The origins of the modern, Western concept of money can be traced back
to the earliest electrum coins that were produced in Asia Minor in the
seventh century BCE. While other forms of currency (shells, jewelry,
silver ingots) were in widespread use long before this, the introduction
of coinage aided and accelerated momentous economic, political, and
social developments such as long-distance trade, wealth creation (and
the social differentiation that followed from that), and the financing
of military and political power. Coinage, though adopted inconsistently
across different ancient societies, became a significant marker of
identity and became embedded in practices of religion and superstition.
And this period also witnessed the emergence of the problems of money -
inflation, monetary instability, and the breakup of monetary unions -
which have surfaced repeatedly in succeeding centuries.
Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, A Cultural History
of Money in Antiquity presents essays that examine key cultural case
studies of the period on the themes of technologies, ideas, ritual and
religion, the everyday, art and representation, interpretation, and the
issues of the age.