CLAS 10
From Metal to Money: Ancient Numismatics Winter 2019

Cross-listed ARTH 10
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

How were coins made and circulated in the ancient world? Why did a city or individual choose to mint coins? What role did coins play in people’s lived experience, as well as in Greek and Roman visual culture? In this course, we will explore the Western coinage tradition from its origins through Late Antiquity, using the college’s own numismatic collection as a basis for methodological discussions and for individual research. In consultation with the professor, each student will select coins from the collection and relate it to each of the different methodological issues under investigation. These topics will include mint and die studies; analysis of coin hoards; approaches to coin finds in archaeological excavation; the use of coins as historical “documents”; and the iconography of Greco-Roman coinage as it relates to classical art history. For most class meetings, students will present a short report on how the methodological issue under discussion relates to specific coins they have selected from the college’s collection, before choosing a final research project. In addition to the hands-on experience of working with these coins, we will also survey the different historical coinages from antiquity (e.g., Classical Greek, Hellenistic Greek, Roman Republican) through a series of illustrated lectures.
The Class: Format: afternoons
Limit: 15
Grading: pass/fail only
Requirements/Evaluation: 10-page paper and a presentation
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: preference will be given to students majoring in Classics, Art History, and History
Materials/Lab Fee: cost of books
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
ARTH 10 CLAS 10

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