numismatist
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of numismatist
1790–1800; < Latin numismat- (stem of numisma ) coin + -ist
Explanation
The person who looks closely at every penny might not be cheap — he might be a numismatist, a coin collector, looking for old or rare coins that somehow got into the mix. This word literally means "someone who studies coins." These aren't the coins you have in your pocket right now. Instead, a numismatist studies and collects coins from other places and time periods. The word comes from the Latin word numisma, meaning "coin, currency." The word numismatist was coined — no pun intended! — in 1799.
Vocabulary lists containing numismatist
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Not far away, among Park Avenue’s art galleries and auction houses, Greg Cohen, senior numismatist at Stack’s Bowers Galleries, said there have been a lot more sellers than buyers coming through the coin dealer’s door.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
But Adrian Marsden, a numismatist or coin specialist with the Norfolk Historic Environment Service, believes it looks more like accidental damage, as other Julian coins discovered in the hoard remain untouched.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2021
Inside that, under old coins and a numismatist pamphlet, lay the 240-year-old diary of sailor John Claypoole, a Revolutionary War prisoner of war and later the third husband of the flagmaker known as Betsy Ross.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 12, 2021
He is a numismatist - says so on his business cards - which he describes as someone who takes the hobby more passionately than a standard collector.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 14, 2017
It is impossible for a practised numismatist to confound the coins of these emperors, not only from the difference of lettering and workmanship, but from the change in the size, thickness, &c. of the coins.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
