John Richard Melville-Jones (1933-2026)
John R. Melville-Jones AM, Emeritus Professor in the Department of History and Classical Studies at the University of Western Australia, passed away on January 28th 2026. He was 92. John was the most celebrated ancient numismatist in Australia. He was also a renown Byzantinist and scholar of ancient history. John will be greatly missed by his many friends in the international numismatic community, by the staff and students of the University of Western Australia (UWA) where the taught for over 50 years before becoming an active ‘honorary’ for another 20 years, and by the Greek community in Perth. In a tribute delivered at his funeral John was described by the Greek consul as ‘a true philhellene, whose devotion to Greece and Hellenic civilisation left a lasting mark on both our nations’.
Teaching at the University of Western Australia
John joined UWA in 1957 as a Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, and it was from this university that he obtained his doctorate in 1963. He continued here until his retirement in 2012, but then carried on as an emeritus professor. His interest in ancient history and language remained central to his teaching and research. At first he showed a strong interest in Byzantine history. Among his earliest books was Nicolò Barbaro, Diary of the Siege of Constantinople (translated from Venetian), New York 1969 and The Siege of Constantinople 1453: Seven Contemporary Accounts, Amsterdam 1972. But it seems he had little interest in Byzantine coinage (though see ‘Literary Evidence for the Coinage of Constantine XI’, Numismatic Circular 1967, 90).
Scholar in Numismatics
His work on ancient Greek and Roman history almost from the beginning features coinage. The very earliest publication appears to be ‘Vespasian Junior’ The Numismatic Chronicle 1966, 61-3. Among his earliest efforts in this direction are the two volumes for which he is best known to a general numismatic audience today: A Dictionary of Ancient Greek Coins, London 1986 and A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins, London 1990. They establish a platform for his most important work, the three volumes of Testimonia Numaria (published by Spinks). Testimonia Numaria: Greek and Latin Texts Concerning Ancient Greek Coinage, Volume I, appeared in 1993. The commentary (and invaluable index together with addenda) in Vol. II was not published until 2007. Testimonia Numaria Romana: Greek and Latin text concerning Roman coinage, followed in 2023 (available in printed form, but thankfully also as a downloadable PDF). These related studies of Testimonia Numaria bring together the original texts, a translation of each and then a commentary. They are immensely useful, as all students of numismatics know, but they have also served to bring before the numismatic public an extraordinary amount of information that usually lies buried in the vaults of academia.
Honors and Awards
John was an internationally recognized scholar. He was a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Among his honours one might cite an Aristotle Award by the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace in 1999, an honorary Doctor of Letters from Macquarie University in 2016 and his appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2021 for his significant service to tertiary education in Greek, Roman, and Byzantine history and numismatics.
Supporting the Study of Ancient Numismatics in Australia
It should be remembered that John lived in Perth, one of the most isolated cities in the world – isolated from any other capital in Australia and then from anywhere in the world (many sites on internet point out that from Paris to Moscow is a shorter distance than Perth to Sydney, well over 3,000 km). To counter the isolation of Perth he became a regular speaker and guest at institutions around Australia and the world, joining their societies, and regularly participating in conferences. He was a familiar face in numismatic circles.
John was passionate about supporting the study of ancient numismatics in Australia. In particular, he was a great supporter of the Australian Centre for Ancient Numismatic Studies (ACANS) at Macquarie University. He had built up an impressive personal numismatic library and later donated numerous long runs of journals and a good number of his most important books to the Centre. His daughter Elizabeth and her family have most generously endowed an essay prize at Macquarie University in John’s name. He will be greatly missed.
