Christoph Luschin and Professor Paul E. Kerry, History Department
The purpose of my research was to explore the contributions of Dr. Arnold Luschin to the field of numismatics. The funding made available by ORCA allowed me to engage in real historical research. I traveled to Germany and Austria to complete my research; while there I spent many hours in libraries, archives, and meeting with professionals. Having obtained my research I returned to Provo where I engaged in reading the many source materials. In the write up of my findings I learned much about the historical process. My mentors helped me to approach my analysis and writing in a critical way, which is essential to the historian’s method.
Arnold Luschin was an erudite scholar who was active in multifarious fields. Luschin was primarily a legal historian, however, he contributed greatly to the field of numismatics (the study of coins) and was also involved for nearly six decades at the local state museum.
My paper focuses on Luschin’s contributions to the field of Austrian numismatics, particularly to medieval numismatics, which was his field of specialty in all his fields of study. The focus is concentrated on four areas. The first area is his contribution to a numismatic journal, the Numismatische Zeitschrift (NZ). He was the journal’s cofounder, submitted over forty articles and served as editor for over two decades. The second area discusses his work at the Styrian State Museum in Graz, the Joanneum. He presided over the museum for more than four decades, during two of which he directed the coin collection personally. The third area is a review of his most important publication, Die Allgemeine Münzkunde und Geldgeschichte. This is a seminal work about the history of numismatics and money that serves as an enlightening introduction to modern historians. The fourth and last area includes other publications, contributions and honours that Luschin received.
By highlighting these four areas of contributions, the paper argues that Luschin advanced the cause of numismatics significantly. He helped to advance our knowledge of the past by combining numismatics with other historical disciplines, demonstrating the values of numismatics, and establishing methods for its use. Especially with his focus on local history, his influence was not limited to, but was primarily felt in Austria and the state of Styria.
My research and paper are also valuable in presenting a general biography on the life of Luschin. Though there was existent material, including an autobiographical article, it covered his life in a more comprehensive fashion than hitherto available in one source.
Luschin’s contribution to the journal the Numismatische Zeitschrift were invaluable to its long term development. He helped at the outset to establish the journal. Then during its inchoate phase he helped to publish articles; moreover, he encouraged his circle of acquaintances to contribute also. In the years thereafter he always maintained his connection the journal and the numismatic society, of which he eventually became an honorary member. The journal provided a forum for a continued stream of scholarly discoveries, allowing him to connect to Austrian numismatists throughout the Empire.
When Luschin arrived in Graz he became involved in the local museum. He attended lectures there and became involved as a docent. He then became involved in the commission that headed and directed the museum. He became the President of the commission in 1887 and served until his death in 1932. In this capacity he helped the Joanneum become a center of culture and education. He also helped to further numismatics by establishing the largest provincial coin collection in Austria and by studying coin finds as they came in to the museum.
The seminal work of Luschin was Die Allgemeine Münzkunde und Geldgeschichte. It is a comprehensive work that describes the history of numismatics, and the science of numismatics. It is comprehensive and thorough, but also general enough to serve as an introduction to a historian or interested reader who are new to the field. The book is valuable in that it provided a broad review of the literature. It was republished in the 1970s, because it still is of value to the field.
Luschin also wrote other articles and a smaller book that give further insight into medieval numismatics. He received numerous honors from local historical societies and was inducted into the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He also held a seat in the Austrian House of Lords reflecting his intellectual/aristocratic background.
The research was able to highlight that Luschin was invaluable to the field of Austrian numismatics. He helped to raise numismatics to a level of greater scholarship through his methodical approach. The Austrian historian Alphons Lhotsky, writing in the 1950s about the development of Austrian history and science, recognized this: “Like no other, Luschin has made monetary memorials into historical sources. He forced them to make valuable historical statements, through lifting numismatics from mere knowledge and description to connect with scientific and historical problems, and thus helping it to new life.”
The ORCA grant allowed me the unique opportunity of participating in the historical process. From start to finish, I learned much about my subject and about the study of history. Dr Kerry’s mentorship was an integral part of my undergraduate experience that helped me to reflect on my studies and on myself as a person. It was also instrumental in preparing for my further graduate work.
References
- Alphons Lhotsky, “Geschichte des Instituts für Österreichsiche Geschichtsforschung 1854-1954,” Mitteilung des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung. Ergänzungsband XVII, Festgabe zur Hundert-Jahr-Feier des Instituts (Graz and Cologne: Böhlau, 1954), 20 and 103.
Luschin hat wie kein anderer die monetarischen Denkmäler zu Geschichtsquellen gemacht, sie zu wertvollsten geschichtlichen Aussagen gezwungen, indem er die Numismatik von bloßer Kennerschaft und Deskription durch innige Verbindung mit wissenschaftsgeschichtlichen Problemen neuem Leben zuführen half.