The face on a coin was struck in the person's name while they were still alive.
That's why it's proof of 'how they wanted to be seen'.
Queens on Coins
Cleopatra, Elizabeth, Maria Theresa. We will look at their respective eras through their portraits and monetary policies.
Time to read the text: about 8 min
The review questions are optional and not included in this time.
What you can read: the course opening and contents are free; the full text is for those who have purchased
After purchase, you can read the full text once your access starts.
The Queens on Coins in 3 Minutes
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Cleopatra had her face engraved with a sharp nose and a strong jaw.
The face of a powerful ruler, not a legendary beauty.
But we can't say it's their 'real face.' It's the 'face they wanted to show'.
We have to be careful about what we claim.
1780
Maria Theresa's silver coins were still struck with this date even after her death.
400,000,000
by the 20th century
What merchants wanted was a silver coin with this face, this date, and this weight.
Trust was placed in the design, not the person.
1877
Victoria's face was carried to villages all over India.
A face chosen by the market, and a face carried by the empire.
Elizabeth I took a stand to 'restore' the quality of debased silver coins.
The course materials don't explain why she made that decision.
1881
The first face to appear on a Japanese banknote was a woman from folklore.
Her features looked somewhat like a Western woman's.
1869
When a king's face couldn't be used, the goddess of the land became the face of the nation.
Hispania on the Spanish peseta coin.
2In numbers
13stops
Stops in the course material that talk about queens. The shortest learning path at NOMISMA.
400,000,000coins
Maria Theresa thalers with the 1780 date struck by the 20th century.
3What would you do?
You are a merchant on the Red Sea. The empress died many years ago. You are offered a silver coin with the old date, and a new, unfamiliar silver coin. Which one do you accept?
Pick one
The silver coin with the 1780 date.
That's what real merchants did. They weren't looking for the person, but for 'a silver coin with this face, this date, and this weight.' That's why this coin continued to be struck with the same date long after her death.
The new, unfamiliar silver coin.
Merchants trusted the familiar design more. Trust had shifted from the person to the template.
The face of a dead empress remained active currency for 200 years. For money, time doesn't always have to move forward.
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What you will understand after this course
- You can explain how portraits of women rulers were treated differently from those of men.
- You can explain why coins go on being struck after the person's death.
- You can state the clues for judging whether a portrait has been idealised.
More about this course
Course number: C13
Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama
Beyond the text: 10 exercises · 2 coins · 9 readings How reading times are calculated
You will also understand
- You can explain for yourself what the thinness of this chain's material means.
- Can interpret the portrait of Cleopatra as a "rejection of idealization".
- Can distinguish between historical women and personifications, and narrate the lineage of each.
You can start this course without reading any other course.
Also worth reading, to see the connections (optional)
- Deciphering the Images and Text on Coins
What you learn: Looking at both faces of a coin, you can point to what lies in each part.
The text refers to this course in section 7.
If you want to know more about checking sources (optional)
- Is It Really True? Checking History
We re-examine the origins of money and famous anecdotes, comparing them with historical records and actual artifacts.
Assessment
10 exercises in this course (7 check, 1 compare, 2 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.
The 8 chapters of this course
- The image she chose, and the image posterity madeA coin portrait is evidence that the person commissioned it. But it is not the actual face — it is the face she wished shown.
- A coin struck long after her deathOnce trust passes from the person to the type, a coin goes on circulating with a dead face and a bygone date.
- The queen who restored it — Elizabeth IThere was a sovereign who decided to restore. But with our material, the reasons for that decision cannot be followed.
- How to handle the thinness of this chainThin material can mirror the writer's interest rather than the subject's nature. Make the thinness itself the question.
- A Profile That Refused Idealization — CleopatraUnlike the legendary beauty, a sharp nose and a strong jaw. She herself chose to be engraved as a politician.
- A Face That Reached the Villages — Empresses and QueensMaria Theresa's face transcended time, and Victoria's face transcended space. Two models of the power to reach.
- The First Banknote Portrait — The Choice of Empress JingūThe face on Japan's first banknote was a woman from legend. We examine the meaning of this choice, including the debate over her existence.
- The Lineage of Goddesses — Another Chain of PersonificationsFrom Athena to Britannia and Hispania. Fictional women have served as the face of the nation.
Readings (9)
- Hellenism Overview: the world 30 BC Cleopatra
§1. An account of a portrait that was not idealised. - The Maria Theresa thaler Germany from 1741 Vienna, the Habsburg imperial capital
§2. The scene where the Maria Theresa thaler begins to be struck. - Austria Overview: the world the 20th century – the present Still Struck Today
§2. The story of a silver coin still struck after the empire had perished. - Gresham and the recoinage Britain 1560–1561 The London mint
§3. The scene of a restoring recoinage. Note Gresham of the same period as well. - The birth of the yen Japan 1881 the Paper Money Bureau, the engraving room
Section 7. A record of a legendary figure's face, determined by the engraver's memory. - 19 October 1868 Spain 1869–1870 Madrid, the mint
Section 8. The personification of the nation replacing the king's face, and the words of popular sovereignty. - The State Monopolizes the Right to Print Paper India 1861 First note
This is the queen's face on paper, not on a silver coin. Please note that on unbacked paper, the face alone becomes the basis of value, and that the portrait was in circulation fifteen years before the title "Empress of India" was adopted. - The Red Sea Standard Austria 19th–20th Century Ethiopian Highlands
Even after the Empress's death, her silver coins continued to be the standard in a foreign highland. Please confirm this one point: that the lifespan of a currency flows separately from the lifespan of its issuer. - The London Charter Turkey 1856 An office in London
The same queen now appears not as a face, but as a royal charter. The fact that it was the Queen of the United Kingdom who authorized the establishment of a bank bearing the Ottoman name——that alone allows us to read the power dynamics of the time.
Read next
Deciphering the Images and Text on Coins →What you learn next: Looking at both faces of a coin, you can point to what lies in each part.
Time to read the text: about 8 min ／ What you can read: the course opening and contents are free; the full text is for those who have purchased
Price
After purchase, the full courses, the illustrated books, every country’s story and the numismatics examination are open to you.
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