Collections

Our numismatic collections

With over 6,500 ancient coins from Greece, Rome, the Levant, and beyond, the ACANS numismatic collection is one of the largest in any university in the world. The foundations of the ACANS holdings were established by Dr. William Gale, who posthumously donated his important collection of ancient Greek and Roman coinage to the Centre in 2007. ACANS has also received significant donations of coins or funds for collections from our supporters – notably Mr Gordon Marr and Lady Proud, Mr Ron Hansen, Dr Doug Kelly, and the family of Sir Asher Joel.

In line with the Centre's mission to promote the study of numismatics, ACANS continues to acquire and receive the donation of ancient coins for the purposes of research and teaching.

Finding our coins

ACANS is committed to making our numismatic collections available to as many people as possible. Our collections are made public through multiple channels:

• Macquarie University Collections Portal – our goal is to make the entire ACANS collection available on the Collections Portal, which is being continuously updated.
• Pedestal 3D – for high-quality interactive 3D models of our collection highlights.
• MQ Object Based Learning –  an online catalogue and exhibit of featured items combined with education resources for teachers and students alike.
• Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia (JNAA) – articles dealing with coins at ACANS – particularly, new acquisitions – have regularly been published in the JNAA.
• Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum – the Gale Collection of South Italian Coins is published in Australia's first SNG volume, available through the Macquarie University Library.

About our collections

Gale Collection

Donated to ACANS by Dr and Mrs W. L. Gale, this significant collection comprises more than 2,500 ancient coins. The collection is made up of three main categories: the Greek cities of Southern Italy, Roman Republican Coinage, and the coinage of the emperor Hadrian. Additionally, the Gale Collection contains a significant number of ‘pegasi’ coins from Corinth, its colonies, and allies, as well as an extensive survey collection of coins minted in the names of Roman emperors and their families.

The Gale Collection of Southern Italian Coins is the subject of Australia’s first Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum volume.

Hansen Collection

Mr Ron Hansen donated to ACANS an impressively curated assortment of over 1,000 Roman bronze coins originating from twenty-four imperial mints and spanning more than five centuries. The collection was designed by this Sydney collector to illustrate the complex patterns of changing reverse types on Roman bronze.

Kelly Collection

Former Macquarie University lecturer Dr. Doug Kelly donated a wonderfully chosen survey collection of more than 1,100 ancient Greek coins, along with a selection of Roman ones. The collection is particularly strong in the representation of towns and tribes in the Thracian Chersonese. Among the collection are over 200 hemi-drachms showing the forepart of a lion from a still-unknown Thracian mint that operated in the fourth century BC, a topic of special research interest of Dr Kelly.

The Kelly Collection has been diligently catalogued by teams of more than 30 Macquarie student volunteers and interns over 2022 and 2023.

The Sir Asher Joel and Family Collection

With funds donated by the family of Sir Asher Joel, ACANS has undertaken to create a collection of coins that shed light on way numismatic iconography was used by states, rulers, and towns in the Southern Levant to assert their individual identity. This collaborative project is being carried out by researchers linked to ACANS: Kenneth Sheedy, Gil Davis, Michael Theophilos, Jared Clark, Eva Anagnostou and Peter Edwell. The collection will serve as a valuable research asset as well as an important source of information for teaching. The collection brings together numismatic evidence from the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman eras.

Find out more about the Southern Levant Project here.

The ACANS Collection

With the assistance of funds from the Gale endowment, ACANS acquires select coins for research and teaching purposes. It is also assisted by the donation of ancient coins from many of our supporters.

The ACANS Collection now consists of over 500 ancient Greek and Roman coins.

Our Numismatics Library and Journal Collection

The Centre’s new purpose-built facility in the Arts Precinct houses an ever-growing collection of rare, out of print, and difficult to obtain numismatic books, journals, and catalogues. The Centre is home to the most significant numismatic library in the country, open to researchers and students by appointment.

You can view the ACANS library’s holdings via MultiSearch.