29/4-1/5 2026

ImagNum: Insights into Its Origins

Conference in Kiel: "Fragile Big Data? Objects from the Production of Knowledge in Classical Studies around 1900"

With the paper “From Object to Die: Reproductive Media as Instruments of
Knowledge”, Ulrike Peter contributes to the conference exploring the
medial foundations of numismatic research. The starting point is the
premise that reproduction not only conveys knowledge but actively
constitutes it.
The focus lies on the various forms of reproduction
developed in the context of the Theodor Mommsen-initiated Corpus
Nummorum—including drawings, rubbings, photographs, impressions, and
casts. These media render geographically dispersed coins comparable,
reduce complexity, and enable systematic analysis.
The paper
highlights how closely the history of numismatics is intertwined with
the development of scholarly visual media—and how material objects
become subjects of research through their reproduction.

Author: Ulrike Peter

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