On January 24, Mr. Patrick Curtin took his History students to The Fralin Museum of Art to view the Numismatic Collection of ancient coins, many of which are of Greek and Roman origin. Following a Roman numismatics graduate seminar taught by Professor John Dobbins in the fall of 2007, the Numishare Collection was created in 2008 through UVA’s Scholars’ Lab Library and includes more than 600 coins, most of which are not part of the museum’s public collection.

After a short lecture with the renowned Professor Dobbins, the boys had the chance to look at some very rare and ancient coins along with the professor’s explanation of each.

This field trip is part of a class project that will ultimately conclude with the students creating their own coins, designed in Photoshop, accompanied by a short paper that explains the historical significance of their design. Mr. Curtin will be collaborating with Technology teacher Mr. Michael Burris for this project.

Mr. Curtin will return to the Fralin Museum on February 7 with his second History class which is also completing this historical project.

For most of the students, this was the first visit to a college campus. Adding to this experience was the opportunity to meet Professor Dobbins (http://archaeology.virginia.edu/john-dobbins.html).

A full article, along with photos of the completed coins, will be published following the completion of this very interesting class project.