IA STUDIO – Independent Research & Documentation Initiative
Advancing numismatic research through scientific analysis, digital documentation, and responsibly applied AI-assisted interpretation.
IA STUDIO is a research framework that unites scientific analysis, digital documentation, and human-supervised computational methods to advance transparent, evidence-based cultural-heritage research.
Overview
IA STUDIO is a documentation and research initiative focused on the scientific examination, digital recording, and historical interpretation of cultural-heritage objects – with particular emphasis on historic minting anomalies and the material evidence they preserve.
Its first public study advanced from early diagnostic work and institutional consultation to publication through the British Numismatic Society Research Blog (2025), supported by independent laboratory analysis.
Update (January 2026): Edition 1.1 of the Hybrid Reasoning Framework has been released. Read announcement →
Current Research – Project 001
IA STUDIO’s first published study examines a severely deformed 1834 William IV sixpence, documenting a mint-stage striking anomaly within nineteenth-century mechanised coin production.
Independent, non-destructive laboratory analysis incorporated:
• SEM–EDX – Brunel University London
• Optical profilometry – University of Oxford
The combined findings support classification of the specimen as a severe multi-strike mint error.
Project 001 established the methodological foundation that evolved into the IA STUDIO Hybrid Reasoning Framework, refined and documented following independent laboratory verification.
Research Approach
IA STUDIO investigations combine:
• High-resolution documentation and imaging
• Independent laboratory measurement (where feasible)
• Comparative digital surface study and interpretive modelling
• Archival and contextual research
Digital and computational methods are used as interpretive support within a human-supervised process; laboratory measurement remains the primary evidential layer wherever available.
1834 William IV sixpence showing severe multi-strike deformation and central distortion.
Publication
Ikraam, A. (2025).
An 1834 William IV Sixpence with a Laboratory-Confirmed Multi-Strike Mint Error from the Steam-Press Era.
British Numismatic Society – Research Blog (2025)
BNS Research Blog: Full publication (2025)
Reference Note
In December 2025, IA STUDIO contributed a short research question to The E-Sylum (Numismatic Bibliomania Society), inviting discussion on distinguishing laboratory evidence from interpretive tools in numismatic research.
Referenced in The E-Sylum (Numismatic Bibliomania Society, December 2025) – Read the article →
IA STUDIO uses computational and AI-assisted methods as interpretive aids under full human supervision; laboratory data provide the evidential foundation for verification and publication.
Contact: contact@iastudio.org
Edition 1.1 – January 2026
Edition 1.1 consolidates the verified research record and methodological framework established through the 1834 sixpence study.
It documents a case study illustrating how AI-assisted reasoning can be integrated with independent laboratory verification in cultural-heritage research.
Future updates will coincide with the release of supporting datasets and research outputs later in 2026.
Website last updated: 12 January 2026
IA STUDIO 
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