The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Eckhel, Joseph Hilary

ECKHEL, ĕk'ĕl, Joseph Hilary, Austrian numismatist: b. Enzersfeld, Austria, 1737; d. 1798. After becoming a member of the Society of Saint Ignatius he was appointed keeper of the imperial cabinet of medals and professor of archæology at Vienna. Eckhel may be regarded as the founder of the science of numismatics, the principles of which are elaborately developed in his treatise, ‘Doctrina Nummorum Veterum’ (8 vols., 792-98). He also published catalogues of the ancient coins and gems in the imperial cabinet.