Content area
Abstract
This qualitative case study examined numismatic educational opportunities in colleges and universities in the United States. The central research question was whether numismatics as a topic of formal and informal education was increasing or decreasing in frequency in these institutions.
A list of all post-secondary institutions with significant numismatic collections was developed from the numismatic literature and public documents. Schools were measured for support of numismatic education by the presence or absence of various formal and informal educational events, including temporary or permanent museums exhibitions, classes with numismatic themes, collection catalogues and other factors. Schools were compared to each other and to other American museums unaffiliated with higher education. The literature was also searched to determine the numismatist's understanding of post-secondary educational processes and procedures as revealed by article titles.
Results indicated that post-secondary institutions support numismatics at a higher rate than history or art museums, but that overall the number of educational opportunities was in decline. The literature also revealed little awareness by numismatists of the mechanisms of post-secondary education.
