The success of last year's initial gathering has led to the convocation of a second Arab-Byzantine Forum, to take place at the ANS on Saturday, October 12, 1996. This year some fifteen to twenty specialists are expected to attend. The meeting will combine formal reports and informal discussion of the seventh- and eighth-century imitative Byzantine-type coinages of Bilad al-Sham, as well as any of the coin series related to them, such as seventh-century Byzantine coinage and other non-Arab coinages derived from Byzantine.

As previously, the meeting will be co-sponsored by the North American branch of the Oriental Numismatic Society.

The meeting will begin at 10:00, and will last into the afternoon. Registration fee is $20.00, including a sandwich lunch provided to participants, as well as coffee and snacks. A form has been sent to last year's registrants and other known specialists. Anyone else with an interest in the field who would like to attend should contact Michael L. Bates at the Society.

Contributions on the historical, economic, administrative and social background to the coinage will also be welcome.

ANS members in the London area can attend the original Arab-Byzantine forum, now entitled Seventh Century Syria Numismatic Round Table, which has become an annual institution. It will take place at the British Museum on Saturday, December 7, 1996, from 10:00 onward. Those interested in attending, whether or not they wish to give a paper, are asked to send their names, the title and short description of their papers (if any; maximum 20-30 minutes), and their addresses to Steve Mansfield, c/o the RWMAC Secretariat, Room A5/26 Romney House, 43 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3PY United Kingdom.

The ANS recently released The Silver Coinage of Cappadocia, Vespasian-Commodus by William E. Metcalf as ANSNNM 166. The first portion of the newest Society publication is a catalogue of over 900 pieces from a hoard (estimated at over 2,000 coins) seen at the ANS in 1983; all but one are didrachms traditionally assigned to the mint of Caesarea. These are the point of departure for a conspectus of all Cappadocian silver of the period. Commentaries deal with the coinage reign by reign, and concluding chapters summarize the significance of the hoard and the coinage.

A major conclusion is that not all Cappadocian silver was actually struck in Caesarea. Metcalf argues that portions of the coinage of Vespasian and his family, of Trajan, and of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus were actually produced at Rome; and that all the coinage of Domitian was struck there.

The volume concludes with five appendices (including a discussion of the silver and copper coins, "ghost" coins, and a concordance with Sydenham) and four indices.

William E. Metcalf, The Silver Courage of Cappadocia, Vespasian-Commodus ANSNNM 166 (1996), 173 pp., 54 pls., ISBN 0-89722-254-7, $75.00 plus 52.00 shipping. This publication is distributed to holders of the 1996 ANS Publications Subscription and as a perquisite of Gold Circle Membership. Bronze, Silver and Electrum members are eligible to receive the book at 10% discount.

The Colonial Newsletter, considered the premier journal in the field of American Colonial coinage and currency, has been donated to the American Numismatic Society. Arthur A. Houghton III, ANS President, noted that the Society is "proud, honored, and extremely grateful to have been chosen as the recipient of this highly prestigious publication. " Formal acceptance of the gift was recorded at the meeting of the Society's governing Council on July 20.

James C. Spilman, President of the Colonial Newsletter Foundation located in Huntsville, Alabama, earlier this year notified ANS Director Leslie A. Elam of his decision to retire as Editor of CNL, a position he has held since 1963. Through Mr. Elam, the ANS expressed its great interest in assuming responsibility for the production and distribution of CNL beginning in 1997, and the donation was finalized at the end of June.

The new Editor of CNL will be Dr. Philip L. Mossman of Hampden, Maine, who now serves as one of three Associate Editors of the journal, the others being Gary Trudgen of Endwell, New York and Michael Hodder of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, all of whom are also frequent contributors to the pages of CNL. Dr. Mossman recently retired as Director of Rehabilitation at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. In 1993, the Society published his monumental study, Money of the American Colonies and Confederation as ANS Numismatic Studies 20; a critically acclaimed work cited in 1994 for special awards by the Sons of the American Revolution and the Numismatic Literary Guild. Associate Editors Trudgen and Hodder have agreed to continue providing their important services to production of the journal under ANS sponsorship.

CNL was established in 1960 by Alfred D. Hoch to "provide in permanent form an exchange of information, opinions, and discoveries concerning Early American coins and currency. " Mr. Spilman became the Editor/Publisher of CNL in August 1963, with issue no. 9. In 1995, issue 100 was celebrated by publication of a dozen articles of original research in early American numismatics together with a series of fitting tributes to a publication which has emerged over the years as the principal means of communication among those working in pre-Federal American numismatic research. Issue 103, due later this year, will be the last bearing the name of "ye Editor" James C. Spilman on the masthead, who will assume the new title of Editor Emeritus. The first ANS issue, no. 104, will appear in April 1997.

The ANS, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. Its collections and library are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world and provide the basis for the Society's long-standing commitment to numismatic research and education at all levels. The ANS is generally considered the largest non-profit publisher of numismatic works, issuing books, periodicals and catalogues in several series, including the Proceedings volumes of the annual Coinage of the Americas Conference, initiated in 1984. Acquisition of CNL will further strengthen the Society's commitment to and participation in early American numismatics.

The 1996 Annual Meeting of the American Council of Learned Societies began on Friday, April 26, at the Hyatt Regency Washington Hotel on Capitol Hill, a pleasant location and a pleasant hotel. At the first session, luncheon, Senator Bennett from Utah pointedly remarked that if the scholarly world expects financial support it should be wary of biting the hand that feeds it. He directed his remarks primarily at recent guidelines for various disciplines, especially American history, issued by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Diminishing the importance of traditional American heroes in favor of an agenda of "political correctness" could cost the scholarly world much.

Senator Bennett's remarks introduced the theme of this year's meeting, "What are the responsibilities of the public for support of scholarship and teaching?" The topic was discussed at two sessions. But the panelists and the delegates agreed on very little and no assertion of the public's responsibility emerged. Your delegate thought that appropriate. Much, however, was canvassed. Some assailed scholars as pretentiously indifferent to explaining what they do; others claimed that the public was anti-intellectual; and still others blamed administrators for treating scholarly pursuits as a form of business. I did not find the topic a rewarding one since neither "public" nor "support" were adequately explained, let alone addressed.

One other session deserves comment, that on the "Professional Evaluation of Teaching. " This topic will no doubt continue to elicit discussion as long as teaching goes on and will no doubt never be resolved. After thirty-six years of teaching I decided some time ago that I never wanted to hear another session at a learned meeting on the topic and now barely tolerate it in late night chat among friends. At this year's meeting, however, I discovered that "experts" can assure administrators that guidelines exist that can be used to evaluate teaching objectively. From the discussion I concluded that objective evaluation is still an illusory goal. But that will not prevent the experts from foisting yet another level of bureaucracy on teachers.

Robert Fogel of the University of Chicago gave this year's Haskins lecture. He recounted how he became interested in economics and what troubles as well as successes he encountered. A most satisfactory talk that was followed by a quite satisfactory reception.

It continues to be my pleasure to represent the ANS at these annual meetings. Next year's, 1997, gives promise of change, since Stanley Katz, the able president of the past years, has announced his retirement and return to full-time teaching at Princeton. Let us hope that the new president will continue to foster scholarship both here and abroad as Katz has so skillfully done.

Respectfully submitted,

Roger A. Hornsby

Second Vice-President, ANS