Ancient Coins and Numismatic Books

Alan Harrison

Alan Harrison (1933-2010) came from a farming family and, as a young man, his discovery of a Roman villa on his parents' land at Winterton, Lincolnshire, led to a life-long interest in archaeology. He started field walking and, when metal detectors appeared, he was one of the first people to buy one.

Alan lived in north Lincolnshire all his life, leaving only to do his National Service in the RAF. For the rest of the time he was tirelessly recovering finds from ploughed-out archaeological sites; without him this material would have been lost forever. Everything Alan found was carefully identified and meticulously catalogued. It was not Alan's style to publish his discoveries himself; while sociable, he was a private man who preferred the quiet of his study or a Lincolnshire field, but he generously shared his work with scholars who have much for which to thank him.

Alan's interest in archaeology and numismatics led him to start a coin collection, firstly Roman and Celtic and later Greek coins; his knowledge and discerning eye allowing him to build a fine collection. Most of his archaeological finds he donated to the North Lincolnshire Museum in Scunthorpe, where they form a lasting memorial to a remarkable man who is best described using an old-fashioned term; a gentleman scholar and a true gentleman.

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