There is an interesting course available here for people who are interested in professional qualifications for numismatics, I just wondered what anyone else thought of this? What does anyone know about the IFN and the INI? I've googled, but information seems a bit thin on the ground... http://www.emagister.co.uk/master_in_numismatics_courses-ec170085356.htm
The part in red seems odd. here is a better outline of the course. Almost all ancient. http://www.phantasmatagroup.com/masternumismatics.htm
Yes, it does seem a bit odd doesn't it? I've seen their website, but I wanted an independent source. The spelling mistakes and the errant use of the word 'scotch' concerns me a bit...
Wow, what a commitment. If you did 8 hrs a day, it would take more than 6 months to complete. .But realistically, you can do it in a year if you committed to it.
It might be UK only... I don't suppose anyone might know of a similar course that is definitely not run by a mickey mouse outfit?
For me it says - This course is being updated, Check soon for full details. There are other numismatic programs that you can enroll in. But none of them are really acreditied institutions, at least none that I have ever been able to find. I did manage at one time to find mention of a numismatic course at Cambridge in the UK. And they do list a full professor as holding the chair of that department. But I never could find any real information on course that was offered or how one could enroll in it. There are also some institutions available in India that offer courses in numismatics. But I cannot recall their names right off. Of note is that Don Kagin proudly proclaims that he holds the only Ph.D. in numismatics in the US. But when you search out the institution where he obtained his doctorate you find that said instituion is somewhat incredulous to say the least. Kind of like those so called diploma mills where anybody can "buy" a degree in whatever they want. There is no acredited school in the entire US that even offers a course in numismatics that I could ever find.
As far as I know there aren't. Both Kagin and Jonathan Kern (BA in Numismatics) earned their degrees at Liberal Arts colleges which at the time were allowing students to create their own degree programs. Choose what you wanted a degree in, create a course schedule, research projects whatever and get it approved by an advisory panel. Complete the course you designed and they awarded the degree. During the 1970's Adelphi University in OH did offer courses in Numismatics.
The American Numismatic Association is your best bet. Goto their website and look under "Explore the World of Money" then under the dropdown, the first item is "School of Numismatics." I did two of the self study course and have a third here now. The thing is that for the Official Diploma, you have to pay $300 in fees, which is more than the price of everything else put together. But I don't care about the diploma per se. I just list the courses. On the other hand, the extra charges are no more than the cost of a couple of nicer common coins, so it depends on where your needs and interests take you.
While what the ANA offers is quite good, and I encourage everybody to take those courses, it is not what I understood the original question to be. My understanding was that the OP was asking about real college courses that one could take and get an accredited degree. A Masters or Doctorate from a recognized and accredited college or university is quite different than a study course offered by the ANA. And as I have said, there is no such thing as an accredited degree in numismatics that I am aware of.
Presently, Union Institute and University (http://www.myunion.edu/) offers doctorates in Education, Culture and Psychology. I googled down ten pages but could not find the page I found a few months ago. On Don Kagin's doctoral dissertation committee for his research in pioneer gold were Walter Breen, Henry Clifford, and John Jay Ford ... which is to say, Ford and two people under his Vulcan Mind Meld, lacking only Paul Franklin to complete the set. Looking for a doctorate now myself, I considered this option, actually... but I think I settled on fraud and misconduct in scientific research. One reason why is that criminologists do not take our problems seriously. For a graduate class in global crime, I suggested Chinese Fakes and related problems in numismatics, but the prof blew it off because no one cares if Americans with too much disposable income are cheated.
Yes, but they were not an accredited school until August of 2008. And then, only the branch in Cincinnati was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA-HLC), and they are the only organization to give that accreditation to that school. This is all confirmed by the CHEA database.
You will be hard pressed to find a numismatics program anywhere, much less one that does not focus in ancient or medieval coinage. I really looked into this last year before settling on the job. Essentially, your best bet is to enroll in a classical civ (in the UK, ancient history) course at a university with a faculty member who specializes in numismatics. Doug - I assure you that there are schools that periodically offer courses, but they're not the kind of thing that would appear in the school's literature. Something like a 400 level seminar in classics, with an annually rotating theme.
There's a few Ph.Ds that I've been corresponding with about various colonial era and 19th century numismatics topics. Though they specialize in numismatics, they all have degrees in archaeology.
As I said earlier, I pretty much know that since Cambridge has a chair in numismatics. I just do not know what the particulars are. Nor have I ever been able to find anyone who was actually given an accredited degree in numismatics. Even Philip Grierson, emeritus professor of numismatics at Cambridge University prior to his death, and one of if the not the most repsected name in medieval numismatics, did not have a degree of any kind in numismatics. And that's my point. Yes, there are without a doubt classes that one can take at accredited institutions and receive credit for them. But there are no degrees offered in numismatics, not even a bachelor's.
I found the about discussions very interesting. However, I do have a question. I have donated my coin and currency collections to 16 different museums and presidential libraries. What I have left are the modern American Proof sets that I would like to donate. Does anyone have any recommendations??
...and a course through an accredited institution is the ONLY kind of college-level course that I would take. People I know have thrown away their GI Bill money on online "fly by night" courses that were not accredited, and they were not able to find work in their field of study after graduating. The first thing one should do is TALK TO the person who has the outcome that you are looking for. If you want to work in law enforcement, talk to the chief of police and ask her where she got her degree. Attend THAT institution! The only numismatics course that I know of that I believe is accredited is offered through the American Numismatic Society: The annual Eric P. Newman Graduate Summer Seminar in Numismatics. Only "serious" people should take the course, don't you know. It seems that the course is geared toward people who are graduate students working toward a career in a top-tier auction house as an appraiser for wealthy people's collections, or something like that. That's according to the ANS. The ANS is quite snooty, in my estimation. Then again, they somehow allowed Dr. Sheldon to steal their Large Cent collection... From their course listing: "Successful applicants are typically doctoral candidates or junior faculty in a related discipline, but masters candidates are admitted as well." http://numismatics.org/2018seminar/
Just as an add on to this thread since it has resurfaced, the University of Toronto offers classes under Prof. John Munro that focus strongly on numismatics, particularly the medieval period. But it is important to note that these are classes in economics and that's what your degree would be in. I would also add that much of Prof. Munro's course study is available online to virtually anyone who cares to look for it. Along with an absolute wealth of information ! Information that you likely will not find anyplace else. I have used his work as a source for a great many years. One thing though, if you actually take the time to put in the study, many commonly held beliefs will be dispelled. But as has been said for millennia - veritas vos liberabit !
Forensic Numismatics ? Did I look i up wrongly, but I saw references to Astrology, Palm Reading and Witchcraft, as other courses. Who are the organizers, and where have they mastered their expertise in Numismatics ? There's more to the know-how than flipping a coin !!!
