Overview

The book provides, for the first time, a comprehensive account of the collecting and study of coins in Britain from 1500 to 1750. Many new discoveries, such as the existence of a Tudor royal collection, have been made in the course of the research. In addition, important scholars and collectors have been identified, who are otherwise virtually unknown, such as James Cole, John Harrison, Simonds D’Ewes, John Marsham and Francis Sambrooke. The development of the early university collections, at Cambridge and Oxford is also described. Many unpublished documents have been identified, transcribed and, when in Latin, translated. Most are from the British and Bodleian Libraries, but many other manuscript sources have also been used, in the UK and abroad. The book is divided into 37 chapters, which are broadly chronological, with several thematic treatments interspersed. 73 appendices cover specific topics. Finally, there is a substantial ‘Register’, a catalogue raisonée of all the people who are known to have had an interest.

Full Product Details

Author:   Andrew Burnett
Publisher:   Royal Numismatic Society
Imprint:   Royal Numismatic Society
Volume:   58
ISBN:  

9780901405364

ISBN 10:   0901405361
Pages:   1870
Publication Date:   01 September 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Preface xi Acknowledgements xiii Dates, names and abbreviations xvii List of illustrations xxi Part I. The 16th century: a humanist beginning 1 1. A Tudor overture: Tunstall, More and Elyot 3 2. Queen Elizabeth and the Twelve Caesars 39 3. Aristocratic and court collections in the 16th century 57 4. Sir Thomas Smith and the Cambridge connection 69 Part II. The discovery of Britain: William Camden and his circle, c. 1600 93 5. Antecedents: Twyne, Harrison, North’s Plutarch and Rogers 95 6. ‘The common Sun, whereat our modern Writers have all lighted their little Torches’: Camden and Britannia 115 7. ‘A most excellent Serraglio of Antiquitie’: Sir Robert Cotton’s coin collection 143 8. James Cole and the Dutch circle in London 193 9. John Speed and the beginnings of coin illustration in England 231 10. ‘Un uomo curiosissimo’: John Harrison 245 11. Sir Thomas Knyvett: the first catalogue 259 12. Coins and history: Edmund Bolton and John Selden 269 Part III. The rise of royal, aristocratic and institutional collections in the 17th century 305 13. Prince Henry and the English royal collection 307 14. Aristocratic collections of the 17th century 351 15. ‘Not only an Ornament, but an useful and necessary Appendage to a Library’: Cambridge and Oxford Universities and other institutions 379 16. Archbishop James Ussher 467 17. The English metrologists 477 18. ‘A great valuer of History and Coins’: Sir Simonds D’Ewes 505 Part IV. The Restoration and revival of the late 17th century 547 19. The British chronographers 549 20. Exploring the Greek and Roman East 567 21. Further East 645 22. Jewish coins in England 675 23. British history and the antiquaries 699 24. A polymath and his coins: Sir Thomas Browne of Norwich 745 25. William Courten (alias Charleton) and the Collectio Curtinia 757 26. Francis Sambrooke: a forgotten collector 779 27. A late start: Scotland 785 28. The ‘Battle of the Medals’ 819 29. Ralph Thoresby of Leeds 851 Part V. ‘Hidden treasures’: unveiled in the early 18th century 877 30. Writing the history of the national coinages 879 31. Visitors and residents from abroad 933 32. ‘Un sçavant homme’: John (Jean) Masson 981 33. Aristocratic and royal collections of the 18th century 997 34. ‘A very comely Person, and extremely well accomplished’: Sir Andrew Fountaine 1083 35. Martin Folkes and classical coinage 1105 36. Three doctors: Hans Sloane, Denton Nicholas and Richard Mead 1115 Part VI. Conclusion 1141 37. Numismatics in context 1143 Register of collectors and numismatists, arranged chronologically 1179 Appendices and specific studies 1. Thomas More’s coins and seals 1337 2. Catherine Parr 1342 3. Coin terms in Thomas Elyot’s Dictionary 1343 4. The letters of Roger Ascham 1356 5. The images in North’s Plutarch 1366 6. Camden’s coins of Claudius 1367 7. Cotton’s post-Conquest coins 1379 8. John Stow on the English coinage 1386 9. James Cole’s catalogue of Ortelius’s Republican coins 1389 10. Coins in Edmund Bolton’s Nero 1391 11. Selden’s use of coins in Titles of Honor 1397 12. Sir Thomas Roe’s letter to Lucy Bedford 1406 13. The coin collection of Abraham Gorlaeus 1408 14. Abraham van Doort’s account of his time as curator of the royal coin collection 1417 15. The 1652 list of the royal coin collection 1418 16. Roman Republican coins in the Royal collection 1420 17. The ‘crowned C’ countermark 1428 18. Gold coins in the collection of King Charles II 1429 19. The coin drawings and paintings of the younger Henrick van der Borcht 1440 20. ‘The Roman Collection at Christ-Church’ 1444 21. Archbishop Laud’s gift of coins to Oxford 1453 22. Coins in Ussher’s Annales 1456 23. D’Ewes on 17th century coin collections 1459 24. D’Ewes on the Oxford and Cambridge collections, and on Barkham’s catalogue 1462 25. Roman imperial coins in the collection of Simonds D’Ewes 1465 26. The sale of the Earl of Winchilsea’s coins to Simonds D’Ewes, 1646 1467 27. D’Ewes’s gold coins and the British Museum collection 1471 28. Coins and medals borrowed from Oxford by Simonds D’Ewes 1473 29. Coins for D’Ewes’s book illustrations in the National Library of Ireland 1475 30. Walter Stonehouse’s Coin Catalogue, 1654 1479 31. Isaac Barrow to Abraham Hill, 1658 1482 32. Classicising the British coinage 1484 33. Coins acquired by the Royal Society 1489 34. John Aubrey’s hoard of late Roman coins from Heddington 1494 35. William Courten’s coin acquisitions in BL Sloane MS 3988 1496 36. Sharp papers 1501 37. George Wheler’s coins 1507 38. The letters of William Crosse, 1715–16 1520 39. Accounts of John Kemp’s collection of coins 1525 40. John Ward on the Roman As 1529 41. Robert Sibbald’s use of coins as evidence for the Roman occupation of Scotland 1531 42. James Sutherland’s coin catalogue 1534 43. Numismatic correspondence of James Sutherland and other Scots, c. 1700 1537 44. Ralph Trumbull’s collection 1549 45. Nicolson and Lhwyd on ancient British coins – or Roman amulets? 1552 46. Lists of Numismatists in Britain 1556 47. Subscribers to Haym’s Tesoro 1571 48. Tenzel on 17th-century numismatics 1573 49. Jobert on numismatic literature 1574 50. Winchilsea’s copy of his manuscript on Athenian coins, 1719 1576 51. Proof copies of the Pembroke catalogue 1578 52. Pembroke’s Anglo-Saxon coins in Fountaine 1580 53. Notes on Haym 1582 54. Haym and Jezreel Jones 1586 55. Letters and diary entries concerning Andrew Fountaine’s interests in coins 1589 56. Fountaine’s Roman coins in Banduri 1619 57. Inventory of Andrew Fountaine’s House and Library 1623 58. Jonathan Swift and coins and medals 1626 59. Henry Prescott’s diary 1630 60. Thomas Hearne on Thomas Granger’s coins 1633 61. John Byrom’s diary, 1725–48 1635 62. Some letters from Philipp von Stosch (1691–1757) 1637 63. The later history of the Devonshire collection 1644 64. ‘Rare Coins in Some Cabinets I have Seen, of our English Money’, 1736–7 1649 65. Letters from Browne Willis to John Bettesworth (1733–35) 1653 66. Beaupré Bell’s Tabulae Augustae 1655 67. Numismatic letters of Maurice Johnson 1660 68. Duplicate coins in the Sloane and early British Museum collections 1663 69. Lists of coins bought by Richard Mead 1665 70. British books in early numismatic bibliographies 1669 71. Coins in the letters and diary of William Stukeley 1675 72. Collecting medals 1679 73. The fate of the Pembroke collection 1685 SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Manuscripts and annotated books 1691 2. Bibliography 1705 INDICES 1. Personal Names 1759 2. Places 1792 3. Hoards and Finds 1798 4. Coinages 1799 5. Auctioneers/auction houses 1801 6. General Index 1802

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Author Information

Andrew Burnett was Deputy Director of the British Museum from 2002 to 2013, having spent his previous career in the Department of Coins and Medals. He was appointed a CBE by the Queen in the New Year’s Honours of 2012, and he is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Society of Antiquaries of London. He is past President of the Royal Numismatic Society, the Roman Society and the International Numismatic Commission. He has been awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society, the Jeton de Vermeil of the French Numismatic Society and the Huntington Medal of the American Numismatic Society.

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