History
truck
or cast coinage—the first form of ‘money’ as we know it today, was
invented in the early 7th
century BC in Asia Minor1 and about the same time in China.2 An important aspect of this invention
was that coins could be mass-produced—coinage became the first mass-producible
medium of communication. A message could be reproduced exactly as
intended in large quantities for the first time. Rulers
began to realize the propaganda value of coins as symbols of power
almost immediately—the Kings of Lydia used the Lion and the Bull,3 symbol of their dynasty, during the 7th
century BC. Within 50 years the Greek City-States of Asia Minor
and Greece proper had begun to produce their own coinages – each
with their own representative symbols – a sea turtle for Aigina,
the Pegasus for Corinth, Athena for Athens, a seal for Phokis, and
so on. These symbols were designed to be easily associated with
the city that produced the coins – often they were puns on the city
name or pictured the patron deity of the city.4 Soon tiny little towns and petty dynasts
were issuing coinages as expressions of their political independence.
|
|
The Greeks laid the foundations
for the language of symbolism and text that is still used on coins
to this day. From the early use of dynastic and civic symbolism,
the Greek coinage tradition developed a fully articulated range
of coin types that became associated with the political organization
of the issuing authority. Thus
realistic portraiture on coins5 was developed in the wake of Alexander
the Great’s conquests when Hellenistic monarchs were searching for
ways to express their power and attributes to their large and diverse
populations, federal coinage types were developed to represent the
leagues of Greek or Hellenized cities using symbols of unity and
solidarity,6 and republican types were created to
represent cities with democratic governments.7 |
|
The development of realistic portraiture was
a pivotal event in the history of numismatic art as well as in the
development of coins as tools of political power. The ancient world
did not have the printing press—there were no billboards or pamphlets—news
traveled by hand-written letter or word of mouth. Coins were the
media of mass communication par excellence of the ancient world—with
coins a ruler could make known their desired self-image to their
subjects. Hellenistic portraiture went hand in hand with a tendency
to use inscriptions, at first to name the ruler, and later to name
their attributes (‘saviour,’ ‘god manifest,’ ‘the great,’ ‘devoted
to his father,’ etc.). This
image shows the transition of Hellenistic coinage from the general
portraiture of Alexander’s coinage (showing Herakles), to that of
realistic portraits of rulers, in this case Ptolemy I, one of Alexander’s
generals and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, and Antiochus
I, son of Seleukos, another of Alexander’s generals and founder
of the Seleucid dynasty centered in Syria and Mesopotamia. 8 |
|
The Romans developed the political use of coinage
to unprecedented levels. Rome avoided producing coins of their own
for several centuries—in fact, it was not until the early 3rd
century BC that they began to produce coins based on those of the
Greek cities of Magna Graecia.9
At the same time the Romans continued to use a monetary system based
on the old Italic tradition of rough bronze ingots traded by weight.
This system remained in place with gradual modifications until the
2nd Punic War. The
stress of fighting this protracted war for survival forced the Romans
to revise their economic system – for the first time they began
to issue an extensive coinage in silver in order to pay the costs
of the war.10
The resulting denarius, introduced in 211 B.C., was to survive for
the next 400 years as the basic silver denomination of the Roman
Republic and the Roman Empire. |
|
Roman coinage is particularly interesting because
it reflects the gradual change of the Roman state from a Republic
to an Empire. This evolution is reflected in the coinage in the
development of portraiture 11
(the Romans became masters of realistic portraiture) and a numismatic
shorthand for standard legends and symbols representing key social,
military, and political concepts. Roman moneyers and engravers became
adept at expressing personal and political messages through the
medium of coinage.12 |
|
Rome developed the first fully monetized society
in the sense of money being used in the minor daily transactions
of the majority of people. The fact that so many people (the Roman
Empire at its height included up to 100 million people) regularly
used coins meant that there was now an audience much larger than
ever before for the messages that could be delivered via coinage.
The Romans made full use of this huge audience, building on and
refining the achievements of the Greeks in the development of numismatic
design and symbolism. The result was a sophisticated and flexible
system of inscriptions and symbols on their coinage. The messages
conveyed were designed to support the Imperial government through
expressions of the military prowess of the Emperor, the loyalty
of the army, the happiness of the people, Imperial generosity and
so on.13 |
|
After
the fall of the Roman Empire, coins continued to be produced on
the Roman model although the repertoire of symbols was restricted.14
As Western Europe began to recover economically from the collapse
of the Empire, limited coinages of gold fractions were replaced
by silver ‘pennies’ based on the old denarius—these coins became
the basis for the monetary system introduced by Charlemagne.15
Byzantium provides examples of the development of numismatic symbolism
to represent the medieval concept of kingship as well as religion
that was inherited in the medieval west and formed the direct link
between the ancient world and the modern coinage.16
By the 13th century the Western
European economy had recovered and the number of coin denominations
and types in all metals began to proliferate. Beautiful coins were
produced in gold bearing a complex symbology designed to reinforce
the office of kingship and the power and prestige of the king. 17 |
|
With the beginning of the Renaissance Western
Europeans began to look back to the Ancient World for their inspiration
in art, science, and philosophy. Numismatics
was no different, and early examples of this use of ancient coins
as models include this gold augustale of Friedrich II ‘Stupor Mundi’
(wonder of the world) as king of Sicily—paving the way for the eventual
revival of gold coinage in the West.18
Realistic portraiture on coinage was revived, as well as the symbolic
‘language’ used by the ancients. This is not to say that everything
remained the same—too much time had passed, symbols were re-interpreted,
language was modified, artistic convention altered. In particular,
the symbolism of divinely–sanctioned sovereignty was elaborated.19 |
|
The ‘modern’ period of coinage begins at the
beginning of the 16th century
with the introduction of the first large silver coins for regular
usage in Tyrol.20
These large coins were made possible through the large–scale exploitation
of new silver deposits in Central Europe, primarily in Germany.
The
introduction of larger coins encouraged a flowering of numismatic
detail, if not art, characterized by increasingly elaborate designs,
such as this one incorporating the family crests of the Elector
of Brandenburg–Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm.21
Eventually old patterns of portraiture and symbolism reasserted
themselves and new ones became established. Among the most interesting
new expressions of sovereignty appeared in the form of realistic
city views issued by autonomous and semi-autonomous cities—if monarchs
could have their portraits on coins, why shouldn’t cities?22 |
|
French coinage of the late 18th
century is provides an excellent case study for demonstrating the
continued importance of coins in disseminating messages about sovereignty.
The six livre coin is a classic example of the progressive modification
of a coin type to reflect changing political circumstances and perceptions
of sovereignty—in this case the change from a monarchy to a republic,
and finally to an empire, each with its own distinctive imagery
and legends.23
Note the progression of the legends: |
|
- ‘Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre’
and ‘Blessed in the Name of the Lord,’
- ‘Louis XVI, King of the French’ and ‘The
Rule of Law,’
- ‘The Rule of Law’ and ‘Republic of the
French,’
- ‘Union and Strength’ and ‘Republic of
France,’
- ‘Bonaparte, first Consul’ and ‘Republic
of France,’
- ‘Emperor Napoleon’ and ‘Republic of France,’
- ‘Emperor Napoleon’ and ‘The French Empire,’
|
|
At the same time as the French were wrestling
with the symbolism appropriate for their changing political situation,
the United States was doing the same in the wake of the American
Revolution. Discussions on the creation of a new mint included debate
on the proposed designs for the new coinage of the United States.
This debate highlighted the perceived importance of the messages
conveyed on a nation's coinage and centered on what symbolism would
be appropriate for a new Republic in a monarchical world. One
proposed design incorporated George Washington's portrait as the
first president of the new nation. Washington refused the honor
on the grounds that portraiture on coins was a symbol of monarchy—the
U.S. needed to make a departure from European tradition.24
Republican Rome became the inspiration for the new coinage. Liberty
accompanied by the liberty cap, was selected as the ideal symbol
for the new Republic, along with the eagle, ancient symbol of strength
and power. Lady Liberty, in many forms, was to remain on U.S. coins
for the next 140 years as the symbol of a free and democratic republic.25 |
|