Joel Orosz writes:

John Dannreuther writes:

Saul Teichman writes:

Collection name: S. S. Banks Collection
Donated by: Lady Dorothea Banks
Previous owner/ex-collection: Sarah Sophia Banks
Description: Silver coin.
Denomination: dollar
Weight 27.050gm
Date: 1795
Minted in: North America, USA

Women are relatively rare among the ranks of the major collectors. Sarah Sophia Banks (1744-1818) was the only sister of Sir Joseph Banks, the noted collector and patron of the circumnavigator Captain James Cook. She is portrayed in an unflattering cartoon by Gillray and is described as a dominant personality:

She was devoted to her brother and for many years lived with him and his wife, assisting in his work. A forceful and intelligent woman, lacking other outlets she assembled, in addition to coins, medals and books, a remarkable and pioneering collection of printed and engraved ephemera--now an immensely valuable reference collection for eighteenth century life.

This she bequeathed to her sister-in-law who presented it to the British Museum. The Department of Prints and Drawings now has about 19,000 items from Sarah Sophia's collection. In addition there are nine volumes of broadsides, newspaper cuttings and other prints in the British Library.

For more information on building the British Museum's collections, see:Rare Birds: Female Collectors and The British Museum (www.fathom.com/course/21701728/session3.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:THOUGHTS ON THE BRITISH MUSEUM(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n10a22.html)