The Aydin Özkan Collection

114 pp,hb, in English.

This volume is the latest publication Anatolian Numismatic Studies Project conducted in the department of Classıcal Archaeology, Faculty of Languages, History and Geography of Ankara Unıversıty and covers 560 Greek and Roman Provincial coins from Aydın özkan's collection. A collector registered since 2008 at the Ethnography Museum of Ankara, Aydın Özkan has produced a rich collection of 1201 coins from a variety of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Sassanid, Mamluk, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, Seljuks of Anatolia, Artuqids of Mardin and Ottoman Empire mints. Aydın Özkan's purpose in creating this collection is bringing together examples that cover most, if not ali coins minted in Anatolia. This volume also spearheads the institutionalization of the Anatolian Numismatic Studies in Ankara Universiry. With continued research and publications, we hope that the Anatolian Numismatic Studies will provide essential and new information and generale its place on the international stage of research involving numismatics. in the last 10 years, numismatic studies gained momentum in the world. Parallel to that the reference system, in which similar examples of coins getting listed one after the other became too limited for numismatic studies that has been evolving in character since the turn of the new century: We would like to emphasize the contribution of Aydın Özkan with his collection that shaped this study as a book of reference for future coin studies in Turkey. We shared Aydın Özkan's great passion by means of which he created his collection. Yet, a different methodological approach had to oversee the study of this collection. As such, coins were selected for a study that needed not be unique or not be representative of so-called "Fleur de Coin," in other words, not be preserved in mint condition, but that reflect characteristics distinctive and representative of the developmental history. in this study, we preferred a method accompanied by plain bibliographic information and reference works for the examination of coins. The efficacy and simplicity of this method made us consider using the same methodology in our future studies. During the preparation of the catalogue, casts of the 560 coins were made with great help from Ay enur Ala, a BA candidate in our Department. Our !ate colleague, Ertuğrul Kıraç, whom we lost untimely at an early age, conducted ehe photography. We extend our gratitude to the Turkish Historical Society, the British lnstitute at Ankara (BIAA) and the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) for enabling the use their library resources. The photographs of the originals were preferred for silver coins, while the photographs of the plaster casts were used for bronze coins in the coin catalogue, in order to obtain better visual results for the detail-oriented meticulous eye. in addition, the creations of the monograms in the catalogue belongs to Fatich Toumpan. Kamuran Ok undeıtook the task of editing and forming the layout of the publication. As a resule, this study is ehe product ofa team effort. We would like to thank our students and colleagues for their contributions, especially Ay enur Ala, Evrim Ak ın and the late Ertuğrul Kıraç . We would also like to express our sincere thanks to Aydın özkan, who provided the opportunity for us to study his collection anct enabled a comfortable working envorinment by opening ıh e doors of his personal abode.

Zeynep Çizmeli Öğün - Fatich Toumpan