Eunice Burr Stebbins Couch (November 11, 1893 – July 1992) was an American

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeol ...

who specialized in the ancient coins of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Early life and education

Eunice Burr Stebbins was born November 11, 1893, in Newark Valley, New York. She spent a great deal of her childhood living in Europe and became fluent in French and German. Her family returned to the United States in 1908 and she enrolled in Miss Capen's School in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. She graduated from the school in 1912. She attended

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1912 to 1916, where she received her BA in

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

She enrolled at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1919 studying the

and

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...

. She travelled to Europe in 1920 and spent 1920–1921 attending lectures at the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...

. She lived in Rome from 1920 to 1924 and became fluent in Italian. She returned to the United States and again enrolled at Columbia University from 1924–1925. In 1925 she moved to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and attended

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

as a graduate student, working with

David Moore Robinson David Moore Robinson (September 21, 1880, in Auburn, New York – January 2, 1958, in Oxford, Mississippi) was an American classical archaeologist credited with the discovery of the ancient city of Olynthus. While he was a prolific writer and ad ...

. She obtained her MA at the university in 1926 and her PhD in 1927. Stebbens's scholarly interest was in ancient coins and she studied the collections of the

American Numismatic Society The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is a New York City-based organization dedicated to the study of coins, money, medals, tokens, and related objects. Founded in 1858, it is the only American museum devoted exclusively to their preservation ...

in New York City. She published her dissertation "The Dolphin in Literature and Art of Greece and Rome" in 1929. In her paper she discusses dolphin images on ancient Greek and Roman coins.

Archeological career

In 1927, Stebbins was awarded the Sophia Smith Fellowship from Smith College to continue her studies at the

American School of Classical Studies in Athens The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA; ) is one of 19 foreign archaeological institutes in Athens, Greece. It is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC). CAORC is a private not-for-profit federati ...

(American School). Her goal in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

was to continue her research on ancient coins in

. When applying for the fellowship, Stebbins made a request. She asked the Fellowship Committee to allow her American School assignment of cataloguing the coins excavated at Corinth in 1927 to be her original work. This which would meet her Fellowship requirements for Smith College. If the committee declined, she offered to pursue an epigraphy project as her original work. The committee turned down her request and she subsequently worked on an epigraphic project during her Fellowship year. The result of that work was an article published in the 1929 fall publication of the American Journal of Archaeology, "An Interpretation of the Prescript πολες αυται φορον ταχσαμεναι in the Athenian Tribute Lists,” (Oct.-Dec. 1929), pp 502–514. Stebbins's catalogue work on the 1927 coins was incorporated into a larger catalogue of work under the supervision of Professor Bellinger. "When the Corinth excavation coins were later published in 1935 there was no mention of Stebbins as a contributor to the study or the catalogue." Stebbins met her future husband Herbert Newell Couch when they were both graduate students in classics at

. They both applied for membership in the American School within months of each other. Stebbins in October 1927 and Couch in February 1928. She was granted a Fellowship and he was admitted as an Associate Member of the school. They were married on May 12, 1928, at the British Consulate in Salonika, Greece. When they both left Greece in 1928, Stebbins no longer worked as an archeologist, but she continued her research in

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...

. She studied the coins of Argos, Greece for a number of years and planned on publishing her findings, but her work was never published. Stebbins was a member of the American Numismatic Society for 65 years. At the end of her life, she donated her collection of ancient coins to the Center for Old World Archeology and Art at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. Stebbins died at the age of 98, in July 1992 in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stebbins, Eunice 1893 births 1992 deaths American women archaeologists American classical archaeologists Smith College alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni 20th-century American archaeologists 20th-century American women People from Tioga County, New York