Barclay V. (Barclay Vincent) Head

author

Barclay V. (Barclay Vincent) Head

1844–1914

A leading British numismatist of the Victorian era, he helped shape the study of ancient coinage through decades of work at the British Museum. His books became standard references for Greek and Roman coins and are still known to specialists today.

1 Audiobook

English Coins and Tokens, with a Chapter on Greek and Roman Coins

English Coins and Tokens, with a Chapter on Greek and Roman Coins

by Barclay V. (Barclay Vincent) Head, Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt

About the author

Born in Ipswich, Suffolk, on January 2, 1844, Barclay Vincent Head was a British numismatist best known for his long career at the British Museum. A biographical record confirms that he joined the museum in 1864, became Keeper of the Department of Coins and Medals in 1870, and retired in 1906.

Head built his reputation through careful scholarship on ancient coins, especially Greek coinage. He wrote and edited important reference works, including studies of coinage in the British Museum and a major handbook on Greek numismatics, helping make a specialized subject more organized and accessible.

He died in London on June 12, 1914. Remembered as one of the key coin scholars of his time, he played a major part in establishing numismatics as a serious field of historical study.