CCooiinnss TThhrroouugghh TThhee AAggeess The Salisbury Museum collections contain many different coins from different eras through history. Have you ever wondered where coins come from and why they look the way they do? This activity sheet will help you learn a bit about the history of coins and create your own currency! Where Did Coins Come From? The first coins are believed to have appeared around 600 BC in Lydia, a kingdom of Greece located in modern- The Lydian coin © The Trustees of the British Museum day Turkey. They were made out of a gold and silver alloy called electrum and featured the image of a lion. How Have Coins been Made? Over the next 100 years, the use of coins spread across Greece with From ancient times until 1550, coins were Athens, Aegina and Corinth all made by striking a piece of metal between producing their own coins. Before long, two dies, a process called hammered the Romans and Celts joined in on the coinage. This was a very slow process and coin craze. sometimes required two people to make Soon, almost every city was creating just one coin! their own coins with their own designs. Eventually, sheets of metal were used so How would you design your own coin? that multiple coins could be made at once. This was very helpful, but also caused some problems. Coins made this way were much easier to counterfeit or make fakes of. Coins in Other Parts of the World - China During the Industrial Revolution, a process Before the use of coins, the concept known as milled coinage, where a machine of currency had been around for was used to make the coins, became a thousands of years. In China, special popular production method. As more and seashells called cowries were used instead of coins. In 220 BC, metal more people went to work in factories, a coins became popular throughout new method was needed to produce the country. enough coins to pay these new workers. Matthew Boulton invented a machine that Most Chinese coins contained a small round or square hole in the middle allowed for this mass production of coins. It so they could be tied onto a string, A Chinese Tong bao was so successful he was asked to supply making it easier to carry around from the Ming Dynasty © Royal Ontario machines to the East India Trading Museum Company and the British Royal Mint! What do you use to carry around your coins? Coins In The Collection Click here to see more coins from the museum's collection Iron Age - 800 BC to AD 42 During the Iron Age, coins in Britain were influenced by the coins made in Greece which Celtic tribes were exposed to through trade. At this time, some people started to include in the design the name of where the coins were made and some even added their own names! They would use either the Roman alphabet or Greek characters, or a Celtic coins also known as stater. Possibly from the mixture of the two. Durotriges tribe © The Salisbury Museum Roman - AD 43 to 410 Due to the economic power of the Roman Empire, Roman coins were widely used across Europe and in Britain. Coins during this period were made out of lots of different metals including gold, silver and brass. The Romans set up two mints in Britain to make coins, one in London and the other in Colchester. Roman coins continued to be used in Britain up to the Middle Ages and we A coin showing Magnentius, usurper of the Roman still see their influence today! The British pound is a translation of Empire from AD 350 - 353 © The Salisbury Museum libra pondo, which means "a pound by weight". Elizabethan - 1558 to 1603 In Elizabethan England, all coins were made of either gold or silver, and a coin was worth as much as the metal it was made from. The currency at the time was based on the Pound, Shilling, Pence system. 12 pence = 1 shilling 20 shillings = 1 pound The exact value of the actual coins varied depending on the weight and purity of the metal at the coin's most recent production. That meant that the Sovereign, Noble, Angel, Testoon, and Royal were constantly changing value! The first milled (machine-made) coins were made during this time, but the A halfgroat, or twopence, of Queen Elizabeth I moneyers (the people who handmade coins) were not happy about this and © The Salisbury Museum ensured that most coins continued to be made by hammering. Georgian - 1714 to 1830-37 During the Georgian period, coins were made out of gold, silver, and copper. The coin with the highest value at this time was called the Guinea, and was worth more than the Sovereign. 1 guinea = 1 pound + 1 shilling It was considered rude during this period to talk about money, so people came up with rather silly nicknames for coins, including Monkeys, Ponies A halfpenny of King George II and Nickers, so they wouldn't have to say their real names! © The Salisbury Museum In 1759, the very first standard paper banknote in Britain was introduced - £10. Modern British Coins The current circulating coinage in Britain is the pound sterling and ranges in value from one penny to two pounds. The coins are minted by the Royal Mint located in Llantrisant, Wales. All coins since the 1600s have featured the profile of the current king or queen. The direction the monarch is facing changes with each successive king or queen, a tradition started by the Stuarts. This tradition has only been broken once, when Edward VIII came to the throne in 1936. His portrait should have been facing to the right, but he thought the left side of his face looked better. However, these coins were never minted due to his abdication. His successor, George VI, had his portrait facing to the left, as if Edward had stuck to tradition. Today's coins feature the image of Queen Elizabeth II on one side and different symbols on the other representing Britain, the individual nations of the United Kingdom or particular themes. Each coin has a number of different designs depending on when it was minted. Click here to learn more about the designs of the coins currently in circulation. Coin Collecting Today, many people enjoy collecting coins, simply because they like them! Did you know there is a special word for the study and collection of coins? It's called "numismatics". Coins can tell us a lot about the past, including who the ruler was and what was important to people at a specific time. Sometimes, special coins are made to celebrate particular events, like the Olympic Games or royal celebrations and these are often popular with coin collectors. You can see all the different commemorative coins the Royal Mint currently makes here. Do you have any special coins that you have collected? What do YOU like to collect? This coin commemorates the Pitt Rivers excavation and is stamped 1883 © The Salisbury Museum MakeMake youryour OwnOwn Coins!Coins! Now that you know a little more about coins, it's your Supplies turn to make your own! paper pencil Step One aluminium foil First you will need to come up with a name for your currency. Are you going to different sized objects like name it after where you live? Or maybe after yourself? lids, glasses or containers scissors Step Two thin cardboard, like an empty Now that you have a name for your currency, you will need to come up with cereal box different coins with different values. We suggest coming up with 3 to 5 different glue coins, each with their own value. coloured paper (optional) permanent marker (optional) Step Three Trace out the shapes (they don't have to be round!) on a piece of paper. Next, you will need to figure out what design will be on each coin. Remember there are two sides to a coin! Will you put an image of yourself on the coin? Or maybe your pet? Try out different designs and draw some examples on a piece of paper. Step Four Once you have figured out what your designs will be, you can 'mint' your coins! We suggest using aluminium foil for this so your coins look like real metal. Place your piece of paper with your design on top of the foil. Next, take a pencil and trace your design, pressing down hard enough that you make an impression but not too hard that you rip the foil. Repeat this as many times as you like! Step Five After you have traced as many coins as you like, it is time to cut them out! You might want some help from an adult here as the aluminium foil can be sharp. Step Six When all your coins have been cut out, glue them to the cardboard and cut them out. You can make another design for the other side of the coin if you like, from aluminium foil or coloured paper. *Note for Adults - depending on the age of children doing the activity, you may want to draw coins directly onto coloured paper or thin cardboard to avoid any sharp edges. Above are some examples of what your coins could look like! We Congratulations, You have now made your decided to do a 'Five Folium Flos' coin (five flower petals) and a coin own coins! with Sandy the Dog on it! Don't forget to follow us on social media @SalisburyMuseum and share your creations with us using #CoinCraze .