Line up things that share common points but have different conditions, not just similar things.
Just comparing similar things only leads to, 'Oh, they're similar.'
Discovering Historical Questions Through Comparison
Learn the method of comparing the same coins or systems with those of other countries and eras to investigate the reasons for their differences.
Time to read the text: about 8 min ／ Time to read the in-depth book: about 208 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.
Finding Questions by Comparing: A 3-Minute Guide
1See it
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1690s
England restored the quality of its silver coins, while Japan lowered theirs.
Around the same time, both did a 'recoinage.' This is the common ground.
Mechanically write down the common points and differences in two columns on paper.
If you start with the interesting parts, you'll only be left with what you wanted to see.
Question the differences. 'Why did one restore the quality, while the other lowered it?'
Ending with 'I wonder if...' is just a thought, not a question.
Try to break your own hypothesis. Look for counterexamples, alternative explanations, and selection bias.
If you skip this step, your idea will just remain a random thought.
1732
Even with the same silver coin, the country that made it and the countries that used it tell different stories.
The maker's side talks about specifications, while the user's side tells the legend of the dollar sign.
Describe transitions as a range of years, not a single year.
1728 → 1773
From the official order to the last hand-struck coin.
1867
A single broken pot brought to light a hoard of the country's oldest money.
Recording when, where, and what it was found with is what makes it scholarship.
2In numbers
12stops
Of the learning 'stops', the number that have all five pillars.
45years
The number of years the transition from hand-striking to machine-milling took, from the initial order to the final coin.
3What would you do?
Your hypothesis is: 'Widely used money was good money.' However, you find that a low-quality 'lion' silver coin traveled all the way from the Mediterranean to the East. What do you do?
Pick one
Abandon the hypothesis and move on to another topic.
You don't have to abandon it. A counterexample isn't the death of a hypothesis, but the discovery of a new condition.
Add a condition to refine the hypothesis.
This is the method from the lesson. For example: 'Money that was continuously chosen *within a country* was likely good money.' Narrowing the scope isn't defeat; it's making your hypothesis more precise.
Pretend you didn't see the counterexample.
A counterexample you hide will eventually be found by someone else. But a counterexample you document yourself becomes your achievement, serving as a gateway to new research.
A counterexample is not your hypothesis's enemy; it's the whetstone that sharpens it.
4Read more
What you will understand after this course
- You can set two cases side by side and write out the common and the different separately.
- You can turn the difference into a question.
- You can go looking, yourself, for material that tells against your own hypothesis.
The book for this course
『Reading Articles and Ledgers』
A complete illustrated book. 23 figures, about 208 min
Free sample: Overview of the Archives — Reading the Seventy Records by Their Columns
More about this course
Course number: E10
Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama
Beyond the text: 13 exercises · 6 coins · 8 readings · 1 references How reading times are calculated
You will also understand
- You can tell "an amusing coincidence" from "a coincidence worth investigating."
- Can compare descriptions of the same subject from multiple chapters and turn differences in perspective into questions.
- Can describe a 'transitional boundary' not as a single year but as a range, and treat that range itself as information.
You can start this course without reading any other course.
Also worth reading, to see the connections (optional)
- Interpreting Coins from Weight and Purity
What you learn: From the weight and fineness of one coin you can calculate the metal actually present.
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
13 exercises in this course (7 check, 0 compare, 6 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.
The 8 chapters of this course
- Line them up — not alike, but under different conditionsLine up not what resembles, but what shares something while differing in conditions.
- Separate — write out the common and the different, mechanicallyWrite out the common and the different mechanically, in two columns. Start from the interesting bit and only what you wanted stays.
- Turn it into a question — ask from the differenceAsk about the common and you arrive at an answer already given. Ask about the difference and you step onto an unexplored road.
- Try to break it — skip this and it stays a hunchCounter-example, alternative explanation, bias in selection. Seek these three yourself and only then is a hypothesis a claim.
- Reading About the Same Coin in Two ChaptersThe same silver coin can appear different from the perspective of its makers versus its users. The reward of cross-referencing lies in this very difference of viewpoints.
- Describe Transitions as a Span — From Hammered to Milled CoinageA transition does not happen in a day. Describe the boundary as a span, using the four points: order, first, adoption, and last.
- Seeking Counterexamples — How to Strengthen a HypothesisStrengthen a hypothesis with counterexamples. If it breaks, fix it by adding conditions, and state any unfixable counterexamples in the conclusion.
- Turning Chance into Scholarship — The Pot, the Heavy Machinery, and the DetectorEven if a discovery is accidental, it is the recording that makes it a science. When, where, and with what it was found—this is the essence of its value.
Real-life examples in this course (8)
- Newton's Great Recoinage Britain 1696 The mint in the Tower of London
One half of §3. The scene where Newton stood on the side of restoring the fineness. - A town of cash, a country of paper Japan 1835 the gold mint, Edo
The other half of §3. Check in the original why Japan stood on the side of lowering. - The eight reales Spain 1649 The Potosí mint
One of the 12 stops holding coordinates on all five axes. Good practice for finding something to line it up with. - "Not worth a continental" United States from 1781 The states after the fighting has passed
Also one of the 12. It holds four B-axis tags — the stop with the most coordinates of all. - The Mexico City mint Spain The pillar dollar 1732
Section 5. The narrative of the issuers. Please compare this with the Pillar Dollar from the American section. - The country of the Spanish dollar United States the 17th–18th centuries A colonial port in the Caribbean
The other part of Section 5. The narrative of the users. Please note that there are various theories and reservations regarding the origin of the dollar sign. - The Potosí mint Spain The pillar dollar 1767–1773
Section 6. The "end," forty-five years after the decree. Here you can get a real sense of the span of the transition. - The silver of Massalia France the end of the 6th century BC–the 5th century BC An olive grove at Auriol, Provence
Section 8. A story of chance and record, of how a broken pot carried France's oldest coin hoard.
References
- MANTIS — ANS collection database — American Numismatic Society The American Numismatic Society's collection database (based on Numishare). Allows searching by mint, hoard, and findspot, with visualization on maps and charts.
The books and materials referred to in this course.
Read next
Were the two coins made with the same tool? →What you learn next: Looking at two coins, be able to distinguish between "same design", "same type number", and "same die".
Time to read the text: about 14 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.
See the price →