what is numismatics 
numismatics is the study of the physical embodiment of various payment media i e currencies the study of numismatics as it applies to coins is often in the research of the production and use of the coins to determine their rarity understanding numismaticsnumismatics differs from historical and economic studies of money numismatists study the physical attributes of the payment media rather than the use and function in an economy the term numismatics is often used interchangeably with the coin collection though it connotes more intensive study than just simply collecting coins it could be said that all numismatists are coin collectors but not all coin collectors are numismatists it is widely believed that numismatics began during the early european renaissance as part of an effort to re discover all things classical the first english usage of the word numismatics was in 1829 stemming from the word adjective numismatic which translates to of coins and stemmed from the french word numismatiques which itself derived from the latin stem numismat numismatists study the physical technology and historical context of coinage and money coins or other tokens that are rare or unique or that have some special history that can be documented are considered most interesting for study and valuable as collectibles specimens that show errors from their production process of striking the coins or printing the notes are especially notable currency valuebecause of their properties and value as collectibles rare units of currency can trade at well above their face value or the commodity value of their physical substance for example some 20th century u s silver quarters with a face value of 25 cents and a silver melt value of a few dollars can trade for tens of thousands of dollars apiece rather than spend these as money at their face value collectors withdraw them from circulation to use as collectibles or investments this is similar to the operation of what economists call gresham s law which states that under legal tender laws bad less valuable money drives good more valuable money out of circulation in the market in the case of rare and collectible coins or other monetary tokens gresham s law operates to an even greater extreme the coins are not only withdrawn for circulation but actually cease to be money in an economic sense numismatic organizationsthere are numerous societies dedicated to the study research and advancement of numismatic sciences for example the american numismatic society founded in new york city in 1858 was created to foster public appreciation of coins medals and currencies the society has since built a collection of more than 800 000 objects the oldest dating back to 2000 bce its numismatic library contains over 100 000 books documents and artifacts other numismatic organizations include history of numismaticsnumismatics refers to the study and analysis of how people use money as well as the collection of various types of money coins and other forms of consideration the history of numismatics dates back centuries however coin collecting likely began at the time currency was invented before the 19th century coin collecting was an individual hobby one most often enjoyed by nobles the religious elite and rulers during the roman empire emperors like caesar augustus collected coins from various places to use as leverage in trade negotiations and to gift to guests guillaume bud s de asse et partibus eius libri quing written in the 16th century was the first book on coins and the first to mention numismatics during the renaissance era there was a coin collecting explosion with europeans fascinated with the materials and collections of prior civilizations of great interest were the coins with engraved images of animals mythical gods and goddesses and rulers italian scholar and poet francesco petrarca or petrarch is regarded as the first renaissance collector of coins and as the catalyst to the numismatic boom of the 14th century over time numismatics increasingly became popular in the 1800s coin collecting organizations such as the new york based american numismatic society formed across the globe with the advent of the internet coin collecting has gained traction attracting a broader audience of enthusiasts potential and skilled numismatics have access to endless information tools and numismatic communities fields of studybecause there are many types of currency coins and notes the field of numismatics has been segmented into various subfields each subfield focuses on a specific type of numismatic collectible some of the most common are notaphily exonumia and scripophily notaphily is the study and collection of paper money notaphily is a combination of the latin word nota meaning paper money and the greek word phily meaning love notaphilists collect paper money including banknotes exonumia is the study and collection of coins including tokens medals and other like objects exonumia is a combination of the greek word exo meaning out of and nummus meaning coin these items are used in place of currency or used to commemorate events and accomplishments exonumia is largely focused on commemorative military medals awarded for contributions in war and military expeditions scripophily is the study of securities such as stocks and bond certificates scripophily combines the greek word for love and the greek word scrip for writing scripophilists generally collect these instruments for their beauty rarity and historical significance because the issuance of stock certificates is largely an antiquated practice this hobby is much harder to engage in than the others subfields 