Evaluating the management of ancient coin collections in American museums

In this thesis, the care and management of Ancient coin collections in American museums is examined. Although ancient coins hold vast amounts of information about history, society, and economy, they are often underappreciated components of American museum collections, and can be challenging to exhibit and to utilize for educational programming. A literature review and an informal survey of American museums with Ancient coin collections were conducted in this thesis, followed by four case studies of collections management practices of institutions that care for ancient coins. After a discussion where key themes are identified, several conclusions and recommendations are presented, including a set of best practices for managing Ancient coin collections in American museums. Overall, it is concluded that care and management practices for Ancient coin collections should be regularly updated and reviewed, and that these collections should be fully digitized so that they can be made accessible to the public and employed more often in educational programming.