Suzanne Frey-Kupper

Suzanne Frey-Kupper is a Professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick, Faculty of Arts. She serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies and has previously held roles including Director of Graduate Studies, Director of Study Abroad, and Departmental Senior Tutor. She is also the curator of the departmental antiquities and coin collection, and was Chair of the Money and Medals Network (MMN) from 2022 to 2025. Frey-Kupper is an associate member of the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance and has held visiting professorships at the American Numismatic Society (New York, 2014) and the Università degli Studi in Padua (2017).

She earned her PhD in Ancient History from the University of Lausanne and studied Classical Archaeology, Christian Archaeology, History of Art, and Prehistory at the University of Zurich. Her academic journey includes a lectureship at the University of Zurich (2007–2011) before joining Warwick in 2011/2012.

Frey-Kupper’s research centers on Greek, Punic, and Roman coinage in the Western Mediterranean, with a focus on coins in archaeological contexts as evidence of historical, economic, social, and religious processes. Her work integrates numismatics with broader material culture studies, examining coin finds from major sites such as Rome, Carthage, Sicily, and Aventicum. She has led significant projects including the Swiss Working Group on Coin Finds (SAF/GSETM) and the Inventory of Swiss Coin Finds (IFS/ITMS), and has co-edited the forthcoming volume Sicily and the Adjacent Islands for Historia Numorum.

Her recent publications span a diachronic and supra-regional scope, analyzing votive deposits, hoards, and urban coin circulation. Themes include sacred spaces, identity formation, and the role of coins in cultural exchange. She has published extensively on sites in Switzerland, North Africa, and the central Mediterranean, combining rigorous cataloguing with interpretive depth.

Scientific Awards:

• Global Contribution Award, University of Warwick (2016)
• Jeton de vermeil, Société française de numismatique (2024)
• Henry Gruenthal Lecture and Medal, New York Numismatic Club (2014)
• Prix de la Faculté des lettres, University of Lausanne (2008)

Frey-Kupper has supervised numerous PhD and MA students, including those researching coinage in Roman Britain, Sicily, and the Eastern Mediterranean. She has examined doctoral theses internationally in France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. She has secured funding from bodies such as the Wolfson Foundation, M4C, and CADRE. Her leadership extends to editorial roles, including on the Journal of Archaeological Numismatics, Numismatische Zeitschrift, and Byrsa, and she co-edits the Swiss Numismatic Review. She has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Culture (Austrian Academy of Sciences) and serves on grant assessment panels.

Frey-Kupper leads and contributes to collaborative research teams and international networks, notably the Money and Medals Network (MMN), which supports training and knowledge exchange across over 200 UK institutions. Her work bridges academic research, museum curation, and public engagement in numismatics.