins from Bulgaria, bound for a New York airport and ultimately to a New Jersey address, which had been falsely declared. Scholarly numismatists were called in to examine the shipment which contained about 20,000 coins. Some of the coins had been partially cleaned already and had been divided up according to their relative market value, with smaller and more common coins left dirtier. Research by these numismatists indicated that only a small fraction of this particular shipment would have sold for over €100,000 in the auction market. Investigation by Frankfurt customs officials showed that in the previous weeks and months the individual in question shipped approximately one metric ton (literally) of material through Frankfurt airport to the United States before this parcel was inspected. The individual in question is a known supplier and dealer of ancient coins in the United States.

One metric ton would be about 350,000 ancient coins. To put this in perspective the largest scholarly archive of ancient coin finds, Fundmünzen der römischen Zeit in Deutschland, only inventories around 300,000 to 350,000 coins. These inventories have been published regularly since 1960 and represents the full time work of several scholars who inventory finds from old and new excavations, casual finds, hoards, and local collections. Essentially the individual in question smuggled as much in a very short amount of time as nearly 50 years of full time work cataloguing hundreds of archaeological and historically singificant sites in Germany. But of course, gangs of metal detectorists move much more quickly than archaeologists. Even the largest public collections of ancient coins in the world (e.g. the British Museum and the American Numismatic Society) contain around c. 350,000 coins. The level of destruction represented by this one wholesaler is ghastly. The individual in question is politically connected; in 1999 he was the brother of the Bulgarian Prosecutor General - who himself later faced corruption charges - and even though he had been arrested for antiquities crimes before he was never charged in this crime. For more discussion of these shipments in 1999, see R. Dietrich, "Cultural Property on the Move - Legally, Illegally," International Journal of Cultural Property 11.2 (2002) 294-304. Dietrich's article does not name the shipper/dealer, but refers to him as "Mr. B." which I will use henceforth.

Mr. B. is a known supplier of ancient coins to other dealers and he also sells in bulk via eBay. He is still very active today. His eBay storefronts include "Silenos" (10,431 positive feedback as of 22 April 2008 - each positive feedback represents a transaction with a unique buyer, i.e. at least 10,431 different people have purchased from him via eBay) and "S*P*Q*R" (3,019 feeback as of 22 April 2008). The dealership of "Silenos Coins" is also listed as coming soon on VCoins.com.

In 1999, shortly after the shipments were coming through Frankfurt, the Moneta-L discussion list referenced his activity, with some swooning over the booty he offered them. Mere months after the Frankfurt shipments, one of Mr. B.'s friends wrote on the Moneta-L list:

"List members,
There is a new source of uncleaned ancient coins and nice quality antiquities on eBay, to which I invite your attention. The "User ID" you use to do a "Seller" search on eBay is: "Silenos." This dealer is an old friend of mine, and has been wholesaling to the leading dealers in America and Europe for years, and has decided to enter the retail market on selected items. I personally vouch for the honesty and fairness of this individual. Give this company a try. You will be delighted!"

Another dealer then responds:

"Would that be [Mr. B.]?"

The friend who announced the "new source" replies to the dealer:

"Yes, but PLEASE don't advertise it. He wants to keep a low profile in dealing with the public. He is uncomfortable in doing so, and has hired a young lady to be the 'face to the public' on sales."

And then an unsuspecting collector tells us about one method this wholesaler was using to divide up the coins which were spirited out of Bulgaria in contravention to both law and ethics:

"I'd like to hear the answer to this onlist. [Mr. B.] had a booth at CICF [Chicago International Coin Fair] this year for the first time, and I had a chance to meet him. He wasn't retailing at his booth, he was selling strictly wholesale. I found myself drawn to his bags of late Roman bronze and bought them the only way I could - a handful at a time. Very pretty stuff. By mid afternoon of the second day of the show all his LRB were gone. If he is going retail, I hope he keeps one foot in the wholesale door. Maybe you can convince him he doesn't need the customer relations hassles that come with retail."

It is clear that the mass quantities of coins smuggled out of Bulgaria through Frankfurt airport to the United States by Mr. B. were sold directly to other dealers and collectors. But what does this have do with the recent announcement about the coins seized in Verona? Nothing is certain since the article by SofiaEcho does not name the individuals involved, but the report did tell us that "...the authorities suspect that the coins could have been smuggled out of the country by the same criminal group that committed the robbery at the Veliko Turnovo museum in February 2006." In addition to Dietrich's article, the above cited and linked report on Organized Crime in Bulgaria: Markets and Trends discusses the coins that Mr. B. sent through Frankfurt airport in March 1999 (but note it states his address has been in Florida for several years; this may be an error since his address at the time of the 1999 shipment was in New Jersey and appears to have been such even later). The report indicates further that Mr. B. may have been involved in the Veliko Turnovo museum case. Page 186 of the report provides a citation and states:

"The online news agency Mediapool announced that the name of [Mr. B.], who has been living in Florida for several years already, was found under an internet offer selling coins, supposedly part of those stolen in the notorious Veliko Tarnovo museum robbery."

Is Mr. B., who still acts as a supplier to other dealers and sells directly to collectors, involved with the case of the recent seizure of coins in Verona? It seems according to the report he was/is a suspect in the Veliko Tarnovo museum case and apparently authorities believe the recent seizure of coins in Verona is related.

Whatever the case, perhaps the most important question is whether or not dealers and collectors are really comfortable stocking their inventories and coin cabinets from wholesalers such as this who are brazenly violating international laws and unethically sponsoring the systematic destruction of our past and the knowledge that goes along with it. Greater concern for law, ethics, due diligence, and - above all - transparency is greatly needed.

(Photo from another news article about the return at StandArtNews, "Italy Returns Antique Tre[a]sure to Bulgaria," 22 December 2008)

Exhibition: Bunte Götter. Die Farbigkeit antiker Skulptur. (Liebieghaus Skulptur Sammlung - Frankfurt)

Last night I attended the opening night reception for a new exhibition at the Liebieghaus Skulptur Museum in Frankfurt on "Bunte Götter. Die Farbigkeit antiker Skulptur" (Gods in Color: Painted Sculpure of Classical Antiquity). I am fortunate to have a colleague who works with the museum and who was able to get invitations to the reception for some of us at the university; as a part-time guide for the museum, she was also kind enough to explain some of exhibits to us in detail.

The exhibition (from 8 October 2008 to 15 February 2009) highlights recent research on the painting and coloring of ancient sculptures, particularly marbles and terracottas. For the past few decades it has been widely understood in academic circles that temples, statues, and architectural terracottas were brightly painted, often using just a few bold and contrasting primary colors such as red, blue, and yellow. In recent years, various chemical and light tests have allowed researchers to reconstruct painted models of specific examples in great detail. The exhibition in Frankfurt contains both some of these reconstructed models and original pieces where traces of coloring remain. One of the most famous pieces in this exhibition in Frankfurt is the bust of Caligula from the NY Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. The bust itself has some faint remnants of paint on it, especially around the left eye where one can see remains of eyelashes that were painted onto in antiquity. The bust is accompanied by two painted models in the present exhibit .

This exhibition first opened in Munich in 2003 and then traveled later to Hamburg, the Sackler Museum at Harvard, and is now presently in Frankfurt. Each exhibit and model has not been moved to every location and so, for example, there are some things that were shown in Munich and Hamburg that are not being shown in Frankfurt. On the other hand, there has been some further research conducted since 2003 and some new models are on display.

I was tempted to purchase the lavishly illustrated exhibition catalogue for Frankfurt (€35,60), but decided against it after I realized the content of the catalogue varied from the one I have seen for the exhibition in Munich, which I remember had a good article on both the reconstruction of the Augustus of Prima Porta (not on exhibition in Frankfurt) and the Caligula bust. It appears each exhibition catalogue is tailored to each individual exhibition, though the Harvard catalogue and the Frankfurt catalogue seem rather similar. A catalogue was also produced for the exhibition in Hamburg; the Harvard exhibition catalogue is the only one to have been written in English, under the title Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture in Classical Antiquity. The Harvard exhibition catalogue is being sold by Liebieghaus Museum for the same price as the Frankfurt catalogue. It looks like anyone interested in obtaining the exhibition catalogues from either Munich or Hamburg will have to do some searching on the Internet.

If you come through Frankfurt before February 15, 2009, I highly recommend a visit to this stunning exhibition. It really jars that almost innate Victorian perception we have of ancient Greek and Roman cities wrought of pure gleaming white marble! If you cannot make it to the exhibition, the exhibition catalogues are great and I recommend picking one up. I have used the Munich catalogue from the University of Missouri library before as a teaching aid for my art history survey students, but I think I will begin searching for one of the Munich catalogues to purchase myself (simply because of the longer discussion of the Augustus of Prima Porta). Nevertheless, any of the catalogues would provide a great overview of research methods and detailed photographs of the reconstructions and originals.

(Photo: A painted reconstruction of the Caligula bust from NY Carlsberg Glyptotek on display at the Liebieghaus Skulptur Sammlung in Frankfurt. Image from http://www.liebieghaus.de)

Archäologie und Geschichte der römischen Provinzen

I just became aware of a blog on the archaeology and history of the Roman provinces, maintained by Marco Hardy, who studies within the department. The primary goal of the blog is to keep students informed of events taking place within the department or other activities which may be relevant. Already some interesting photographs of various activities have been posted, such as this year's Römerfest, held in honor of Dr. Schubert (photos here). Even non-students who are familiar with the department may find something of interest in this new blog.

http://provinzialroemer.blogspot.com/

New Responsibilities at Uni Frankurt

Last month I mentioned that a colleague, Stefan Krmnicek, and I received a one year appointment in the Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften, Abt. II (Archäologie und Geschichte der römischen Provinzen sowie Hilfswissenschaften der Altertumskunde) at the Goethe Universität, Frankfurt.

Last week there was a reception in the department to honor Dr. Schubert, who is going into retirment and who previously held the position since 1974. Between 1972 and 1973, he was associated with the department via Fundmünzen der Antike (FdA). It was an excellent reception, well-attended by Dr. Schubert's colleagues. During the reception the department presented him with an old engraved portrait of Theodor Mommsen. Many may be familiar with Dr. Schubert's important essay on Mommsen's seminal numismatic work, Geschichte des Römischen Münzwesens (H. Schubert, "Mommsens numismatisch-geldgeschichtliches Hauptwerk 'Geschichte des Römischen Münzwesens' (Berlin 1860). Entstehung, Bedeutung und Wirkung," in H.M. von Kaenel, M.R.-Alföldi, U. Peter, and H. Komnick (eds.), Geldgeschichte vs. Numismatik. Theodor Mommsen und die antike Münze (Berlin, 2004), 109-129). Dr. Schubert also engages with the wider public on ancient numismatics and is both the chairman of the Frankfurter Numsimatische Gesellschaft and president of the Deutsche Numismatische Gesellschaft. Certainly we cannot replace Dr. Schubert, who will remain active within the department, but only manage his former departmental responsibilities.

Since we have settled into the new position, Dr. Schubert and Prof. Dr. von Kaenel have explained our duties to us in more detail. The position was founded primarly around the photo collection of ancient coins, and it is around this collection upon which much of our responsibility revolves as we must provide images and advice to researchers and publishers. Our photo collection is one of the most important in the world. The Frankfurt photo archive began in the 1960' and presently contains around 400,000 photographs and negatives from private and public collections, auction catalogues, hoards, and excavations - Dr. Schubert showed us some file cards with Konrad Kraft's handwriting on them! [link to Wikipedia article - caveat emptor). We will also be responsible for a collection of approximately 3,000 auction catalogues and a rather extensive collection of plaster casts. The cast collection contains casts from the important collections of Richard Delbrück (1874-1957) and Konrad Kraft (1920-1970), among others. I may revisit some of these resources as themes for future posts.

Apart from curating these resources, we also have responsibilities in collaborative and independent research. For me, the latter will include completing the dissertation and a couple of other projects. We also have teaching responsibilities within the department since Prof. von Kaenel is taking a semester for research. This year there will be courses in numismatics in both the winter and summer semesters. The numismatic Übung in the winter will be "Münzhorte. Zusammensetzung, Eigenart und Bedeutung von Hortfunden in der antiken Welt" (Coin hoards: composition, characteristics and meaning of hoard finds in the ancient world). My colleague and I have discussed it, and since he has specialized in hoard finds through his dissertation and other research, he will manage this course and I will conduct the course for the summer semester (TBA). Assuming that I can play a role in choosing the topic for the summer semester, I thought that something like "Antike Münzbilder. Methoden und Deutungen" (Images on ancient coins: methods and interpretations) would be an interesting toic. The subject is fresh in my mind and one I've been exploring in detail in conjunction with my dissertation and a contribution to an edited volume.

(Image: a file card from the Frankfurt Fotokartei)

Personal Note

I just wanted to take a moment to share some good personal news, now that it is official since I signed the contract today. As of the first of August, I will be an employee of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität in Frankfurt. The position I am filling is essentially the North American equivalent of a Visiting Assistant Professorship in Ancient Numismatics. I am sharing this position with a colleague, Stefan Krmnicek (we both contribute half-time). We will work in the Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften, Abt. II (which focuses on provincial archaeology and Hilfswissenschaften: epigraphy, ceramics, and especially numismatics and Fundnumismatik). Our responsibilities will include independent and collaborative numismatic research, maintaining the plaster cast and photo collections, and assisting in the teaching of seminars. Prof. Dr. von Kaenel, who is the director of the department and a well-known numismatist, will supervise our work.