David Michael Metcalf (8 May 1933 – 25 October 2018) was a British academic and numismatist. He was the director of the Heberden Coin Room of the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

, a fellow of Wolfson College and Professor of

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 ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. He held the degrees of MA,

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

and DLitt from Oxford.

Early life and education

Metcalf was born on 8 May 1933 in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, England. He studied geography at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

followed by a doctorate on medieval coinage in the Balkans supervised by

Philip Grierson Philip Grierson, (15 November 1910 – 15 January 2006) was a British historian and numismatist. He was Professor of Numismatics at Cambridge University and a fellow of Gonville and Caius College for over seventy years. During his long and e ...

Academic career

Metcalf's primary focus was on the early and high

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, the

Crusader states The Crusader states, or Outremer, were four Catholic polities established in the Levant region and southeastern Anatolia from 1098 to 1291. Following the principles of feudalism, the foundation for these polities was laid by the First Crusade ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. He worked at the Heberden Coin Room of the

in Oxford from 1971 to 1999 and was the director of the Heberden Coin Room from 1982 to 1999. He was appointed as Professor of

at the

in 1996 and retired in 1998; he was also a Fellow of

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Wolfson is an all-graduate college, it prides itself on being one of the most international colleges at Oxford, with part ...

, from 1982 to 1998."Metcalf, Prof. David Michael"
''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 3 October 2018. He served as president of the

Royal Numismatic Society The Royal Numismatic Society (RNS) is a learned society and charity based in London, United Kingdom which promotes research into all branches of numismatics. Its patron was Queen Elizabeth II. Membership Foremost collectors and researchers, bo ...

from 1994 to 1999 and led the editorial board of its journal The '' Numismatic Chronicle'' from 1974 to 1984. In the 1960s Metcalf published articles arguing that the number of coins circulating in early medieval Europe was much higher than believed previously. This led to arguments, including one reported in the Times in 1966, but was supported by metal detector finds in the 1980s.

Personal life

In 1962, Metcalf married Dorothy Uren, a teacher, who died in 2018. They had three children. He died on 25 October 2018 at the age of 85.

Honours

* 1983 – John Sanford Saltus Gold Medal by the

British Numismatic Society The British Numismatic Society exists to promote the study and understanding of British numismatics. The Society was founded in 1903, focusing on all forms of coinage, tokens, banknotes and medals relating to the British Isles and former parts ...

* 1987 –

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 ...

* 1991 – Huntington Medal 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 ...

* 2008 – Meshorer Numismatic Prize of the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...

* 2008 – Derek Allen Prize of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

Selected publications

* ''The Coinage of South Germany in the Thirteenth Century'' (Spink, 1961). * ''Coinage in the Balkans'' (Institute for Balkan Studies, 1965). * (Co-authored with Julia M. Merrick and Lynette Kaye) ''Studies in the Composition of Early Medieval Coins'' (Corbitt & Hunter, 1968). * ''The Origins of the Anastasian Currency Reforms'' (Adolf M. Hakkert, 1969). * ''The Copper Coinage of Thessalonica under Justinian I'' (Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1976). * ''Coinage in South-Eastern Europe, 820–1396'', 2nd ed. (Spink, 1979). * (Co-authored with W. A. Oddy) ''Metallurgy in Numismatics'' (Royal Numismatic Society, 1980). * ''Coinage of the Crusades and the Latin East in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford'' (Royal Numismatic Society and Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East, 1983). * ''Thrymsas and Sceattas in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford'', 3 vols. (Royal Numismatic Society and Ashmolean Museum, 1993-4). * ''The Silver Coinage of Cyprus, 1285–1382'' (Cyprus Research Centre, 1996). * ''An Atlas of Anglo-Saxon and Norman Coin Finds, 973–1086'' (Royal Numismatic Society, 1998). * ''The White Bezants and Deniers of Cyprus, 1192–1285'' (Cyprus Research Centre, 1998). * ''The Gros, Sixains, and Cartzias of Cyprus: 1382–1489'' (Cyprus Research Centre, 2000). * ''Byzantine Cyprus: 491–1191'' (Cyprus Research Centre, 2009).

References

External links

*Obituary: Michael Metcalf o
Yorkshire Numismatic Society blog
* David Michael Metcalf o
Worldcat
*Works by David Michael Metcalf in the
Digital Library Numis
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalf, David Michael 1933 births 2018 deaths Academics of the University of Oxford British numismatists Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford Presidents of the Royal Numismatic Society People associated with the Ashmolean Museum Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge