Nobunaga collected famous items, set their prices, and gave them to his vassals.
He was a collector, an appraiser, and a guarantor all in one.
Those Who Collected Coins
We trace what kings, scholars, and collectors chose and how they preserved it, exploring collections from a human perspective.
Time to read the text: about 6 min
The review questions are optional and not included in this time.
What you can read: the course opening and contents are free; the full text is for those who have purchased
After purchase, you can read the full text once your access starts.
Coin Collectors in 3 Minutes
1See it
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Prices set by power will waver when that power falls.
Many of the famous items were scattered, and some were lost.
1868
A Spanish minister counted and recorded the money in circulation.
97 types
The goal wasn't academic study, but preparation for reform.
1929
A later scholar recounted the ledgers of an official from 400 years ago.
The hand that records cannot foresee the hand that rereads.
The ones who left the most behind were the nameless people who buried them.
The savings of those who never returned emerge from the ground.
Old coin dealers polished them. It was well-intentioned then, but now it's seen as erasing information.
The patina and scratches on the surface are also clues to its history.
Many hands have passed it down, and now one ancient coin is here today.
2400 years
The decision not to melt it down was repeated every generation.
Record it. Connect its history. Keep maintenance to a minimum.
The etiquette for future collectors.
The owner is a temporary keeper in a long chain. You are the next link.
It's not what you collect, but how you preserve it.
2In numbers
2400years
The time one silver coin, struck in ancient Greece, has been passed down.
3roles
The roles Nobunaga filled by himself: collector, appraiser, and price guarantor.
3What would you do?
You've found an old coin. Its surface is dark, and it has a little dirt on it. What do you do?
Pick one
Polish it until it shines.
For a long time, that was considered well-intentioned care. But now we know that the patina, signs of wear, and even the dirt itself are information about its history and authenticity. If you polish it, that information is lost forever.
Leave it as is, and write down the date and how you got it.
That's the proper etiquette for this subject. Minimal maintenance, maximum records. The line you write will become a new line in that coin's history.
Today's well-intentioned care might be called destruction by tomorrow's standards. That's why we take a conservative approach to preservation.
4Read more
What you will understand after this course
- Can narrate the lineage of collectors in three lines: rulers, scholars, and anonymous hoarders.
- Can explain the error of "the polished hand" as a change in the standards of the era.
- Can explain that extant ancient coins are the product of a "chain of transmission".
More about this course
Course number: C14
Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama
Beyond the text: 6 exercises · 2 coins · 8 readings · 2 references How reading times are calculated
You will also understand
- Can state specifically the responsibilities of the modern collector (recording, provenance, publication).
You can start this course without reading any other course.
Also worth reading, to see the connections (optional)
- The History of Coin Collecting
What you learn: Can explain the three types of collecting motives (display, hoarding, and study) with concrete examples.
The text refers to this course in sections 1, 5, 6.
If you want to know more about checking sources (optional)
- Is It Really True? Checking History
We re-examine the origins of money and famous anecdotes, comparing them with historical records and actual artifacts.
Assessment
6 exercises in this course (3 check, 1 compare, 2 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.
The 6 chapters of this course
- The Hand That Set the Value — Collecting by the PowerfulNobunaga's 'famous object hunt' was the ultimate example of the collector also serving as the guarantor of value.
- The Hand That Counted, The Hand That Re-read — Figuerola and HamiltonThe minister who counted for reform, and the scholar who compiled ledgers four hundred years later. Academic collection is a two-stage process.
- Hands That Left No Name — The People Who BuriedThe greatest contributors to the collection left behind neither name nor motive. The sum of these anonymous hands is the foundation of the discipline.
- The Polished Hand — A History of Well-Intentioned DestructionThe EID MAR was polished by the hand of a coin dealer. What was then an act of goodwill is, by today's standards, a destruction of information.
- A 2400-year chain of custody — the miracle of survivalA coin by Euainetos exists today because countless hands passed it down. Its survival is the product of a chain.
- The Next Link — The Responsibility of the Modern CollectorRecord, continue the provenance, and someday part with it. The collector is not an owner, but a temporary custodian of a chain.
Readings (8)
- Nobunaga Japan the 1570s–1582 Azuchi and Kyoto
Section 1. A record of a hand that served three roles. - The price revolution Spain 1503–1660 Seville, the archive of the official register
Section 2. Re-examining the work of the hand. The second part of a two-stage structure. - The landing of Rome Britain AD 60–61 A provincial town burned
Section 3. Turmoil and hoarding—the background of the hand that left no name. - A biography in a single coin Overview: the world the modern age Discovery and Provenance
Sections 4 & 5. A record of the chain of hands it passed through, including those that polished it. - Syracuse Overview: the world the present Face to Face, 2,400 Years On
Section 5. The miracle of its survival for two thousand four hundred years. - In the Name of a Dead King Greece c. 323–65 BC The British Museum Catalogue
This is an example of collecting work taking the form of a scholar's catalogue. Please note the disproportion between the years the king was on the throne and the approximately 4,100 coin types bearing his name. - Emperor and Republic Mexico 1821–1824 Mexico City Mint
This passage defines what a rarity is from the collector's perspective. Please read to understand why the eagle's neck—which varied in the engraving workshop despite an edict—came to be sought after by later generations. - When small change vanished Italy the mid-1970s The till of a bar
This is an account of how the act of collecting contributed to the disappearance of small change from circulation. The hoarding by collectors is only one of the explanations offered, and the text states that it is impossible to know which factor had what degree of effect—please read the passage, including this disclaimer.
References
- MANTIS — ANS collection database — American Numismatic Society The American Numismatic Society's collection database (based on Numishare). Allows searching by mint, hoard, and findspot, with visualization on maps and charts.
- About the American Numismatic Society — American Numismatic Society A numismatic society founded in 1858. A self-description of its collection, library, and publication system.
The books and materials referred to in this course.
Read next
Enjoying Coins as Art →What you learn next: Can describe the pinnacles of monetary art (Syracuse, Bracteates, the Age of Gold Coins) in stylistic terms.
Time to read the text: about 6 min ／ What you can read: the course opening and contents are free; the full text is for those who have purchased
Price
After purchase, the full courses, the illustrated books, every country’s story and the numismatics examination are open to you.
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