5th century BC
A silver coin from Syracuse. The hair of the spring goddess flows like running water.
An engraver who mastered the line.
Enjoying Coins as Art
Engraving, profiles, placement of text. We will compare the designs packed into small coins.
Time to read the text: about 6 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.
Coins as Art in 3 Minutes
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In an age of profiles, one artist dared to engrave a face from the front.
An engraver who broke new ground with composition.
The small size, just a few centimeters across, became part of the beauty.
Because it's so small, a single line defines the whole piece.
A thin silver coin from medieval Germany held the same style as a cathedral.
It was called a 'microcosm of Romanesque art'.
1514
A king brought the style of Italian portrait silver coins back to France.
Styles travel the paths of war and diplomacy.
1817
A saint slaying a dragon was engraved on a gold coin.
This design is still being struck today.
One person engraved nearly 500 plates for Meiji-era banknotes.
The face of the legendary empress looked a bit like a Western woman.
Beauty is for showing power, building trust, and preventing forgery. But that doesn't explain it all.
What's left over is 'beauty itself'.
2In numbers
1817Year
The year Saint George slaying the dragon was engraved on the sovereign gold coin.
3What would you do?
The hair on the Syracuse silver coin flows like water. Why do you think it was so beautiful?
Pick one
To show the city's power.
That's one reason. The beauty of money was also a declaration of a city's or country's power.
To prevent counterfeiting.
That's another reason. Detailed engraving is hard to copy, so beauty worked hand-in-hand with preventing forgery.
For the sake of beauty itself.
This is the answer this course adds. To show power or prevent forgery, it didn't need to be *that* beautiful. The part that's left unexplained—that is beauty itself.
In any single coin, many reasons live together in different combinations.
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What you will understand after this course
- Can describe the pinnacles of monetary art (Syracuse, Bracteates, the Age of Gold Coins) in stylistic terms.
- Can explain the transmission of style (the testone from Italy to France) as a phenomenon in art history.
- Can identify engravers (Euainetos, Chiossone) as artists.
More about this course
Course number: F5
Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama
Beyond the text: 6 exercises · 3 coins · 5 readings How reading times are calculated
You will also understand
- Can discuss "What was beauty for?" in terms of the coexistence of multiple answers.
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 3.
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
6 exercises in this course (4 check, 1 compare, 1 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.
The 6 chapters of this course
- The Pinnacle of Classical Art — Hair of Flowing Water and the Facing PortraitThe line of Euainetos, the composition of Kimon. The first pinnacle of numismatic art is found in fifth-century BC Syracuse.
- Originality of Style — A Microcosm Born of ThinnessBracteates turned thinness into expression. Styles unlike any other are born in the provinces.
- Style travels — the testone from Italy.The king brought the style of portrait silver coins he saw in Milan back to his homeland. The transmission of art history occurred through coinage.
- The Golden Age of Gold Coins — Saint George Slaying the DragonDuring the era of the gold standard, the most beautiful gold coins in history were born. The dragon-slaying design on the sovereign is its symbol.
- An Engraver's Banknotes — Chiossone's Five Hundred PlatesThe hand that engraved nearly five hundred master plates turned banknotes into art. And the engraver's memories blended into the imagery.
- What Was Beauty For? — The Coexistence of Four AnswersDisplay of power, guarantee of credit, a barrier against forgery, and beauty for its own sake. The answer is not a single choice, but a coexistence of these reasons.
Readings (5)
- Syracuse Overview: the world about 405–400 BC Euainetos
Section 1. Profiles in Western Art History. The Apex of the Line. - The bracteate Germany the 12th–13th centuries Central-eastern Germany, an engraver's workshop
Section 2. The Microcosm of Romanesque Art. Coinage as Part of a Sea of Period Styles. - The gold of the Valois France 1514–1547 The mint of the kingdom
Section 3. A Case Study in the Transmission of Style. The Path from Italy. - The sovereign is born Britain 1817 London, the Royal Mint
Section 4. Saint George and the Dragon. A Symbol of the Golden Age of Gold Coinage. - The birth of the yen Japan 1881 the Paper Money Bureau, the engraving room
Section 5. The 500 Dies and the Collection Preserved in Genoa.
Read next
Medals, Stamps, Bills of Exchange, and Money →What you learn next: Can explain the difference between medals and coins (the presence or absence of a payment function) and their commonality (the politics of their iconography).
Time to read the text: about 6 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 →