Division I · Numismatics and monetary history Abteilung I — Numismatik und Geldgeschichte
This is the oldest of the divisions, descending from the coin register opened by Menzel in 1911. Its work is not chiefly the study of rarities but of quantity and sequence: the distribution of weights, the drift of fineness and the wear of dies at a single mint over a run of years. From that, the division reasons about circulation and about administrative boundaries. Four people are in post; the offices are rooms 1.04 to 1.06 of the main building, with the coin cabinets in 1.06 and the balance room in the laboratory building.
1. What the division works on
- Description of coin types
- Each type is described by mint, date and denomination, with its devices, edge treatment, weight and diameter, and is given a reference number; individual specimens of a type are counted as pieces. Market value and rarity are not among the things described.
- Weight and fineness
- Weights are taken on the precision balance in the laboratory (room EG-2) and elements are measured semi-quantitatively by X-ray fluorescence, in order to establish the standard of a series and the departures from it. Every measurement is entered on the object's card with the date and the initials of the operator.
- Hoards and routes of circulation
- Hoards and stray finds from the region and beyond are registered by place of discovery, probable date of deposition and the span of dates represented in them, which is the division's evidence for the radius within which small change moved. Advice on whether a hoard should be kept together, and on packing, is given to finders and to the authorities; the division takes no part in questions of ownership.
- Dies and seals
- The description of dies overlaps with the Institute's archive of seal impressions (SG-1): both concern the repeated striking of a fixed matrix. The wear sequence of a die helps to establish the order in which coins were struck, and seal impressions help to establish how charters were authenticated, so the two are catalogued together with Division II.
2. Holdings and output
| Item | Number | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Coins held | 6,180 | Of these 1,240 are on long loan to museums in the Land; 4,940 belong to the Institute. |
| Coin description cards (KI-3 and supplements) | 41,640 | Coincidentally the same figure as the binding index, with which they have nothing in common. |
| Rubbings, paper and film | 18,470 | Film rubbings are those made after 1968; the older paper rubbings are mounted on board and may not be rubbed again. |
| Die and seal impressions | 2,340 | Including duplicates from the SG-1 archive, shared with Division II. |
| Weight determinations | 52,900 | Handwritten before 1994; since then on paper forms and in a spreadsheet in parallel. |
| Images | 61,900 | Captured at 1200 dpi, with earlier captures at 600 dpi marked as such. No new images have been captured since December 2025. |
| New descriptions in 2025 | 148 | And 62 in the first eight months of 2026. Fascicle 6 is closed; the division works chiefly on fascicle 7 and on the joint chronology. |
3. Projects in hand
| Reference | Subject | Direction | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| WI-2019-02 | * Minting and writing compared, second phase | M. Kaltenbrunner, with Division IV | Running. The second phase covers 1350–1420; a comparative chronology of seventy-four pages is drafted. |
| WI-2021-05 | Regional coin catalogue, fascicle 6 | M. Kaltenbrunner and J. Lammers | Catalogued in August 2024 (1,432 types, 96 plates); with the printer; publication in spring 2025. |
| WI-2021-06 | The same catalogue, fascicle 7: Bremen and Stade | J. Lammers | Running. Material listed; about forty per cent catalogued. |
| WI-2022-03 | The fineness series of the Goslar mint, 1520–1620 | J. Lammers, with Division VI | Running. 480 measurements made; the series curve awaits checking. |
| WI-2023-04 | A common form for the registration of hoards | M. Kaltenbrunner | A draft has gone to Hannover, Brunswick and Hildesheim; to be settled at a meeting in spring 2025. |
| WI-2024-01 | Weight distribution of the Institute's small change | O. Stein | Running. Four of the nine cabinets done, working cabinet by cabinet. |
4. How the division describes a coin
Descriptions follow the internal data rules, third edition. The points below are the division's own additions, posted beside the coin cabinets in room 1.06 for staff and student assistants.
- Weigh before describing. An object is weighed first, to 0.01 mg, and described afterwards. Weight and description occupy separate columns of the card and are never adjusted to agree with each other.
- Fewer than three specimens: no conclusion. Where a type is represented by fewer than three pieces, the measured weights are recorded but no distribution is inferred from them.
- Wear in five grades. Die wear is graded from 1 (sharp) to 5 (indistinct) by the legibility of the devices. Two people grade independently; where they differ, both grades are entered with the reason for the difference.
- No rubbing of a mounted piece. A paper rubbing already mounted on board is never rubbed again; new rubbings are made on film and dated.
- Raw values are kept. Converted figures, such as percentages of fine metal, go in a separate column, with the standard used for the conversion and its source.
- Image and object share a number. Image files are named after the object's reference number with a three-figure suffix; descriptive words are not used in file names.
5. Publications
| Year | Title | Author | Where published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Regional coin catalogue, fascicle 1: the bishopric of Hildesheim, 1100–1400 | M. Kaltenbrunner | Series, vol. 28 |
| 2016 | The same, fascicle 2: Brunswick, 1200–1450 | M. Kaltenbrunner and J. Lammers | Series, vol. 30 |
| 2017 | The statistical treatment of weight distributions: a working note, 2nd edition | M. Kaltenbrunner | Mitteilungen no. 46, supplement |
| 2019 | Register of regional hoards, 1901–2015 | J. Lammers | Source booklets, no. 6 |
| 2021 | A scale of die wear and its use | M. Kaltenbrunner and T. Bruns | Series, vol. 33 |
| 2024 | Goslar: table of charters and objects compared, a first draft | J. Lammers | Offprint from Mitteilungen no. 62, in the press |
| 2025 | Catalogue, fascicle 6: Hildesheim and Goslar, 1520–1620 | M. Kaltenbrunner and J. Lammers | Series, vol. 36, in the press |
6. Consulting the division's material
Coins not on loan to museums may be examined at the charter desk in the reading room, by appointment, twenty pieces at a time; rubbings and images are supplied under section 4.4 of the rules of use. A question whether a particular date or mint has already been described can be put to the academic enquiry line, extension 16, or in writing; a reply follows within ten working days. The division does not authenticate coins for private owners and does not value them.
Handling coins in the reading room
One: coins are handled on a felt pad and with the Institute's cotton gloves; no metal instrument touches a surface.
Two: twenty pieces may be issued at a time; a larger number is issued in batches a day apart.
Three: readers may photograph coins for their own research if they register first, but may not set a tripod up over
the material, and not more than five frames may be taken of any one coin.
Four: if the coins are also to be weighed or tested, say so at the outset, so that they are not moved about more often
than necessary.
Compiled by Division I and checked twice a year, in March and September. Proposals for joint work should be put to the head of division, Dr Kaltenbrunner, extension 21.
Page WI-ABT-01 · compiled by M. Kaltenbrunner · edited by the academic office · last modified 18 September 2026