Every now and then I notice a group of coins on
eBay or elsewhere that certainly look like they came from the same source: similar patination, appearing together, of similar or related
types, etc. If these groups were indeed found together, there seem to be two very unfortunate circumstances involved: first, the exact findspot is probably lost to
history, and second, the association of the coins together as a group is usually lost once they are dispersed onto the market. If I were rich, I'd probably buy up any such apparent
hoards and donate them to a museum, but alas, I'm not.
Is it possible and/or practical and/or desirable to document in some way these small groups that appear in online commerce? Does anyone attempt to do it already in a systematic manner? I do know, for example, that there is a series of volumes called
Coin Hoards (now up to
vol. 9 at least) that publish current and retrospective reports of
hoards; it's a product of the Royal Numismatic Society. Has anyone here submitted information to them? Years ago when coins were sold almost entirely through printed dealer catalogs, there was some record of things that came on the market; but now, with many things appearing online, such records are very easly lost forever. I believe we should all regard ourselves as just the temporary custodians of the coins we collect, and I
hope that they will all be in safe
hands 500 years from now, as well cared for then as we care for them now, and hopefully even better understood then than they are now. It seems to me we have an obligation to prevent information from being lost whenever possible. Recent reports of
medieval and
Roman coin finds in
Britain illustrate how things ought to
work: the finder has ownership rights, and the local and national museums have the right of first purchase. But even where such policies are not in place, coins that look like associated finds should be documented in some way whenever possible.