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I know there are those who are more than critical of numismatists and collectors. Who believe that archaeologists and museums are the place that the past should be researched and preserved and that amateurs such as ourselves should stay out of it. That we destroy evidence, historical connections and valuable information. However I have to say that I am (yet again) none too impressed with the supposed guardians of culture. I have taken an interest in the Ryhall hoard, a coin find from the Civil War period. The hoard was not only the largest the last century, but also of remarkable consistency in the types of coins it contained. An article in the BNJ indicates that the British Museum acquired twenty-four coins from the hoard, principally examples of the predominant dies and the Leicestershire Museums Service eighty-nine. It also states that a full photographic record of the hoard exists in the BM Department of Coins and Medals. Well I searched the BM records and found ... four coins. None of them shillings of Charles I that make up the bulk of the hoard (around 2000 such coins). Department of Coins and Medals? No trace of how you would search to find what they hold in their collection other than a general record search. As to photographic records ... no I dea how you'd access those. And although Cornucopia (an online database of information about more than 6,000 collections in the UK's museums, galleries, archives and libraries) indicates that the Leicestershire Museums coins reside in the numismatic collection of the Newarke House Museum there is no suggestion of this on the Leicestershire website. Nor any indication that one can visit to inspect the collections. In fact there's no sign Leicestershire even has a numismatic collection. OK, so it's a specialised area. But time and time again my father-in-Law has said "You're interested in coins. Why don't you visit the British Museum. Surely they must have one of the best collections in the word?" It's not an unreasonable expectation. Such collections are surely held for the Nation? So how come it's almost impossible to find out what there is, where it's kept, let alone actually see the stuff? I don't expect everything to be on display. That would be impossible. But I would hope to be able to confirm the existence of something that is supposedly in a collection. And contact someone to ask questions. Or am I being unreasonable?