Skip to Main Content

When Money Talks: A History of Coins and Numismatics

Online ISBN:
9780197517680
Print ISBN:
9780197517659
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

When Money Talks: A History of Coins and Numismatics

Frank L. Holt
Frank L. Holt

Professor of History

Professor of History, University of Houston
Find on
Published online:
22 July 2021
Published in print:
5 August 2021
Online ISBN:
9780197517680
Print ISBN:
9780197517659
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

This book tells the story of numismatics, the study of coins, as part of the larger history of money. It explains why and where coinage was invented and how this monetary revolution spread around the world. By examining sources ranging from Aristotle and the Gospels to modern novels and TV sitcoms, this book highlights how historians, philosophers, poets, and religious leaders have used coinage to investigate, teach, and preach about human societies. It uses new ideas about memes and object agency to ask whether coins can act as though independent of human oversight. It details how numismatists have become more scientific since the Renaissance, although misuses of physiognomy and phrenology still hamper the field. Coins are studied not solely as individual works of art, but also as meaningful groups brought together as treasures called hoards. The analysis of buried hoards offers many interesting insights into human behavior, particularly in times of political turmoil and natural disaster. Although numismatics shares a common origin with archaeology, these disciplines have clashed in recent history, particularly over the disputed rights of amateurs to collect artifacts of historical importance. This book explores the ethics of coin collecting and considers whether paleontology might provide a model for the future of numismatics. New forms of numismatic investigation, such as Cognitive Numismatics, also pave a novel path for one of the oldest and most respected contributors to the arts and humanities.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close