NEW BOOK: CONCORDIA DISCIPLINARUM

Concordia Disciplinarum

Essays on Ancient Coinage, History, and Archaeology in Honor of William E. MetcalfConcordia-Cover

(Numismatic Studies 38)

Edited by Nathan T. Elkins and Jane DeRose Evans

List price: $75 plus shipping & handling Member price: $52.50 plus shipping & handling

ISSN 051-7404-x
ISBN 978-0-89722-357-7
Hardcover, 283 pages, b/w images, color frontispiece

FROM THE PREFACE

William E. Metcalf is a prominent name in numismatics, but is also universally recognized among those who study Roman history and archaeology. Known especially for his many contributions to Roman and Byzantine coinage, it is difficult to find a book or article that does not cite his work. A generous scholar, one can see his name in the acknowledgements in works by numismatists and scholars in adjacent disciplines who incorporate numismatic evidence. It is thus appropriate— and overdue—that his former students and colleagues present this Festschrift in recognition of Metcalf ’s impact on our discipline. It would be impossible to incorporate contributions from all of his colleagues and friends; the contributors herein represent but a fraction of those who would honor him.

His articles and reviews number in the hundreds, and he is author and editor of several books. Some of his best-known research centers on the cistophori. In 1980, he published his doctoral dissertation as his first monograph: The Cistophori of Hadrian (New York: American Numismatic Society, Numismatic Studies 15). Continuing this work is his recent The Later Republican Cistophori (New York: American Numismatic Society, Numismatic Notes and Monographs 170, 2017). A mark of his place in the entire field of numismatics is his editorship of The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2012). Although retired from teaching and curating, he continues his research, and is currently completing Roman Provincial Coinage X (Valerian to Diocletian).

Bill, as he is called by friends and colleagues, received his degrees from the University of Michigan. He was awarded his A.B. in Latin, with distinction and highest honors, in 1969, his A.M. in Classical Studies in 1970, and his Ph.D. in Classical Studies in 1973. That same year, he came to New York to begin his long association with the American Numismatic Society, where he would work until 2000. From 1973 to 1975, he served as Assistant Curator of Roman and Byzantine Coins; in 1975, he was promoted to Associate Curator, and in 1978, to Deputy Chief Curator. He succeeded Margaret Thompson as Chief Curator in 1979, and remained in this position until his departure in 2000. Presently, he is Honorary Curator and Life Fellow at the ANS.

While serving at the ANS, Bill was appointed Visiting Professor or Adjunct Professor at several institutions, including Columbia University, Princeton University, Università degli Studi di Padova, Bryn Mawr College, Rutgers University, and New York University. In 2002, he was hired as the Curator of Coins and Medals at the Yale University Art Gallery and as Professor of Classics (adj.) at Yale University. In 2007, with the endowment of his curatorial position, he was named Ben Lee Damsky Curator of Coins and Medals, a title that he held until his retirement from Yale in 2014. Prof. Metcalf holds many distinguished honors and awards that recognize his research. Some key highlights are his membership at the Institute for Advanced Study in 1988–1989, his election as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1998, and his receipt of the Jeton de Vermeil of the Société Française de Numismatique in 2008. He is also the honorand of the annual William E. Metcalf Lecture Series of the Archaeological Institute of America, established in 2000 by Anna Maguerite McCann.

Among the people who influenced Bill’s professional development, two stand out. The first is Theodore “Ted” V. Buttrey (1929–2018), his mentor and advisor for his Ph.D. It was Ted who introduced him to the discipline of numismatics, involving him in the publication of the coins from the University of Michigan’s excavations at Carthage. These initial studies led to Bill’s interest and expertise in Roman Provincial coins (see also Metcalf 1977, 1979a, 1982b, 1987a, 1989, 2000, 2002a, 2007, 2008a, 2014, 2017) and the publication of hoards and excavation coins (Metcalf 1974a, 1974b 1975a, 1975b, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979b, 1979c, 1980, 1981a, 1981b, 1982a, 1987b, 1988, 19912, 1994, 1995/6, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002b). Ted’s ability to question received knowledge is clearly reflected in Bill’s careful arguments and fresh insights.

At the American Numismatic Society, he met his supervisor, mentor, and friend, the redoubtable Margaret Thompson (1911–1992). She exemplified for him unstinting work on behalf of the American Numismatic Society, the conduct of scholarly discourse, and the interest in bodies of material beyond the cataloging of particular coin types.

Teaching the next generation of numismatic scholars has been part of Bill’s life, as the two editors of this volume can attest. He has promoted the work of numismatics by introducing younger scholars to established scholars and collectors, and to dig directors who need numismatists for their excavations. His careful reading of forthcoming manuscripts has saved many an error or half-baked idea from going to readers or editors. His service to the field is reflected in his reviews of manuscripts and books, and service on the editorial boards for Lexicon Mythologiae Classicae, American Journal of Archaeology, Journal of Roman Archaeology, American Journal of Numismatics, Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau, and Bryn Mawr Classical Review, and on various committees for the American Philological Association (now the Society for Classical Studies) and the Archaeological Institute of America.

We offer this book in gratitude, as a reflection of Bill’s interests and deep scholarship, and an homage to his friendship and teaching.

Nathan T. Elkins and Jane DeRose Evans, May 2018

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