It traces the emergence of science as a requirement of research among private collectors, and discusses the relationship between collectors’ taste and scholarly historical reflection.” This study seeks to determine how the social network of collectors contributed to the very significant advances made during this period. By examining the correspondence among members of this circle, and the exchanges (sales and gifts) among collectors in the capital, it is possible to understand the extent to which informal exchanges contributed to the development of scholarly criteria in Chinese numismatics, and to unprecedented advances in the field. The most representative work of this period is Li Zuoxian’s Guquanhui 李佐贤：《古泉汇》, published in 1864, which brought together the collections and ideas of a community of collectors who corresponded regularly, exchanged coins, rubbings and books, and met from time to time. Applying the methodology of evidential scholarship ( kaozhengxue 考证学), they brought about a methodological revolution in the field of numismatics. Following the publication of the Qinding qianlu 欽定錢錄 in 1751, numerous collectors developed an interest in coins and published catalogues, monographs and scholarly studies. “The period from the end of the 18th to the first half of the 19th century was a golden age in Chinese numismatics. I’ve made a quick translation of the abstract below: The title “Chinese Coins from a Scholar’s Study” reflects Lyce’s research into the history and context of collecting, including her PhD “Les cercles de collectionneurs et de numismates dans la région de Pékin durant la première moitié du XIXème siècle” (2012). 20, No.26 (June 25, 2017), Article 22 – and a shorter notice in Coins Weekly (15 June 2017). There is an informative, and well illustrated piece – Chinese Coins from a Scholar’s Study – written by Lyce for The E-sylum, vol. Chinese Coins from a Scholar’s Study (source: Coins Weekly)Ĭurated by Dr Lyce Jankowski, it draws on the superb collection of East Asian money in the Heberden Coin Room at the Ashmolean Museum.

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