John Allan, (8 August 1884 – 29 August 1955) was a British numismatist and scholar of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

. Allan was a noted numismatist and produced the first systematic study of the coins the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

, which remains a standard reference today.

Biography

Allan was born in

Bolton, East Lothian Bolton is a hamlet and the third smallest parish in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies approximately south of Haddington and east of Edinburgh, and is an entirely agricultural parish, long by about wide. The most notable buildings in the hamle ...

. His father, John Gray Allan, was the local schoolmaster. John had 2 sons John Gray Allan, (b:1915 Finchley, Middlesex) and James Law Allan (b:1918 Finchley, Middlesex). After studying at the universities of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, Allan took up a position at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in 1907, eventually becoming the Keeper of th
Department of Coins and Medals
in 1931. He was also a lecturer in Sanskrit at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, 1907–1917, then at the

School of Oriental Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

, 1920–1922, and after his retirement from the British Museum, at the University of Edinburgh, 1949–1955. Allan was an active member of many learned societies. He was Secretary of the Royal Numismatic Society for almost forty years, 1908–1948, and editor of its journal, the Numismatic Chronicle, for almost thirty years, 1921–1950. He was Vice-President of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

and of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Honours

Allan was awarded the Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society in 1936, the medal of the

Numismatic Society of India The Numismatic Society of India (NSI) is the foremost numismatic society in India. It was founded in 1910 by a group of (mainly) expatriate Englishmen associated with British rule in India. The founding members were Rev. G.P. Taylor, Sir Richard B ...

in 1928 and again in 1937, and the Huntington Medal Award of the American Numismatic Society in 1949. He was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

in 1941, and was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(C.B.) in the

1948 New Year Honours The 1948 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1948 for the Britis ...

, and received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 1949.

Publications

Allan wrote numerous books, articles, reviews and notices, many of which were published in the British Museum Quarterly, History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, the Journal of Hellenic Studies, the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Numismatic Chronicle and the Numismatic Supplement to the

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

and the '' Museums Journal''. He also contributed to the ''

Encyclopaedia of Islam The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies published by Brill. It is considered to be the standard reference work in the field of Islamic studies. The first edition was published in ...

'' (1st edition), the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

'' (14th edition), the ''

Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ( ...

'' (1914), and the '' Chambers's Encyclopaedia'' (1950). The following is a selection of his publications:For full bibliographies, see his Obituary in the ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1956), and in the ''Proceedings of the British Academy'' (1956)

Books

*''Catalogue of the Coins of the Gupta Dynasties and of Sasanka, King of Gauda'' (London, 1914) *(ed.) ''Catalogue of the Coins in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, IV'' (Oxford, 1928) *(with T. Wolseley Haig and H.H. Dodwell) ''The Cambridge Shorter History of India'' (Cambridge, 1934) *''Catalogue of the Coins of Ancient India'' (London, 1936) *(ed., with H. Mattingly and E.S.G. Robinson) ''Transactions of the International Numismatic Congress, 1936'' (London, 1938)

Articles on Asian coins and medals

*"The Coinage of Assam", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1909) 300-301 *"Notes on the Coinage of Muhammad Ali", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1910) 325-326 *"Some Rare Coins of the Pathan Sultans of Delhi", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1911) 698-700 *"Some Rare Mughal Coins", in Numismatic Supplement to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1911), 701-703 *"The Coinage of the Maldive Islands with some Notes on the Cowrie and Larin", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1912) 313-321 *"A Rupee Struck by George Thomas", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1912) 129-130 *"A Brief Survey of the Coinages of Asia from the earliest times (700 BC) to the present day", in J.G. Bartholomew, A Literary and Historical Atlas of Asia (1914) 99-118 *"Offa's Imitation of an Arab Dinar", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1914) 77-89 *"A Note on the Name Kushan", in ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' (1914) 403-411 *"The Legend of Samudragupta's Asvamedha Coin Type", in Numismatic Supplement to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1914), 255-256 *"Unpublished Coins of the Caliphate", ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1919) 194-198 *"Indian Coins acquired by the British Museum", ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1921) 333-348 *"Appendix B", in

Aurel Stein Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...

, ''Serindia'', vol. 3 (1921) 1340-1350 *"Indian Coins acquired by the British Museum", ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1922) 200-213 *"Indian Coins acquired by the British Museum", ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1923) 96-110 *(ed. with F.M.G. Lorimer) "Appendix B", in

, ''Innermost Asia'' (1928) 988-995 *"Indian Coins: Van Den Bergh Gift", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1929) 36-37 *"A Portrait Mohur of Akbar", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1930) 56-57 *"Appendix" in G. Yazdani, ''Ajanta'', Pt. II (London, 1933) 57-64 *"Indian Coins acquired by the British Museum", ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1934) 229-243 * ''A Guide to the Department of Coins and Medals in the British Museum'', "Chapter XI, Muhammadan Coins" (London, 1934) 80-82 *"Medieval Muhammadan Coins", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1934) 50-51 *"A New Kushan Coin", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1934), 155-156 *"Indian Coins acquired by the British Museum", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1937) 297-305 *"Chinese Decorations", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1937) 32 *"The Coinage of the Sãsãnians A Types" in A. Upham Pope's ''A Survey of Persian Art'', i (Oxford, 1938) 816-818 *"Coins of the Moghul Emperor Akbar", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1938) 144 *"Indian Coins", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1940) 98 *"Notes on the Punch-Marked, Local Taxilan and Greek Coins" in

Sir John Marshall Sir John Hubert Marshall (19 March 1876, Chester, England – 17 August 1958, Guildford, England) was an English archaeologist who was Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928. He oversaw the excavations of Ha ...

's ''Taxila'', ii (Cambridge, 1951) 853-63

Articles on European coins and medals

*"Naval Medals", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1931) 47 *"Medals by Charles B. Birch", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1932) 107-108 *"The Fletcher Collection of Irish Tokens", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1934) 51 *"A Rare Italian Medal", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1934) 156 *"A new Sterling of Lorraine", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1935) 208 *"Scott's Stay at Hethpoll", in ''History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club'' (1935) 108-110 *"English Gold Coins", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1935) 135 * (with H.A. Grueber), "The Southsea Find of Fourth-century Silver Coins", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1936) 292-303 *"The Barnett Collection of Pre-Conquest Coins", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1936) 124-127 *"Greek Coins", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1936) 127-128 *"The Brooke Memorial Gift", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1936) 128-129 *"Rare English Medals", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1936) 129 *"A Collection of Northumbrian Stycas in the possession of Sir Carnaby Haggerston", in ''History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club'' 289-91 *"Rare English Medals", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1937) 31-32 *"Greek and Roman Coins", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1937) 55 *"Italian Renaissance Medals", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1937) 124-125 *"Greek Coins", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1938) 4-5 *"Some Coins and Medals", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1938) 75-76 *"Roman Coins from Poole Harbour", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1938) 300 *"Coinage in the Islamic Period" in A. Upham Pope's ''Survey of Persian Art'', iii (Oxford, 1939) 2673-2677 *"Greek Coins", ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1939) 14-16 *"Roman Coins from Swine (East Yorks)", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1940) 266 *"Greek Coins", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1940) 33-34 *"Some New Greek Coins", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' (1940) 95-97 *"Medals of War and Peace", in ''British Museum Quarterly'' 91940) 99 *"Recent Finds (Roman and English)", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1943) 107-108 *"The 'To Hanover' Counter", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1843) 108-110 *"A Find of Sovereigns from Derbyshire"', in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1945) 116 *"A Civil War Hoard from Whitchurch", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1945) 124 *"The Mablethorpe (Lincs.) Find", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1945) 165-166 *"Roman Coins from North Thoresby, Lincs.", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1945) 166 *"A Find of Sceattas at Southampton", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1946) 73 *"A Civil War Hoard from Canterbury", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1946) 15 *"The Mint of Ayr", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1947) 62-65 *"Ancient British Coins from Lincolnshire", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1947) 65-68 *"Ilkeston Treasure Trove", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1947) 185 *"Coins in Swedish Museums", in ''Museums Journal'' (1947) 194-196 *"The Snettisham Find", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1948) 233-235 *"The Cam Brea Hoard of 1749", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1948) 235-236 *"A Find of Saxon and Carolingian Coins", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1948) 236 *"The Longton Find", in ''Numismatic Chronicle'' (1948) 236 * *"Note on Elibank Castle", in ''History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club'' (1953) 44-46

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, John 1884 births 1955 deaths British numismatists Employees of the British Museum Leipzig University alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland