The Unifiers

C02　—　Chain of people

Alexander, the First Emperor of Qin, Charlemagne, Meiji.

Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama　／　Reading time (main text): About 8 min (3,985 characters of text at 500 chars/min; exercises and readings not included)　／　Beyond the text: 11 exercises · 2 coins · 11 readings · 1 references

What this course teaches you to do

• You can explain why a unifier lays hands on the coinage first.
• You can explain what becomes of a unified coinage after its maker's death.
• You can give an example of unification whose model was borrowed from abroad.
• When reading an account of unification, you can check what was aligned and what was left.
• Can extend the lineage of unifiers from Charles V to the Euro using four models.
• Can discuss with concrete examples the shift of the agent of unification from individuals to institutions.

Lessons (8)

1. A unifier lays hands on the coinage firstA unifier touches the coinage for three reasons. The standard brings gain; the face is quick. Read them apart.
2. A unified coinage is tested after its maker diesKeeping is harder than unifying. Declarations survive in the record; the daily upkeep does not.
3. Borrowing the model from outsideThe model for unification can be borrowed from abroad. One country's monetary history cannot be read alone.
4. A unified currency leaves the countryA unified currency goes abroad. Whoever unifies becomes, in time, outside pressure for someone else. Read both sides.
5. The Born Unifier — Charles VThe face and name of the emperor born in Ghent laid the foundation for a common unit of account in the Seventeen Provinces.
6. The Ledger Unifiers — The Nameless ArchitectsThe currency that unified Germany bears no single hero's face. The Zollverein, treaties, and laws were the unifiers.
7. The Creators of the Yen — The Meiji UnificationThe New Currency Act, outsourced banknotes, and domestic production. The unification of the yen was a joint effort of individuals and institutions.
8. The Faceless Unifier — The Euro as a TerminusThe final parity was not a matter of will, but of calculation. At the end of the chain, the unifier becomes the system itself.

Readings (11)

• The emperor's silver coin, the people of the sea　Netherlands　793–794　Dorestad, a Carolingian mint
  §1. Check in the original Charlemagne's system and its caveat.
• Feudalism and the coin of the Vikings　France　the 9th–10th centuries　The West Frankish Kingdom
  §2. The process by which a unified coinage disperses.
• Mexico　Overview: 2,700 years of the world　the 1860s　Godfather of the Yen
  §3. Where the name "yen" comes from. It is written in the Mexico edition.
• The costs of the wars with China and Russia　Japan　1899–1911　Taipei, Busan
  §4. A unified currency crossing the sea. Note "without holding a reserve of specie."
• The emperor born at Ghent　Netherlands　1500–1519　Ghent
  Section 5. The Starting Point of a Natural-Born Unifier
• The customs union　Germany　1834–1838　The counting-table of a German merchant house
  Section 6. A Masterpiece of Unification Without a Face. Scene from a Night at the Counting House
• The birth of the yen　Japan　1872　Frankfurt
  Section 7. Japanese Banknotes Engraved by an Engraver Who Had Never Seen Japan
• The strong franc　France　1995–1999　A room in the Banque de France
  Section 8. “Only the final parity was a matter of calculation, not of will.”
• A World Currency　Greece　336–323 BC　The Empire's Money-Changing Table
  This describes the scene from the Aegean Sea to Babylon, where the scales on money changers' tables came to indicate the same weight. Please note how the empire was unified under the Attic standard of the 17.2-gram tetradrachm, and how the text describes the abandonment of his father Philip's silver coin standard as an intentional shift.
• Round heaven, square earth　China　221 BC　Xianyang, capital of Qin: the government offices
  Writing was standardized, the width of cart axles was standardized, and measures and weights were standardized; coinage is placed at the end of this list. Knife, spade, and ant-nose money all ceased to be used in this year, and the form of a round coin with a square hole would remain unchanged for the next two thousand years—please observe the long reach of a single decision.
• Opening of Ports　Korea　1876–　The docks of Incheon
  This is a record written from the shore where a standardized currency arrived after crossing the sea. Please observe the scene where the difference in weight directly translates to a difference in usability: a transaction that would require a cartload of bundled leaf money could be settled with a single bag of round silver coins.

Assessment

11 exercises in this course (7 check, 1 compare, 3 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.

References

• PELLA — Coinage of the Argead dynasty — American Numismatic Society　A catalogue database of the coinage of the Argead dynasty (Philip II, Alexander III, et al.).

Only works and primary sources whose existence has been verified are listed.