Mike and Jeff, two fellows from the ancient coin business I do some work for, invited me to tag along with their visit to an Egyptian exhibit at Willamette University’s Hallie Ford Museum of Art, so along with Mike’s wife Teresa and their son Tristan, Erin and I dropped $3 a piece for an illuminating look at a world class set of Egyptian antiquities. The display was impressive enough in its own regard.
Even better, Mike has a wealth of knowledge about ancient Egyptian culture and art, and he proved a captivating speaker on the subject. We’d come upon items like a silver ring of Ramses IV and Mike would provide details about the object like who would’ve worn such a ring or about how there are no sources of silver in Egypt, making the ring extraordinarily valuable. In many cases, he could even price the items (since he deals in antiquities in addition to coins). If you’re going to a museum or an exhibit, people like Mike and Jeff are the folks with whom you want to attend.