Money Talks
Faces of Power on Roman Coins and Early Modern Medals
Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut Rome
Look at a coin in your hand, and you may see the face of a person. This may be a living queen or king or a historical figure that represents a specific country. They stand in a long tradition: in the Roman Empire and in Early Modern Rome, emperors and popes figured widely on coins and medals. But these are not the only faces of power: other people also appear, such as soldiers, citizens, ancestors and famous artists. Small objects carried big messages: the coins and medals presented in this zone show a great variety of intricate messages.
The stories about coins and medals in this zone were written by MA and PhD students who participated in the MA/PhD course “Faces of Power: Coinage as a Historical Source in the Roman and Early Modern Period”. This ten-day course took place in early spring 2022 in sunny Rome, at the Royal Netherlands Institute and the German Archaeological Institute. From Nero to Michelangelo, these coins and medals show a kaleidoscope of faces of power. Do you think money is just for buying stuff? These stories will make you think again!
