Book on Rare Coins Published by the Cyprus Museum of N.C.

Jacksonville, N.C.- The protection of Cypriot history through the preservation of its antiquities is a mission Dr. Takey Crist has undertaken. Ever since 1988, he has established the Cyprus Museum in Jacksonville, NC to be the home medieval maps, ancient pottery and sculptures dating from the early Bronze age, Byzantine icons, folk handicrafts, resource materials on Cypriot government, documents, archeological studies, treaties on the Cyprus problem, videos, photographs and materials on the Women’s Walk Home campaigns. This is the only place in the United States that has the history of Cyprus ready available to the public and to students who yearly come here to research the island. The hard work of collecting and protecting Cypriot antiquity and keeping Cypriot history alive inspired Gar Travis to write a book Cypriot Coins, which goes into detail in describing the history and coinage of Cyprus.

Travis goes through a description of the coins in a systemic chronological fashion, beginning with the oldest coins found 6th century BCE and ending with money from the 1980’s. According to the research of the coins collected, the coins represent whoever is colonizing Cyprus during that time period. Those who were in political control of the island were also in charge of minting. The book divides the coins found under the subcategories: Ancient coins, Byzantine coins, Kings of Cyprus, Venetian Period, Ottoman Period, British coins and currency and Republic of Cyprus.

The Ancient Coins are Grecian style coins minted by Greek and Phoenician lords. The Byzantine Coins date from 608-610 CE during revolutionary time that required emergency copper coins to be struck. Once the revolt was successful, however, minting was ceased in Cyprus and not active again1184. Under the Kings of Cyprus, Travis describes each King and the coins that they struck. He lists Kings such as: Guy de Lusignan, Hughes I, Henri I, Jean I, Henri II, Amaury II, Henri III, Hughes IV, Peter I, Peter II, James I, Charlotte, James II, and Catherine Cornaro. The coins that were struck during the Venetian period were all crudely made and found in mediocre to almost unidentifiable conditions. When the Ottomans invaded the island in 1570, very little coins were issued during the three centuries that Cyprus was under Ottoman control. After the Ottoman’s lost control of Cyprus to the British, the British immediately issued coins in London and Birmingham. These British mints were circulated heavily in Cyprus. Finally, the subcategory Republic of Cyprus describes the coins issued by the Cyprus Republic. Most of the coins issued dominate between 1963 and 1982; 1963 is the most common date, however.

After going into a general chronological overview of the various coins found, he then begins to describe the ancient coins found by Jonathan H. Kagan in December 1993 that were then reassessed, investigated and studied. The patterns in the coinage are observed and recorded. Various other studies are made on the coin in order for them to connect the coin with a historical event or time period it has come from.

These coins are just an example of the type of artifacts that can be found at the Cyprus Musuem. The coins and other artifacts can be found displayed on track-lit modern wooden vitrines. Dr. Crist hopes to move the museum to a more convenient location, although the museum has already received visitors from countries as far as Ireland, England, Greece and Cyprus.

The Cyprus Museum continues to collect various artifacts and preserve these antiquities. Dr. Christ explains that he is “trying to hold onto something that [I] know is gone”, and adds “there are some things in the past we need to hold onto.”