Crossword Genius

Wealth of old coins impressing university lecturer initially (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

opulence

'wealth' is the definition.
(opulence is a kind of wealth)

'old coins impressing university lecturer initially' is the wordplay.
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'coins' becomes 'pence' (penny is a kind of coin).
'impressing' indicates putting letters inside (impress historically meant to conscript).
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letters of 'university lecturer' is 'ul'.
'pence' going around 'ul' is 'pulence'.
'o'+'pulence'='OPULENCE'

'of' is the link.

(Other definitions for opulence that I've seen before include "State of wealth and prosperity" , "State of affluence and luxury" , "wealth is manifest" , "Rich quality" , "Conspicuous wealth" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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