REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1922. 129 



to the exceptionally fine collection of the United States gold and 

 silver coins lent by Douglas N. Starr. A notable work in this con- 

 nection has been the mounting on boards of the British Museum col- 

 lection of electrotypes of ancient Greek and Eoman gold and silver 

 coins. This collection, which had not previously been satisfactorily 

 installed on account of a lack of room, will now be arranged for 

 exhibition purposes in accordance with the exhibit in the British 

 Museum, which affords an opportunity for the study of the develop- 

 ment of the ancient coinages both from the point of view of history 

 and art, the two most important phases of this subject. 



During the past fiscal year a complete reinstallation of the phila- 

 telic material in the exhibition cabinet has been initiated. This was 

 rendered necessary by the additions to the cabinet described in the 

 last annual report, by the magnitude of the recent issues of stamps, 

 and by the decision to unite all the stamps belonging to a single 

 country, whether issued during the nineteenth or the twentieth 

 century. Owing to the growth of the collection, the decision was also 

 reached to change the geographical arrangement of the countries, 

 tentatively adopted when the stamps were first installed, to a 

 strictly alphabetical arrangement. The latter will, it is felt, render 

 the exhibit more accessible to the average collector and increase the 

 ease with which individual specimens can be located. In accordance 

 with this scheme the stamps of the United States have been installed 

 as a unit on the west end of the cabinet, and satisfactory progress has 

 been made in connection with the work of installing the foreign 

 stamps in accordance with the new arrangement which, it is hoped, 

 will be completed during the coming fiscal year. 



Much has also been accomplished in connection with the installa- 

 tion and the preservation of the war collection. Efforts have been 

 made to render the exhibits relating to the recent conflict more 

 homogeneous in character and to preclude any damage or deteriora- 

 tion of those portions of the collection in storage. With these ob- 

 jects in view, many of the war exhibits in both the Arts and Indus- 

 tries and the Natural History Buildings have been entirely rein- 

 stalled and the storage materials thoroughly inspected. 



RESEARCHES. 



The work outlined under this head in the previous annual report, 

 as indicated there in connection with the reclassification of the rec- 

 ords of the division, has been practically completed. The division, 

 as the result of this undertaking, now possesses — with a few excep- 

 tions — a complete record of all the materials in its care. These 

 records represent original work in this connection and will form 

 the basis for all future undertakings of this character and for any 

 published catalogue of the collections which it may become feasible 



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