ASAN is a group of like-minded collectors and students of ancient history and numismatics who meet once a month
at the offices of Noble Numismatics, Pty. Ltd. (Macquarie St., Sydney). A typical meeting begins, without
ceremony, with a discussion of news and recent developments in the world of ancient coins, followed by a summary
of new and newly acquired publications and auction catalogues. The more formal part of the evening then commences
as something of a "show and tell" session, with members displaying their recent purchases, coins of interest or study, or other related items, and giving a short talk about them. After the meeting, members are invited to dinner at a local restaurant.
Unlike most similar clubs or organisations, there are no fees or dues, and there are no office holders or other hierarchy.
All membership enquiries should be directed to Jim Noble at Noble Numismatics.
Among the topics discussed at the June meeting were:
Holt: Announced the sad news of the passing of numismatist and author, Dr. Henry Clay Lindgren; discussed
the chance find on the internet of information about the 18th century collector William Hunter, and of his donation
of items, including an Ides of March Denarius, to the University of Glasgow (a paper given by Sir Charles Illingworth
to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, on 25 February 1972, and as published in the Journal
of the Scottish Society of the History of Medicine). He also showed an unusual and tiny archaic fraction from the
Island of Lesbos which showed two eyes, one above the other, on the obverse.
Nixon: Spoke of his recent Trip to Turkey and Syria, and the progress of archaeological excavations at
the Syrian site of Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates, in which he was a valuable and active participant. He discussed some of
the coin finds and showed photographs of some of the items that were unidentified or in need of a firmer identification.
Tonner: Showed a new purchase, an attractive Gold Noble of Edward III.
Carr: Noted the availability and importance of online resources, including that of the work by Henri Cohen (from
a couple of sources).
Dunstan: Spoke about a newly acquired Yehud Silver Fraction from the recent CNG auction (a silver Hemiobol
struck under Ptolemy II and which showed the head of Ptolemy I on the obverse), and of a rare Hasmonean bronze
(Hendin 458).
Mulligan: Displayed two coins from his collection, a rare Libyan revolt billon stater and a rare Carthaginian bronze
coin.
Tindall: Showed a one-sixth stater from the Island of Lesbos.
Turner: Spoke about the Roman Republican moneyer Q. Pomponius Musa (66BC) and showed some of this
moneyer's coins from his collection.
Bolden: Discussed the recent sale of a 'Proto-Contorniate' and showed an example of this unusual numismatic
item from his collection.
Woolmer: Spoke about a small and rare silver fraction from Cyprian Salamis of the 5th century BC.
Jamieson: Discussed the recent purchase of a group of Archaic twelfth staters from the Asia Minor city of Miletos.
Pitchfork: Showed some of the very rare early bronzes from the city of Velia.
Other members participated actively.
Mention was also made of the upcoming:
Inaugural National Numismatic Conference, NAAC 2005,
to be hosted by the
Numismatic Association of Australia
and held at the
Powerhouse Museum
and the
Australian Centre for Ancient
Numismatic Studies (ACANS),
Macquarie University,
25-27 November 2005.
Further details may be found at: http://naa-online.com.
Abstracts: http://naa-online.com/2005Conf.html
The above photo shows the following members (seated left to right): Rev. Peter Dunstan,
Walter Holt, Dr. Adrian Carr, Robert Tonner, Christopher Mulligan, Jim Noble (standing), Dr. Stephen Mulligan,
Dr. Ted Nixon (standing), Colin Pitchfork, Dr. Nicholas Hardwick, Brian Jamieson, Jim Tindall, Ron Bolden
and Michael Turner (also present but not shown in this photo: Wayne Woolmer and Robert Climpson).
Tonight the chosen venue for dinner was the nearby restaurant Noble House (asian cuisine), apparently named
after James Clavell's famous and popular novel, which was attended by no less than ten members and guests, making
for a very enjoyable evening.
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