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Martin Jessop Price (27 March 1939 – 28 April 1995) was a British
numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...
who was made a Merit Deputy Keeper of the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in 1978, a corresponding member of the
German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office, Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Status, tasks and ...
and was a visiting fellow at the
Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...
in Princeton, New Jersey, 1986-87. In 1992 he was awarded the
medal of the Royal Numismatic Society The Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society was first awarded in 1883. It is awarded by the Royal Numismatic Society and is one of the highest markers of recognition given to numismatists. The president and Council award the medal annually to an "in ...
. He was considered a leading scholar in the field on Greek Coinage and his literature, focusing on all aspects of coinage in the Greek world, has received multiple awards. Such was his personal reputation that he became a leading international authority and an unofficial final court of appeal on the authenticity of Greek coins.


Career

He was educated at
King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's oldest public school and is considered to be the oldest continuously op ...
and conducted his research at
Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...
, where he graduated with a first 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 ...
, under the supervision of Sir Edward Robinson. In 1961, he won a Greek government scholarship which introduced him to the British School of Athens. After completing the scholarship, he returned to England to complete a research fellowship at
Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...
. He spent most of his career at the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. In 1966 he was appointed Assistant Keeper in the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum, under Kenneth Jenkins. During this time he worked on the museum's unrivalled collection of ancient Greek coins. He also spent a lot of effort designing the physical layout for the rebuilt department. In 1975 he initiated a new publication, Coin Hoards, which represented the first systematic attempt to record the vast quantity of new finds, eight volumes were published under his editorship. His work didn't go unnoticed and in 1978 he was appointed Deputy Keeper for the department. Whilst working at the British Museum, he also served as Secretary of the Royal Numismatic Society for six years from 1977 to 1983. From 1975 to 1994 he ran single-handed a graduate seminar on Greek numismatics at London University. He served as chairman of the British Academy's Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum project and published four volumes in the series. In September 1994 he left the British Museum and returned to the British School of Athens and became its director. He was considered well-suited to the role due to his temperance and experience. Unfortunately, he was unable to fully embrace the position due to his untimely death less than a year later, in April 1995.


Personal life

Martin Jessop Price had a lifelong connection with Greece and became fluent in modern Greek whilst studying at the British School of Athens in 1961. In 1965, whilst completing a research fellowship at Downing College, he met his future wife Maria Xenakis. The pair instantly had a connection, with Maria being surprised by his fluency in Greek, and married shortly after. The pair had three children, two sons and a daughter. He, and his wife, were well known amongst friends for their legendary hospitality, with Martin's colleagues even referring to him having a unofficial taxi-service. Price could simultaneously exasperate and endear himself to his friends through his habit of disagreeing point-blank with them, and then completely reversing his position five minutes later. But his enthusiasm and energy were an inspiration to his colleagues. His enthusiasm meant it was typical that he was willing to throw himself into a project so unrewarding but so necessary.


Legacy

Aside from leaving behind his academic work, a fund was set up in his name by the Royal Numismatic Society
The Martin Price Fund for Ancient Greek Numismatics
was created in 1997 to help fund young researchers to conduct studies that focus on coins from the Greek world. The awards normally consist of one or multiple grants that are used to offset research costs, such as travel and accommodation as well as provide support for attending and reading papers at colloquia and seminars.


Notable Work

* Coins of the Macedonians * The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World * Coinage in the Greek World * Coins and their cities: Architecture on the ancient coins of Greece, Rome, and Palestine * The coinage in the name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus: a British Museum catalogue


References

1939 births 1995 deaths British numismatists Directors of the British School at Athens Employees of the British Museum Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge {{UK-academic-stub