When you think of old coins, do you think of a die hard collector who displays his rare collection like works of art, speaks in strange terminology about things only seen with a magnifying glass and carefully tracks its changing value on the market? If you do, you are certainly not alone. Even to many archaeologist and historians the people who work with coins are something of a breed apart.

But coins can be an invaluable (get it, ‘invaluable’?) source when looking into the past. Though small, or rather precisely because they are so small, they are loaded with information about rulers, technology, the state of the economy, political climate and much more.

Knowing what you thought you knew

One of the most basic uses of coins for the ancient historian is to verify information given by written sources. If a Roman writer such as Suetonius mentions a 1st century CE British king by the name Cunobelinus and numerous coins with that name and of that date are unearthed, that would imply that this particular section of Suetonius is more than mere hear-say and legend.

Because we can’t always be sure about the written sources, this type of verification is very valuable. Sometimes we learn that the information we had was correct all along. Sometimes nothing adds up. Sometimes we have to modify our understanding of the written sources slightly.

Of course, not all coins come from well documented areas or periods. In that case names on coins can introduce new rulers and would-be rulers into the chronicles, the spread of coins can indicate the size of un-surveyed kingdoms, or the style of coin could indicate foreign influences. The possibilities are as endless as the medium – the coin – itself is limiting.

Economics, politics, propaganda and state

Coins can tell us a great deal about the economics of the state that produced them. If coins previously produced in silver turn silver plated or the percentage of silver goes down we might infer a silver shortage and inflation. In our modern era we might take it to mean that our money is symbolic and no longer bound to a gold reserve or value. If you are reading this you probably live in a country where your coins are worth less in metal value than their actual purchasing power and your state sees to that this remains the case.

Furthermore, the spread of coins can be indicative of trade, assuming the accompanying goods also seem to have traded hands. Otherwise, a spread of coins into foreign lands may be indicative of military intervention. Armies have often been paid in the coinage of their nations and bartered with that metal wherever they were stationed. Today, we might see a concentration of foreign currency as a lack of faith in the inflated native currency. For example, US Dollars and Euros are popular currencies in many poorer nations. The same way, people in antiquity sometimes hoarded better vintages of coins, which were thought of as more trustworthy than the current ruler’s mint.

Coins are also excellent propaganda tools. Just how excellent depends on the state, the period and the number of times the coins are likely to change hands. Today, nearly everyone in the industrialised world handles coins frequently and so their propaganda value is immense. At the same time, it be easier to manage monetary propaganda in a state where money has a more targeted audience. If coins are primarily minted to pay the army and there is question as to your claim to the throne, you may use your coins to show the army your greatness and divine, genealogical or war-won right to rule. If you want to remind everyone that you have gracefully reconciled with your enemy by marrying his sister, you might do as Mark Antony and picture yourself with your wife on a coin… and if you can mint another one making fun of that enemy by making him look like a little boy next to your great manliness, that’s what you do.

So next time you pay for something with coins, take a moment to think about what they say about the time and place in which they were made. Maybe you can even tell me how I’m meant to feel about the 2009 Swedish krona?

About the author: E P Wohlfart is a twenty-something freelance writer with a Classical Archaeology degree, a laptop and a maxed-out library card. Aside from administrating PastPresenters.com, which she started in 2008, she works with several historical publications and is a regular contributor at Suite101.