Identification Service
Artefact and Coin Identification Service
A drop-in identification service for coins and archaeological objects runs in the Ashmolean Museum on the first Wednesday of every month from 12 – 4pm. It is located in ‘Exploring the Past’ on the Lower Ground Floor ((Gallery 1 on the map). A list of dates can be found by following this link.
This service is run by the Heberden Coin Room and Department of Antiquities, and we aim to identify all archaeological objects and coins brought to the service that are within the scope of our collections and expertise.
Please note that at present we have no curatorial coverage for the Ancient Egyptian archaeological collections until September 2010. In addition, Greek coins, Islamic coins and medals cannot be identified at the ID service but we can photograph and record them for identification by the appropriate curator at a later date.
We regret that we cannot take items in, or provide either valuation or authentication of objects. Neither the Ashmolean Museum nor members of staff can accept liability for opinions given on objects submitted for examination, or for information provided.
Please contact the service in advance before bringing large numbers of objects for identification, as the service gets busy and staff may need to restrict the number of objects examined in order to be able to deal with all enquiries on the day.
The ID service for coins can be contacted at idservice-coins@ashmus.ox.ac.uk.
The ID service for archaeological objects can be contacted at idservice-artefacts@ashmus.ox.ac.uk
For the identification of other types of objects, including works of art, please contact the other curatorial departments of the Ashmolean as appropriate.
- Department of Western Art:
- Enquiries: waprintroom@ashmus.ox.ac.uk.
Further information: /www.ashmolean.org/departments/westernart/services/ - Department of Eastern Art:
- Enquiries: eastern-art@ashmus.ox.ac.uk
Further information: www.ashmolean.org/departments/easternart/services/ - Cast Gallery:
- The Cast gallery is closed for refurbishment
Archaeological objects or coins found in England or Wales
Archaeological objects or coins with a known findspot from England or Wales, and dating to before around 1700, can be reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme through their network of Finds Liaison Officers (follow link to see a list of the Officers and their contact details). The Portable Antiquities Scheme seeks to identify and record archaeological finds within a national database. Anni Byard, the local Finds Liaison Officer, will be in the museum for the Identification Service on the first Wednesday of every month.
Treasure
All finders of Treasure have a legal obligation to report such items under the Treasure Act 1996. Treasure includes all gold and silver objects over 300 years old, groups of two or more coins over 300 years old which come from the same find, and groups of two or more prehistoric base-metal objects which come from the same find. For further information go to www.finds.org.uk/treasure. If you think that your artefact may constitute Treasure, you are legally obliged to report the find to the local Coroner within 14 days. For Treasure found in Oxfordshire or Berkshire, Anni Byard, the local Finds Liaison Officer, can help with the identification of Treasure items and the reporting process. For finds from other areas, please follow this link for a list of all of the Finds Liaison Officers by area.