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{{short description|Study of currencies, coins and paper money}}
{{About|numismatics as an academic discipline|collecting|Coin collecting}}
{{Numismatics}}
'''Numismatics''' is the study or collection of [[currency]],  including coins, tokens, paper money, [[medal]]s, and related objects.

Specialists, known as [[numismatist]]s, are often characterized as students or collectors of [[coins]], but the discipline also includes the broader study of [[money]] and other means of [[payment]] used to resolve [[debt]]s and exchange [[good (economics)|goods]].

[[File:Coin collectors and enthusiasts by Yogabrata Chakraborty, 2022.jpg|thumb|Coin collectors and enthusiasts at an exhibition organized by the Numismatic Society of Calcutta, [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], in 2022]]
[[File:Indian numismatic items made of silver, photographed from a personal collection in West Bengal, India, dated July 27, 2024.jpg|thumb|Numismatic specimens from Ancient, medieval and British India, made of silver.]]
The earliest forms of money used by people are categorised by collectors as "odd and curious",<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maurer |first1=B |chapter=Primitive and Nonmetallic Money |editor1-last=Yago |editor1-first=K. |editor2-last=Battilosi |editor2-first=S. |editor3-last=Cassis. |editor3-first=Y. |title=Handbook of the History of Money and Currency |publisher=Springer |pages=87–104}}</ref> but the use of other goods in barter exchange is excluded, even where used as a circulating [[currency]] (e.g., [[cigarette]]s or [[instant noodles]] in prison).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gibson-Light |first=Michael |date=2018-06-01 |title=Ramen Politics: Informal Money and Logics of Resistance in the Contemporary American Prison |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-018-9376-0 |journal=Qualitative Sociology |language=en |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=199–220 |doi=10.1007/s11133-018-9376-0 |s2cid=254976793 |issn=1573-7837|url-access=subscription }}</ref> As an example, the [[Kyrgyz people]] used [[horse]]s as the principal currency unit, and gave small change in [[sheepskin|lambskins]];<ref name="Timeline">{{Cite book |last=Glyn Davies |url=http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/amser/chrono14.html |title=Chronology of Money 1900 — 1919 |year=1996 |publisher=University of Wales Press |isbn=978-0-7083-1351-0 |access-date=2006-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714171102/http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/amser/chrono14.html |archive-date=2006-07-14 |url-status=live}}</ref> the lambskins may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horses are not.{{dubious|date=January 2023}} Many objects have been used for centuries, such as [[Cowry|cowry shells]], [[precious metal]]s, [[Cocoa beans#History|cocoa beans]], [[Rai stones|large stones]], and [[Gemstone|gems]].

==Etymology==
First attested in English in 1829, the word ''numismatics'' comes from the adjective ''numismatic'', meaning {{gloss|of coins}}. It was borrowed in 1792 from [[French language|French]] {{Lang|fr|numismatique}}, itself a derivation from [[Late Latin]] {{Lang|la|numismatis}}, genitive of {{Lang|la|numisma}}, a variant of {{Lang|la|nomisma}} meaning {{gloss|coin}}.<ref>{{OEtymD|numismatics}}</ref><ref>{{L&S|nomisma|ref}}</ref> {{Lang|la|Nomisma}} is a [[Latinisation of Greek|latinisation]] of the [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|νόμισμα}} ({{Transliteration|grc|nomisma}}) which means {{gloss|current coin/custom}},<ref>{{LSJ|no/misma|νόμισμα|ref}}.</ref> which derives from {{lang|grc|[[wikt:νομίζω|νομίζειν]]}} ({{Transliteration|grc|nomizein}}) {{gloss|to hold or own as a custom or usage, to use customarily}},<ref>{{LSJ|nomi/zw|νομίζειν|shortref}}.</ref> in turn from {{lang|grc|[[wikt:νόμος|νόμος]]}} ({{Transliteration|grc|nomos}}) {{gloss|usage, custom}},<ref>{{LSJ|no/mos2|νόμος|shortref}}.</ref> ultimately from {{lang|grc|[[wikt:νέμω|νέμειν]]}} ({{Transliteration|grc|nemein}}) {{gloss|to dispense, divide, assign, keep, hold}}.<ref>{{LSJ|ne/mw|νέμειν|shortref}}.</ref>

==History of money==
{{Main|History of money}}
Throughout its history, money itself has been made to be a [[scarcity|scarce]] good. Many materials have been used to form money, from naturally scarce [[precious metal]]s and [[cowry shell]]s through [[cigarette]]s to entirely artificial money, called [[fiat money]], such as [[banknote]]s. Many complementary currencies use time as a unit of measure, using mutual credit accounting that keeps the balance of money intact.

Modern money (along with most ancient money) is essentially a token – an abstraction. Paper currency is perhaps the most common type of contemporary physical money.  However, goods such as [[gold]] or [[silver]] retain many of the essential properties of money, such as price fluctuation and limited supply, although these goods are not controlled by one single authority.

==History==
{{more citations needed|date=December 2024}}
[[File:Maximinus denarius - transparent background.PNG|right|frame|A [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[denarius]], a standardized [[silver coin]], which depicts [[Roman emperor|emperor]] [[Maximinus Thrax]]]]
[[Coin collecting]] may have possibly existed in ancient times. [[Caesar Augustus|Augustus]] gave "coins of every device, including old pieces of the kings and foreign money" as [[Saturnalia]] gifts.<ref>[[Suetonius]], ''Augustus'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Augustus*.html#75 75 on-line text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731043834/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Augustus%2A.html#75 |date=2022-07-31 }}</ref>

[[Petrarch]], who wrote in a letter that he was often approached by vine diggers with old coins asking him to buy or to identify the ruler,  is credited as the first [[Renaissance]] collector.  Petrarch presented a collection of Roman coins to [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles IV]] in 1355.

The first book on coins was ''De Asse et Partibus'' (1514) by [[Guillaume Budé]].<ref>''[[Brigham Young University]] [http://net.lib.byu.edu/aldine/44Bude.html library web page]'' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725015240/http://net.lib.byu.edu/aldine/44Bude.html |date=2008-07-25 }}</ref>  During the early Renaissance ancient coins were collected by European royalty and nobility.  Collectors of coins were Pope [[Boniface VIII]], Emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian]] of the Holy Roman Empire, [[Louis XIV]] of France, Ferdinand I, Elector [[Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim II]] of Brandenburg who started the Berlin coin cabinet and [[Henry IV of France]] to name a few.  Numismatics is called the "Hobby of Kings", due to its most esteemed founders.

Professional societies organised in the 19th century. The [[Royal Numismatic Society]] was founded in 1836 and immediately began publishing the journal that became the ''Numismatic Chronicle''. The [[American Numismatic Society]] was founded in 1858 and began publishing the ''American Journal of Numismatics'' in 1866.

In 1931 the [[British Academy]] launched the [[Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum]] publishing collections of [[Ancient Greek coinage]].  The first volume of [[Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles]] was published in 1958.

In the 20th century, coins gained recognition as archaeological objects, and scholars such as [[Guido Bruck]] of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna realized their value in providing a temporal context and the difficulty that curators faced when identifying worn coins using classical literature. After [[World War II]] in Germany, a project, ''[[Studien zu Fundmünzen der Antike|Fundmünzen der Antike]]'' (Coin finds of the Classical Period) was launched to register every coin found within Germany. This idea found successors in many countries.

In the United States, the US Mint established a coin cabinet in 1838 when chief coiner [[Adam Eckfeldt]] donated his personal collection.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-8247-2037-7 |page=281|last1=Kent |first1=Allen }}</ref>  William E. Du Bois' ''Pledges of History...'' (1846) describes the cabinet.

[[Southampton summer colony|C. Wyllys Betts]]' ''American colonial history illustrated by contemporary medals'' (1894) set the groundwork for the study of American historical medals.

[[Helen Wang]]'s "A short history of Chinese numismatics in European languages" (2012–2013) gives an outline history of Western countries' understanding of Chinese numismatics.<ref>[[Helen Wang]], "A short history of Chinese numismatics in European languages", in ''Early China'' vols 35-36 (2012–2013), pp. 395-429,</ref> [[Lyce Jankowski]]'s ''Les amis des monnaies'' is an in-depth study of Chinese numismatics in China in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jankowski |first=Lyce |title=Les amis des monnaies – la sociabilité savante des collectionneurs et numismates chinois de la fin des Qing |publisher=Maisonneuve et Larose nlle édition |year=2018 |isbn=978-2-37701-030-1 |location=Paris}}</ref>

== Professional organizations ==

The [[International Association of Professional Numismatists|IAPN]] is an international organization of professional coin dealers and numismatic firms. It was founded in 1951 in Geneva and aims to promote high ethical standards in the numismatic trade, support research projects, and provide expertise on issues such as counterfeiting. Membership requires sponsorship and several years of professional activity in the numismatic field.<ref>IAPN, "President and Committee", https://iapn-coins.org/, accessed 19 November 2025.</ref>

The [[American Numismatic Association]] (ANA) is a United States-based nonprofit organization founded in 1891 that supports the study and collection of coins, paper money, and medals. It offers educational programs, publishes numismatic research, hosts conventions and exhibitions, and maintains a library and museum. Membership is open to the public.<ref>American Numismatic Association, "About ANA", https://www.money.org/, accessed 19 November 2025.</ref>

===Modern===
[[File:Two 20kr gold coins.png|thumb|right|Two 20 kr [[gold]] coins from the [[Scandinavian Monetary Union]]]]
Modern numismatics is the study of the coins of the mid-17th century onward, the period of machine-struck coins.<ref>{{cite web |title=Collectibles |url=http://www.mainecollectibles.com/Collectibles/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914063749/http://www.mainecollectibles.com/Collectibles/ |archive-date=September 14, 2013 |access-date=June 13, 2013 |publisher=Maritime International}}</ref> Their study serves more the need of collectors than historians, and it is more often successfully pursued by amateur aficionados than by professional scholars. The focus of modern numismatics frequently lies in the research of production and use of money in historical contexts using mint or other records in order to determine the relative rarity of the coins they study. Varieties, [[mint-made errors]], the results of progressive die wear, mintage figures, and even the sociopolitical context of coin mintings are also matters of interest.

===Subfields===
{{Main|Exonumia|Notaphily|Scripophily}}
[[Exonumia]] (UK English: Paranumismatica)<ref>The First Dictionary of Paranumismatica: All About Tokens, Checks, Tickets, Passes, Medalets, Counters, Tallies and Weights (ed. Brian Edge), 1991. {{ISBN|978-0951691007}}</ref> is the study of [[coin]]-like objects such as [[token coin]]s and [[medal]]s, and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration. This includes [[elongated coin]]s, encased coins, souvenir medallions, tags, badges, counter-stamped coins, [[wooden nickel]]s, [[credit card]]s, and other similar items. It is related to numismatics proper (concerned with coins which have been [[legal tender]]), and many [[coin collector]]s are also exonumists.

[[Notaphily]] is the study of [[banknote|paper money]] or banknotes. It is believed that people have been collecting paper money for as long as it has been in use. However, people only started collecting paper money systematically in Germany in the 1920s, particularly the ''Serienscheine'' (Series notes) [[Notgeld]]. The turning point occurred in the 1970s when notaphily was established as a separate area by collectors. At the same time, some developed countries such as the [[United States]], [[Germany]], and [[France]] began publishing their respective national catalogs of paper money, which represented major points of reference literature.

[[File:Alexander the great temnos tetradrachm.jpg|alt=Alexander the Great tetradrachm from the Temnos Mint|thumb|[[Alexander the Great]] memorial [[tetradrachm]] from the [[Temnos]] mint, struck in {{Circa|188–170 BC}}]]
[[Scripophily]] is the study and collection of companies' shares and [[Bond (finance)|bonds]] certificates. It is an area of collecting due to both the inherent beauty of some historical documents as well as the interesting historical context of each document. Some stock certificates are excellent examples of [[engraving]].  Occasionally, an old stock document will be found that still has value as stock in a successor company.

== See also ==

{{portal|Numismatics}}
* {{annotated link|Awards for numismatics}}
* {{annotated link|Glossary of numismatics}}
* {{annotated link|List of numismatic collections}}
* {{annotated link|List of numismatic journals}}
* {{annotated link|List of numismatists}}
* {{annotated link|Numismatic associations}}

==Further reading==
*Krmnicek Stefan and Hadrien Rambach. (2023). ''The Numismatic World in the Long Nineteenth Century.'' New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
*Martín Esquivel, Alberto; Ferrandes, F. Antonio and Pardini, Giacomo. (2023). ''Archeonumismatica: analisi e studio dei reperti monetali da contesti pluristratificati'' (Workshop Internazionale di Numismatica, 2). Roma: Quasar.<ref name="j2679589">{{cite journal |last1=Moreno Pulido |first1=Elena |year=2024 |title=Book Review: Archeonumismatica: Analisi e studio dei reperti monetali da contesti pluristratificati Edited by Alberto Martín Esquivel, Antonio F. Ferrandes, and Giacomo Pardini (Workshop Internazionale di Numismatica 2). Rome: Edizioni Quasar 2023. Pp 493. ISBN 978-88-5491-198-7 (paperback) $67. |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/731320 |journal=The Journal of the Archaeological Institute of America |volume=128 |issue=3 |pages=072–074 |doi=10.1086/731320|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* Pritsak, O. (1998). ''The Origins of the Old Rus’ Weights and Monetary Systems: Two Studies in Western Eurasian Metrology and Numismatics in the Seventh to Eleventh Centuries'' (Harvard Series In Ukrainian Studies). Cambridge: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.<ref name="d10.2307/2697226">{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/2697226|jstor=2697226 |last1=Hellie |first1=Richard |title=Reviewed work: The Origins of the Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems: Two Studies in Western Eurasian Metrology and Numismatics in the Seventh to Eleventh Centuries, Omeljan Pritsak |journal=Slavic Review |year=1999 |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=909–910 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Wiktionary-inline|numismatics}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Numismatics}}
*{{Wikivoyage inline}}

{{Coin collecting}}
{{Orders and phaleristics}}
{{Portal bar|Numismatics|Business and economics|Money}}

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[[Category:Numismatics| ]]
[[Category:Currency]]