International History of Coins

Throughout history, many different objects have been used to facilitate trading for goods and to measure wealth. Today, we usually think of Rand, notes and coins when we define what we regard as money, although many commercial transactions are carried out without the physical presence of any currency at all. Value is counted by entries in bank and credit card accounts, with the actual transfer of funds often having taken place by means of electronic impulses between computers. At other times and in other places, various objects have served the same purpose as do these modern electronic impulses.

Throughout Africa's past also, many different objects have served as trading mediums-salt, shells, beads, metal, indigenous coins, European coins, jewellery, woven cloth, weapons and tools. The keys to understanding why a particular object came to be used as currency are the acceptability and the value of that object. Acceptability encompasses such aspects as familiarity, usefulness and artistic expression, which add to the intrinsic value of the medium itself. Thus, while the scarcity of copper would have caused it to be exchanged on that basis alone, its use was further enhanced by means of the forms into which it was cast, forged or otherwise shaped. Iron was more commonly found in African societies, but refining, forging, forming and embellishing similarly increased its value.

When writing about mediums of exchange, economists and financial historians typically define currency as a durable, divisible and accepted means of measuring and storing value. Governments and laws largely define the acceptance concept today, but during the course of history, acceptance was more often conferred by broader cultural currents, including religion, myths and beliefs about the nature of the universe. In Africa, where few extensive nation-states existed, the needs of trade and commerce depended on commonly held beliefs or values that spanned great geographical distances and an almost unimaginable diversity of activities. Consequently, the currency needed for even the simplest daily transactions was backed by shared beliefs just as much as it was by the intrinsic value of the currency itself. Transactions that involved significant life events-marriage, procreation, health and death-were validated by objects with high intrinsic, symbolic and artistic values.

This exhibition is a celebration of the art of the currencies used through the ages in Africa. It also explores the beliefs that both supported the monetary systems of African societies and led to the embellishment and transformation of plain currencies into objects of beauty.

To provide a context for these currencies, this exhibition includes a selection of objects that were commonly used as mediums of exchange, such as cowry shells, beads and bundled and woven textiles. The metal currencies, which are the focus of this exhibition, range from conventional forms to highly valued complex designs that are executed with considerable technical skill and artistic sensibility, in rare and precious metals.

The Greek World

Beginning with the invention of coins in Asia Minor during the seventh century BC, coins, apart from being a convenient medium of exchange, have afforded man an important means of artistic expression. The earliest coins were struck in Lydia and Ionia (modern Western Turkey) from electrum, an early alloy of gold and silver that also occurs naturally. Each coin blank was cast to a predetermined weight and then heated to induce a state of malleability in the metal. It was then placed between two engraved dies which were struck with a hammer. These archaic coins usually depict a symbol of the relevant city or ruler on the obverse and a crude punch mark on the reverse. They were the world's first true coins, having been made of a scarce metal, were of a consistent weight, and were guaranteed by a government. Soon after coinage was initiated, the legendary King Croesus (561 - 546 BC) of Lydia introduced coins of pure silver and gold. Coinage quickly spread to the island and city-states of Western Greece.

At the height of the Greek classical art period in the fifth century BC, the Greek city-states employed the finest engravers available to create coins of great artistic merit and, occasionally, some dies were even signed by a master engraver. All the deities of the Greek pantheon were depicted as ideally proportioned humans, as the concept of idealism was of paramount importance to Greek classical art.

During his reign, Alexander the Great (336 - 323 BC) spread the concept of coinage throughout the lands he conquered. His generals and successors founded the great Hellenistic empires and they introduced realistic portraits as a regular feature of their coinage. Thus were the true images of world rulers recorded for posterity, many of whom are unknown to history except through their coin portraits.

The Roman World

The Roman Empire continued the Hellenistic tradition of realistic portraiture and, in some cases, depicted the progression of an emperor from boyhood through to maturity. The imperial family were also frequently depicted on the coinage. This Roman portrait gallery is unsurpassed in its quality and completeness in the field of art. Lacking the daily news circulation of the modern world, Roman coins served as an important means of political propaganda. The designs on the reverses of the coins frequently extolled the virtues of the emperor or commemorated his victories. Many public works and architectural achievements such as the Coliseum and the Circus Maximus were depicted.

Important political events, such as the assassination of Julius Caesar, or an alliance between cities, were recorded on the coinage. Many usurpers to the throne, otherwise unrecorded in history, are known only through their coins. In fact, the first task of a usurper was to strike coins with his name and image to legitimise his rule and to pay the army which proclaimed him emperor.

The Byzantine World

The rise of the Byzantine Empire in the East, during the reign of Constantine the Great (307 - 337 AD), heralded the beginning of the medieval age. When the Christian Church became a major political force in the Empire and in Byzantine art, God, rather than man, stood at the centre of the universe. With the end of the pagan world of Rome, portraiture became stylised and the images depicted began to relate to Christianity. Images of Christ, the Virgin, and various saints abound in the coinage of the era but, despite the Christian heritage, political intrigue was as prevalent as in the Roman Empire.

The standard Byzantine gold coin, the solidus, was issued for nearly 1000 years and maintained a remarkably consistent weight and fineness of gold. Beginning at about R2625, 00, superb quality Byzantine gold coins can still be acquired today, which is an inexpensive introduction to this fascinating period of history.

The Biblical World

The Judaeo-Christian religions are well represented by coins, as this ancient coinage commenced during the Persian period (c.400 - 333 BC) and was continued by the Hashmoneans. During the Roman period coins were struck extensively and included important silver coins from during the two Jewish revolts against Rome. The Romans also struck coins to commemorate the subjugation of Judea and many other cities and kings mentioned in the Bible appear on coins.

Many coins refer to events in the New Testament, including the famous tribute penny or silver denarius of Tiberius (14 - 37 AD) and the 30 pieces of silver or silver tetradrachm of Tyre. The cities visited by St. Paul, in his travels throughout the ancient world to preach the gospel of Christ, are also represented by coins. Surprisingly, it is possible to own coins which were in circulation at the time of Christ and the Apostles, for a reasonably small amount of money.

The coins jingling around in your pocket or weighing down your purse do not normally attract much attention, but the recent introduction of State coins of $0, 25 value (also known as quarters)(about R1, 87) by the US Mint has sparked an interest in American coins. We tend to take coins for granted, but they are really an essential part of life and coin collecting is on the increase. Before coins were invented, barter was the predominant system that was used to buy and sell articles and many different things were used as standards of wealth, even including cattle. This could prove to be very inconvenient - just imagine having to carry a cow in your pocket to be used to buy your daily needs. Coins have provided a very convenient way of transporting and storing wealth.

The coin is defined by the Encyclopaedia Britannica as being a piece of metal or, rarely, of some other material (such as leather or porcelain) certified by a mark or marks upon it as being of a specific intrinsic or exchange value. An ancient people called the Lydians are credited with producing the first coins around 600 BC. The Lydian empire was in present day Turkey, on a major trade route between East and West. The coins were crude, being of irregular shape and weight, but quickly became popular with both the merchants and the people.

King Croesus, who ruled Lydia from 561 - 546 BC authorised the first government certified coins. This meant that they were guaranteed to contain a standard weight and purity of metal, which was a major step towards the gaining of universal acceptance for coins to be used as payment for goods and services.

Coin production in ancient times was a laborious and time consuming process as they were produced by means of the hammering - by hand - of gold, silver, copper, or other precious metal discs, called blanks, with a bronze or iron die.

Coin design among early minters was rough and unattractive. Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia from 336 - 323 BC began the practice of putting the images of important persons and gods on coinage. Alexander's coins first featured Greek gods and heroes, but later he included monarchs - chiefly himself - on the coinage. Strangely enough, most of the basic elements of modern coin design were developed during this early period in history.

Italian craftsmen, working in the late 1400's, brought about the first main improvements in coin production as they produced more modern equipment which, in turn, increased production capacity, quality, and beauty of design. More improvements to the minting process were introduced during the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800's - early 1900's.

Early on in America, wampum, an Indian form of money comprising mussel shells, beaver pelts and various other commodities, as well as an assortment of coinage from Spain, France and other countries had served as money. With England continually ignoring the colonies' pleas for coinage, the colonies decided to use both their own coinage, as well as that from other countries. The first coins to be produced in America were minted by a gentleman named John Hull in the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1616. He was granted authority to mint coins by the General Court of the colony, in order to assist in relieving a general shortage of coinage.

The Spanish Dollar and its fractional parts circulated freely there and were officially sanctioned by various American State and National governments right up until 1857. A Real (pronounced ree-al) was the equivalent of 12 1/2 cents. Two Reals were equal to a quarter Dollar - or $0, 25 thus was coined the expression "two bits". Because the Spanish Dollar, and not English coinage, circulated so freely there, the first American government made the unit of currency the Dollar, rather than the Pound. In 1784, Thomas Jefferson, a member of the House of Representatives, advocated the use of the Dollar and a decimal system of fractional parts. This was eventually adopted by the Confederate Congress.

In 1792, the first mint building was built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the first coin to be struck there was a silver coin named the half dime that had a value of $0, 05 (about R0, 37). It was equal in value to the nickel that was only introduced a bit later on. Subsequent mints were established in Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Carson City. Currently, the Department of the Treasury operates mints in Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.

Modern South African coins are produced from rolls of metal, which are first fed through a machine called a blanking press where discs of the correct diameter are cut from these rolls of metal. These blanks are washed and heated and their edges rolled so as to produce the rim, and they are then fed through a striking press which imprints the final design on the blanks, thus converting them to coins.