Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies (IIRNS)
Their Institute also conducts an Annual 15 Day Training Course called Practical Guide to the Fundamentals of Indian Numismatics which is open to any individual retaining an interest on coins. Besides, they also conduct short Learners Courses of five days duration.
They have also got their separate Publication Division called IIRNS Publications which publishes their Annual Research Journal Numismatic Digest and other monographs from time to time.
Their Institute publishes a quarterly newsletter called IIRNS Newsline which is sent on an annual subscription of US$ 8.
Please note that there is no membership offered by them.
Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies was founded in
1980.It is an outcome of the recognition of the long - felt need for a
research centre devoted to the furthering of Indian Numismatic Studies,
especially as it relates to history, archaeology, economics and
art. The manifestation of this need was brought about when
Dr. Parmeshwari Lal Gupta, a numismatist of global recognition and Shri
K. K. Maheshwari, an industrialist and a numismatist in his own right,
came together to discuss the feasibility of an Institution which could
act as a veritable storehouse of information on the study of Indian
coins, where students could be trained in numismatic studies and guided
in the numismatic research and which as a corollary, could serve the
interests of a long neglected discipline. The Institute was thus born
in 1980, being registered as a Trust under the Bombay Public Trust Act,
1950 (Registration No E-7625 Bombay). Since then, the Institute has
earned international recognition for the works done within a very
short span of time.
Location In 1984, the Institute shifted to its present location at the scenic site of Anjaneri, about 19.5 km. from Nashik city, on Nashik-Trimbakeshwar road. Nashik is a city about 200 km North-East from Mumbai (Bombay) in India. Travel from Mumbai will take a few hours by Road or Train. It has a campus spread over 5.5 acres (approx.), with the Research Centre building, Guest House and staff quarters.
Board of Management
The Institute's Board of Management consists of the Board of
Trustees, Board of Advisors and the Governing Body.
Coins also provide important chronological information in the archaeological excavations. Besides, they can also provide valuable information about economy - trade, monetary policy, currency system and so on -- and also about art and culture.
Considering the vital importance of coins as a source for our history, it is really surprising how often Numismatics has been seen as a tiny element of Indian historical and archaeological studies. It cannot, however, be denied that the potential of Indian Numismatics needs to be fully realised to further enrich our historical and archaeological studies. It was with this realization and to preserve valuable information about our historical and cultural heritage, that the Institute started functioning with the following aims and objectives.
a) Photographic Archives
One of the important aims of the Institute is to make available easily
to the students of numismatics the research data, the access to which
is otherwise difficult. Towards this end is directed its photographic
archives, which it maintains as along-term project.
The Photographic Archives contains photographs of coins from different collections - Institutional and private- in the form of a cardex mounted with a coin photograph and with the relevant information. Under this project, the data in the form of photographs of coins from various collections are being continuously added to the Archives and also being updated.
b) Projects
The Institute undertakes independent research projects in the field of numismatic studies. The selection of the research programmes is guided by the need for investigations into the problem areas of numismatic studies and also by the need for providing a framework for the better utilization of numismatic data and for developing and preparing teaching aids. The result of some such investigations completed earlier have been published.Some research projects are also undertaken in collaboration with other Institutions.
Education and Training
In formulating its educational and training programme, the Institute considers several categories of students and researchers, the problems faced by them and the help the Institute can provide to them.
These include -
Short Training Course
Since 1987, the Institute has been conducting a short training
course of15 days duration called Workshop on Practical Guide to the
Fundamentals of Indian Numismatics. It is conducted once a year,
usually in the months of October - November. The emphasis of this
course is on the practical aspects and teaching of the basic methods
required for the study of coins.Participants of the Workshop are
provided with the coins belonging to the period and area of their
research / interest, which they study, under guided supervision and
with the help of various aids developed by the Institute under six
topics.
a) Introduction and Method
b) Coin Identification and Classification
c) Hoard Sorting
d) Legend/Symbol Decipherment
e) Threshold Legibility and Identification
f) Clues and Hints for Quick Classification and identification.
This training course has been quite well received and is attended by the personnel of the Department of Archaeology and museums of various states, university and college teachers, research scholars and coin collectors.
Titles of some of the recent training Courses,
Lectures
For school and college students and other visiting groups, the
Institute arranges, on request, talks by its faculty members, and also
slide shows.
Museums
To impart a general idea about Indian coins to the common people,
the Institute has organized a small museum. The museum offers a
panoramic view of Indian coinage from the earliest period to the modern
times with the help of coins, moulds, dyes, replicas, photographs, and
brief write-ups.Dioramas depicting coin minting and coin manufacturing
techniques, like casting, machine-striking, etc. are also on
exhibit.
Apart from the numismatic material, some bronzes, terracottas, copper- hoard objects, paintings and some other historical artifacts are also displayed. The Museum is open to the visitors from Mondays to Saturdays (except holidays) from 9.30 am to 1.00 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Admission is free.
Facilities
Apart from the research and educational facilities, the museum
through its photo archives, also offers an easy access to the coin data
of many different collections. Further the Institute offers some other
excellent facilities for research and training.
Library
The Institute library houses a rich collection of books and journals
on Indian numismatics. It also contains publications on archaeology,
epigraph, history, source books. etc. The Institute's endeavour is to
collect all the publications appearing on Indian coins and also to
enrich the collection of books on other allied subjects.
The library subscribes to, and receives, almost all the journals dealing with Indian numismatics. Efforts are being made to obtain the missing numbers if any, as well as the older journals which have gone out of print. The library also subscribes to many periodicals and journals on foreign numismatics, history, archaeology and epigraphy.
The Offprint Section of the library is well-classified and indexed and includes articles on Indian numismatics published in numismatic as well as non-numismatic journals / volumes. The emphasis of this section is to procure particularly those articles which are published in foreign or Indian journals not easily available in the libraries and also those which appear in felicitation, commemoration, seminar volumes etc.
In the Document Archives Section of the library, letters and private papers of eminent scholars are maintained as archival documents.
Clippings of news related to numismatics appearing in newspapers and magazines are kept classified in the News Clipping Section of the library.
Bibliography Section
The Institute maintains a Bibliography Section. Under this
section, records of articles appearing on Indian coins are maintained
with a brief summary and proper classification.
This is very useful for the research scholars as it saves their time and money, which would otherwise have been spent in looking for references in various journals and volumes in different libraries. The bibliography is made available on payment of a prescribed fee.
Photo Supply
On payment of prescribed charges, the Institute supplies
photographs of coins from its Negative Archives for being utilized in
theses, dissertations, publications or as study material.
Photo Copy supply
The Institute has its own photo - copier, and provides photo
copies of the required articles. etc. on request, and on payment of
nominal charges.
Collection of coins and other research materials
For conducting educational and training courses and for research
purposes, the Institute maintains its own collection of coins, coin -
hoards, coin- dyes, moulds, etc. Besides, the Institute's collection
includes copper plate inscriptions, Hundi papers, stamp papers,
paintings, bronzes, palm-leaf manuscripts, a very good collection of
copper hoard objects and some other historical antiquities. Any gift of
these objects to the Institute by any individual or Institution is
welcome.
Guest House
The Institute has within its campus, a lovely guest house providing
accommodation for eighteen persons at a time, in rooms fully furnished,
with attached bath - rooms, and mess facilities.
Computer Section
The Institute has its own computer setup, and efforts are being made
for the computerization of the research material so as to facilitate
easy handling of research data. Towards this purpose, the Institute has
got its own software, called "Nanaka", developed to meet its specific
needs. The existing hardware consists of two separate units, one
exclusively for publication and the other for data entry.
Future plans include
| Director: | Amiteshwar Jha amiteshwarjha@rediffmail.com |
| Address: | P. O. Anjaneri, Dist. Nasik 422 213 Maharashtra, India. |
| Phone: | 011-91-2594-20005/6/7, |
| Fax: | 011-91-2594-20005 |
| e-mail: | iirns@sify.com |
I I R N S PUBLICATIONS
A DIVISION OF INDIAN INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH IN NUMISMATIC STUDIES
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
A. Annual Research Journal, Numismatic Digest
Title / Vol. Price Handling
& Shipping
(US $) (US $)
1 Numismatic Digest Vol. 1 (2 Parts) 5 3
2 Numismatic Digest Vol. 2 (2 Parts) 5 3
3 Numismatic Digest Vol. 3 (2 Parts)** 5 3
4 Numismatic Digest Vol. 4 (2 Parts)** 5 3
5 Numismatic Digest Vol. 5 (2 Parts)** 5 3
6 Numismatic Digest Vol. 6 ** 5 3
7 Numismatic Digest Vol. 7 5 3
8 Numismatic Digest Vol. 8 5 3
9 Numismatic Digest Vol. 9 5 3
10 Numismatic Digest Vol. 10 1986 5 3
11 Numismatic Digest Vol. 11 1987 5 3
12 Numismatic Digest Vol. 12-13 1988-1989** 5 3
13 Numismatic Digest Vol. 14 1990 5 3
14 Numismatic Digest Vol. 15 1991 5 3
15 Numismatic Digest Vol. 16 1992 8 4
16 Numismatic Digest Vol. 17 1993 8 4
17 Numismatic Digest Vol. 18 1994 12 4
18 Numismatic Digest Vol. 19 1995 12 4
19 Numismatic Digest Vol. 20 1996 12 4
20 Numismatic Digest Vol. 21-22 1997-1998 12 4
21 Numismatic Digest Vol. 23-24 1999-2000 12 4
B. Colloquium Proceedings
1. Papers Presented at the 2nd 12 4
International Colloquium on Numismatic
and Archaeology (1987)
(Eds.) P. L. Gupta and A. K. Jha
2. Papers Presented at the 3rd 15 5
Internationa l Colloquium on Coinage,
Trade & Economy (1991) (Ed.) A. K. Jha
3. Papers Presented at the 5th 20 5
International Colloquium on Medireview
Indian Coinages: A Historical and Economic
Perspective (2001) (Ed.) Amiteshwar Jha
C. Monographs
1. Maratha Mints and Coinage 12 5
By: K. K. Maheshwari & K. W. Wiggins, 1989
2. A Catalogue of the Coins of the Katoch 5 4
Rulers of Kangra
By: A. K. Jha and Sanjay Garg, 1991
3. Studies in the Coinages of the Western 15 5
Ksatrapas
By: Amiteshwar Jha & Dilip Rajgor, 1994
4. Kosala State Region c. 600-470 BCE 15 3
Silver Punchmarked Coinages
By: Paul Murphy
D. Popular Books
1. Marathi Riyasatichi Aitihasik Nani 5 3
(Marathi Text)
By: Dilip P. Palsekar, 1998 (Out of Print)
2. Deities on Indian Coins 5 3
By: Biswajeet Rath, 1998
3. Coins of the Delhi Sultanates 5 3
By: Danish Moin, 1999
4. Roman Gold and Silver Coins From India: 5 3
A Collector Guide
By: P. V. Radhakrishnan, 1999
5. Coins of Malhar 6 3
By: Sushmita Bose Majumdar, 2000
6. Ramatankas: Hindu Religious Tokens 7 3
Illustrating Themes from Ramayana
By: Michael Mitchiner, 2000
NOTE:
1. ** marked volumes are out of print.
2. Orders should be accompanied by advance payment. Payment
should be made by Cheque / Draft drawn in favour of
IIRNS Publications payable at Mumbai or Nasik.
In case of cheque payment, US $ 5 should be added towards
bank clearance charges.
3. For trade enquiries and discounts please write to us.
On request by Amiteshwar Jha, Director of IIRNS, this temporary webpage
is hosted by Lakdiva :
a website for Coins of Lanka.