Ian Leins
Curator of Iron Age and Roman coins
Coinage of the Roman Empire; Iron
Age Britain and Europe
Department: Coins and Medals
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7323 8607
Email: ileins @ thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Ian Leins is responsible for the Museum’s
collection of around 120,000 Iron Age coins and Roman coins. His
main interests surround the history, archaeology and coinage of
Iron Age and Roman Britain and his current research explores the
role of Iron Age coinage as a source for understanding the
societies of southern Britain before the Roman conquest of AD
43.
Much of his time is taken up with recording
and cataloguing coin hoards which have to be reported under UK law.
This can involve anything from a quick report on a find of two or
three coins to the identification and publication of hoards of
several thousand. Ian also manages his department’s continuing
commitment to make images and details of its collection of coins
and medals available online.
Since joining Coins and Medals in 2000, he has
worked in several different roles, including two years as a Finds
Adviser to the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
Current British Museum projects
The online publication of data from the Celtic
Coin Index (Oxford)
Volume XII of the series Coin Hoards from
Roman Britain (due 2007-8)
Previous British Museum projects
BM exhibitions curated by Ian Leins
include:
Public Image: Portraits on Coins and
Medals (2004) and displays to mark the Golden Jubilee of
Queen Elizabeth II (2002).
Ian recently created an online guide to Roman
Coinage: www.finds.org.uk/romancoins
External fellowships/ honorary positions/ membership of professional bodies
Associate member of the Museums Association
(AMA) since January 2005
Publications
I. Leins, ‘Community, Politics and Sacrifice: The East
Leicestershire hoard’ in British Archaeology, 89 (2006),
pp. 34-9
I. Leins, ‘Domitianus II: The forgotten emperor’ in Current
Archaeology, 194 (2004), pp. 76-9
I. Leins, The Age of Augustus, M. G.
L. Cooley (ed.), (London: LACTOR, 2003), pp. 203ff; 311ff;
377ff
I. Leins, Treasure Activity Book
(London: British Museum Press, 2003)
I. Leins, Coin Hoards from Roman Britain
XI, with R. Abdy and J. Williams, (London: Royal Numismatic
Society Special Publications 36, 2002)