British Numismatic Society

Have you paid your 2026 subscription yet?

In preparing his first email reminder to members to pay their 2026 subscription, our Treasurer, David Young, has advised that over 160 members have not paid their dues for this year – that is over a quarter of the Society's total membership. Worse still, a further 25 members still owe fees for 2025 and 2026. If you haven't paid yet, please do react to David's email when you receive it and settle your dues promptly. We don't want to lose you!

Minutes of the April meeting

Minutes of the Meeting of the British Numismatic Society, held at the Society of Antiquaries of London on Monday, 27 April 2026, Dr Screen, President, being in the chair and 57 other people present [33 in person, 24 on Zoom].

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2026 were approved.

NOMINATIONS: Penelope Ann Davies (Co Durham), Mark Wheeler (London) and Ashley Wickens-Rumble (Hertfordshire) were nominated for Ordinary Membership.

ELECTIONS: Paul Reade (Staffordshire) was elected to Ordinary Membership. The Vitterhetsakademien (Sweden) was elected to Institutional Membership. Peter McClelland (Wiltshire), a member from May 2023 to November 2024, was re-elected to Ordinary Membership.

The death on 16 April 2026 of the Society’s former member, Dr John Donal Bateson, Director from 1991-3 and Secretary from 1994-8, was announced. His funeral would be held in Glasgow on 6 May 2026 and there would be an online link to it.

The President said that bookings for the Society’s Summer Meeting in Edinburgh were now open, and drew attention to the heavily discounted price of £20 now applicable to the Stewart Lyon Special Publication, a copy of which was circulated.

The evening was devoted to four short addresses by members to mark the centenary of the birth of Dr Stewart Lyon (1926-2021). Lindsay Hardcastle gave a talk entitled MIRABILIA FECIT – A new song for York; Bradley Hopper gave a talk entitled The ‘Orsnaforda’ pennies: what, when, where and why?; Richard Ambrose presented an online talk entitled Regional die-production in Edward the Confessor’s Facing Bust issue; and Prof. Roger Bland spoke to the title Stewart Lyon and the 1990s reform of the Treasure Trove laws – a personal appreciation.

The President then announced the date of the next meeting and closed the meeting, before inviting members and their guests to stay for the Spring Reception.

Our next meeting – in person only

The Society's meeting this month takes place on Tuesday 26 May (Monday being a UK bank holiday). For it we move from our usual London venue to 'next door', the Linnean Society of London, accessed off the left-side archway to Burlington House, Piccadilly. We start proceedings at 6pm prompt for an Extraordinary General Meeting, at which the revised set of Society By-Laws already circulated will be put to the membership for formal adoption.

The Ordinary Meeting will follow at 6.15pm, at which our speaker is Dr Barrie Cook, who takes as his title From serfs to lords: the social context of late medieval coin hoards from England. Dr Cook spent 40 years as curator of Late Medieval and Early Modern coins in the Department of Money and Medals of the British Musuem, until his retirement last year. Part of his role was the cataloguing of newly discovered coin hoards from the period of his curatorial coverage, 1180 onwards. He is currently publishing the medieval hoards among these. English medieval coin hoards: the age of the sterling penny, 1180-1351, appeared last year and English medieval coin hoards: from the return of gold to the Great Debasement will appear later this year.

The nearest Underground stations are Piccadilly Circus and Green Park, both 5 minutes' walk away. Those attending will be required to sign the Linnean Society's Visitors' Book. If you are in London that day we look forward to your company; regrettably it will not be possible to access the meeting online.

Image of the 1990 Reigate (Brokes Road) Hoard courtesy of u3A.org.uk