Edith Schönert-Geiß (7 August 1933,

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

- 12 June 2012,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

) was a German

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

, who specialised in the classical coinage of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

and was instrumental in the post-war re-establishment of the Corpus Nummorum.

Biography

Edith Schönert was born on 7 August 1933 in Dresden. After she graduated from secondary school there, Schönert moved to Berlin to study History at

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of ...

. She began work on 1 September 1956, aged 23, at the

Academy of Sciences of the GDR The German Academy of Sciences at Berlin, german: Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin (DAW), in 1972 renamed the Academy of Sciences of the GDR (''Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR (AdW)''), was the most eminent research institution ...

(Central Institute for Ancient History and Archaeology); her first project was on the mints of Greece - the study of which was to continue throughout her career. She became instrumental in the post-war continuation of th
Corpus Nummorum
established by

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...

. In 1960, Schönert-Geiß was awarded a doctorate from

for research on the provincial coinage of

Perinthus Perinthus or Perinthos ( grc, ἡ Πέρινθος) was a great and flourishing town of ancient Thrace, situated on the Propontis. According to John Tzetzes, it bore at an early period the name of Mygdonia (Μυγδονία). It lay 22 miles west ...

. In addition to her research and publications on ancient Thrace, Schönert-Geiß studied Roman coins found in forts along the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. Her early work on the mint of

Selymbria Selymbria ( gr, Σηλυμβρία),Demosthenes, '' de Rhod. lib.'', p. 198, ed. Reiske. or Selybria (Σηλυβρία), or Selybrie (Σηλυβρίη), was a town of ancient Thrace on the Propontis, 22 Roman miles east from Perinthus, and 44 Roman ...

was reviewed as particularly useful, placing it in the context of its larger neighbouring mints. Schönert-Geiß taught at both the

Free University A free university is an organization offering uncredited, public classes without restrictions to who can teach or learn. They differ in structure. In 1980 in the United States, about half were associated with a traditional university, about a ...

and at Humboldt University. At her retirement from the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unite ...

on 31 August 1998, she was honoured with a ''Festschrift'' which commemorated her meticulous scholarship. One of her last publications was a comprehensive bibliography of Thracian coinage, which was monumental in its scope, with 9350 references.

Personal life

After her marriage, she took the name Geiß for personal matters, but published her academic work under the name Schönert-Geiß. In her spare time she enjoyed needlework and embroidery. Schönert-Geiß died on the 12 June 2012. Her funeral was attended by colleagues and the taxi driver who she employed on a daily basis.

Honours

For her services to research into Greek coinage, she was made an honorary member of the Romanian Numismatic Society in 1963 and an honorary member of the Numismatic Society of Stara Zagora in Bulgaria in 1987. The city of

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. Name The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...

granted her honorary citizenship for her services to numismatics. She was also an honorary member of the

International Numismatic Council The International Numismatic Council (INC), formerly the International Numismatic Commission, is the international co-ordinating body set up to aid cooperation between numismatists and institutions within the field of numismatics, or related areas ...

Selected publications

* ''The Coinage of Perinthus'' (Berlin, 1965) * ''The Coinage of Byzantion: Volumes 1 & 2'' (Berlin/Amsterdam 1972) * ''The Coinage of Bisanthe - Dikaia - Selymbria'' (Berlin, 1972) * with Karl Matthiae: ''Münzen aus der urchristlichen Umwelt'' (Berlin, 1981) * ''The Coinage of Maroneia'' (Berlin, 1987) * Ancient coins. Collection HAS (= from the collections of the Winckelmann Society in Stendal. Volume 1). Stendal 1989. * ''The Coinage of Augusta Traiana and Traianopolis'' (Berlin, 1991) * ''Bibliography on Ancient Numismatics of Thrace and Moesia'' (Berlin, 1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonert-Geiss, Edith 1933 births 2012 deaths People from Dresden People from Berlin Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German numismatists Women numismatists German classical scholars Women classical scholars