The Sir Gerard Clauson Collection of British Historical Medals

Sir Gerard Clauson

Born 28 April 1891 as the eldest son of Sir John Eugene Clauson, Sir Gerard Leslie Makins Clauson is remembered today primarily for his academic contributions as a philologist and orientalist.

Attending Eton College, first as Scholar and later as School Captain, Clauson developed an early interest in oriental and Turkic languages in coincidence with his father’s appointment as Chief Secretary for Cyprus. His studies continued at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he read classics and was Boden Scholar in Sanskrit in 1911, Hall-Houghtman Syriac Prizeman in 1913 and, after time served in the armed forces during the Great War, James Mew Arabic Scholar in 1920.

In 1912 Clauson had joined the Royal Asiatic Society, of which he was to remain an active and committed member until his death in May 1974. Clauson served as both President and Director, and in the year before his death was presented with a special commemorative gold medal by the Queen for his services to the society. Despite his keen interest, Clauson’s scholarly pursuits were sidelined during much of the interwar and early post-war period by a career within the civil service. This culminated in the post of Assistant Under-Secretary of State in the Colonial-Office, 1940-1951. Retirement in the early 1950s allowed Clauson to pursue his academic interests with renewed vigour and the following two decades saw him author three books and more than forty articles studying various languages and cultures.

While not falling within the orbit of his primary academic interest, Clauson approached his numismatic pursuits with a similar enthusiasm. In the main the collection charts the story of Italy’s money, from its earliest novel incuse coins to the politically charged Denarii of the later roman Republic. Within these confines Clauson appears, perhaps unsurprisingly, academically minded in his collecting habits. It appears that he strived to achieve as geographically and chronologically comprehensive collection as possible. The preponderance of ancient Italian coinage within the collection probably reflects the time Clauson spent as Chairman of Pirelli in the 1960s where, incidentally, he oversaw the introduction of the famous Pirelli Calendar. Many of the coins listed below are beautifully preserved and reflect well the high artistic achievements of the ancient world.

Sir Gerard Clauson’s numismatic collection further contained various English coins and medals offered through these rooms in September 2022 (Auction 260) as well as world coins and medals, to be offered in a forthcoming auction.