Money is more than just a medium of financial exchange: across time and
place, it has performed all sorts of cultural, political, and social
functions. This volume traces money in German-speaking Europe from the
late Renaissance until the close of the twentieth century, exploring how
people have used it and endowed it with multiple meanings. The
fascinating studies gathered here collectively demonstrate money's vast
symbolic and practical significance, from its place in debates about
religion and the natural world to its central role in statecraft and the
formation of national identity.