By KAREN W. ARENSON for the NY Times

When Stanley J. Seeger gave Princeton $2 million for Hellenic studies nearly three decades ago, the gift’s income paid for two courses in modern Greek and trips to Greece for five.

But the Seeger money, which must be spent only on matters Greek, is now worth $33 million, multiplying through aggressive investing like the rest of Princeton’s endowment. So the university offers Greek, Greek and more Greek — 13 courses this semester, including “The Image of Greece in European Cinema” and “Problems in Greek History: Greek Democracy,” as well as trips to Greece and nearby areas for more than 90 students and faculty members last year. The history department recently hired its second Byzantine specialist. And the fund paid half the cost of a collection of 800 rare coins from medieval Greece.

“Institutions do get shaped by the interests of donors,” said Robert K. Durkee, vice president and secretary of Princeton.

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MA-SHOPS (ma-shops.com) recently expanded their range of offerings. Last week the well-known specialist in the the fields of ancient, medieval and British numismatics, the “Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.” (CNG) joined the shop platform.

In the new “CNG MA-SHOP” coin collectors of antique coins and medals get their money worth. In the selection of about 650 different offerings, lots of true treasures are waiting for the friends of numismatics. Among the top offers which you can now find at MA-SHOPS is for example an extremely rare Greek AR Stater from the ancient Boeotia dated around 440 to 425 BC. Another very rare and outstanding piece is the Roman Imperial Solidus (AD 455-456) of the Western Roman Emperor Avitus. Besides the ancient Greek and Roman rarities CNG offers many interesting items from the early Middle Ages and the Migration Period. Particularly remarkeble is a very valuable follis showing the countenance of Ostrogoths King Theodahad (about 534 to 536 AD). This extremely rare coin is one of only four known (the second is in Berlin, and the third and fourth are in St. Petersburg), and the only one currently in private hands.

In addition to CNG the Swedish Coin-Dealer Wallin Mynt, Philippe Saive from France, the Darmstaedter Münzhandlung e.K. and the dealer Dirk Loebbers also joined MA-SHOPS. (more…)

A “PRICELESS” coin collection and other precious artifacts in the trust of Sefton Council are feared to have been stolen from the public.

Council bosses admit they have no idea what has become of the Dethick-Brown collection of rare Roman coins, which was housed at the Botanic Gardens Museum, and have reported the loss to the police. A host of other items including rare Victorian and early American coins, Egyptian antiquities, oil paintings and birds’ eggs are said to be missing or damaged.

Tory candidate for Meols ward in the May elections, Mike Swift, has accused public officials of being “asleep at the wheel”. At the Southport Area Committee last Wednesday he asked for reassurance that efforts would be made to find the missing items.

Mr Swift was told about the missing artifacts by coin expert Alan Dawson, secretary of Ormskirk and West Lancs Numismatic Society, who reported the apparent loss of the Dethick-Brown collection to the council in November.

His reply from head of leisure services, John Taylor, said: “Despite a thorough search of the museum and the art gallery, the strong rooms at Bootle and Southport Town Halls and enquires made at other museums likely to have been interested in borrowing it at the time, the collection has not been found. Read full Champion Newspapers Article

An online auction of ancient coins will be held in August 2008 to raise funds for ACCG legal initiatives.

An Ancient Coin Collectors Guild benefit auction is currently being organized to raise funds for anticipated legal expenses in opposition to State Department imposed import restrictions on ancient coins. The online sale, closing on August 17, 2008, will be hosted on the Vauction site as a fund raiser for anticipated legal expenses. Individuals wishing to donate coins for this sale may contact Wayne G. Sayles, ACCG Executive Director by telephone at 417-679-2142 or by email at director@accg.us for details. A goal of 150 lots has been established and some exceptional coins have already been pledged. All donations are welcome. Coins of lesser grade or value may be combined into multiple coin lots. All donations should be arranged as early as possible, but not later than June 15, 2008 in order to provide time for proper cataloging and processing.

Arrangements are being made to exhibit the benefit sale lots at the American Numismatic Association convention in Baltimore from July 30th through August 3rd. Specific lot viewing information will be posted on this site and in various announcements prior to the convention. The sale will also be previewed in a special pre-auction viewing section at the Vauction site http://www.vauctions.com with all lots being professionally photographed and cataloged. This is an excellent opportunity for all members and non-member supporters of the ACCG to demonstrate their support for the hobby in a way that is perhaps less taxing than cash donations. (more…)

A treasure-hunter could be in line for a small fortune after unearthing two rare coins that shed light on a little-known rebel Roman emperor.

Derrick Fretwell’s finds, which date back to AD286 and the reign of Carausius, have been hailed “priceless” by experts at the British Museum. Mr Fretwell, 57, was digging in a field near Ashbourne, Derbys, when he uncovered the coins, which are at least 90 per cent gold.

The machinery sales manager said yesterday: “I’ll be intrigued to find out what they are worth, although to me their worth is their rarity value.”

The discovery of these two gold coins sheds light on a little known ‘British’ Emperor.

Gold coins of Carausius are extremely rare, until now only 23 being in existence. The last example found was in 1975 in Hampshire and it is quite possible that we will have to wait for over 30 years before another one sees the light of day. (more…)