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Scotland, here we come!
This year's Summer Meeting will be held on Saturday 27 June at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The theme of this all-day event, which will be the largest numismatic gathering of its kind in Scotland for perhaps 30 years, is, not unnaturally, Coinage in Scotland – Interpreting the Evidence.
The day, starting at 10.30am, will offer the opportunity to hear about current research projects developing the understanding of Scottish coinage, as well recent important discoveries. In a series of papers, leading figures working on Scottish coinage and monetary history will explore how Scottish coinage was shaped by both internal Scottish and external forces. Drawing on material evidence from hoards, major collections, documentary and archaeological record, this will explore how Scottish coinage was more often than not beset with problems, to which the response was innovation and frequent change. In more recent times Scottish tokens and other forms of ‘money’ offer unique insights into Scottish society and monetary circulation.
The event will be in-person attendance only. Confirmed speakers include Jesper Ericsson, Emily Freeman, Dr Mark Hall, Prof. Simon Herrington, Dr Antony Lee, Cameron Maclean, William MacKay and Dr Carl Savage.
The day will comprise four sessions, each with two papers. Session 1, commencing at 10.30am, will look at hoards from the earliest times of coinage in Scotland including consideration of finds of Roman coins from Scotland and the recovery and context of medieval hoards. Beginning at 11.50am, session 2 attention moves to interpretation, presenting recent research arising from the pending publication of the third part of the Lord Stewartby Collection covering the period 1280-1390 and from the seventeenth-century Methven, Perth, hoard. Lunch will be taken between 1pm and 1.45pm, then the first afternoon session will explore the history of the Scottish coinage between 1136 and 1707 and its relationship with English coinage, including papers on the coinage both before and after the Union of the Crowns in 1603. The final session, starting at 3pm, examines what was circulating as coinage in the early modern period including evidence for difference in the Highlands drawing on the recent Glencoe hoard and commercial monies in the form of trade tokens issued in Scotland in the eighteenth century. The event will finish at 4.45pm.
The day is open not only to Society members, but also everyone interested in Scottish money. To attend you will need to register via Eventbrite through this link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1986938372158.
The cost of the day is £15 per person, including lunch and refreshments. Only 40 places are available, so early application is advised. Students and those in full-time education are free. The British Numismatic Society offers small grants to support travel to numismatic conferences. Visit https://www.britnumsoc.org/the-society/funds for more information.
For those travelling to the event by public transport, the National Museum of Scotland is 10 minutes' walk from Edinburgh Waverley station, 30 minutes' walk from Edinburgh Haymarket station or a 40-45 minute ride on the tram from Edinburgh airport. Parking in the city centre on a Saturday can be difficult and expensive; most visitors use the park and ride facility at Ingliston, near Edinburgh airport.
Image: Mercator's 1595 map of Scotland (Bibliothèque municipale de Bordeaux (H8/1) via Wikimedia Commons) with Scottish coins from a private collection
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