When is a coin ancient? and when medieval? and when modern?
In my notes, I am often crossing these categories, although Roman Republic (ancient) was the starting point for this blog and my collection. Byzantine coins - are they ancient or not? Are these terms even relevant outside of European history? If we want to go with the common use of the term "medieval," Byzantine coins are indeed considered medieval. As @expat points out, the fall of the Western Roman Empire, starting from the deposition of Romulus Augustulus by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer in 476 AD, is a traditional marker for the end of antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages in European history. However, the boundaries are fuzzy, and other options include:
The Sack of Rome by Alaric (410 AD)
The Reign of Emperor Constantine and the move from Rome to Constantinople (330 AD)
The Rise of Islam (after 610, with the first revelation to the prophet Muhammad)
The Reign of Charlemagne (768 to 814 AD)
Note: thanks to "Ancient Coin Collector" on NumisForums for highlighting historian Peter Brown as a key voice in extending the ancient period into the 7th century and the concept of "Late Antiquity". In his influential 1971 book, "The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150-750," Peter Brown argues for a more nuanced understanding of the transition from the Roman Empire to the early medieval period, highlighting the continuity and transformation in cultural, social, and religious life during this time.
The end of the medieval period is equally fuzzy, with several possible markers:
Destabilizing events in Europe that include the Mongol invasions of eastern European cities 1237–1241, the Great Famine (1315-1317), the Black Death of 1347-51, the bank failures of the 1340s
The Fall of Constantinople (1453 AD)
The Invention of the Printing Press by Johannes Gutenberg (circa 1440 AD)
The End of the Hundred Years' War (1453 AD)
The Discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus (1492 AD)
The Protestant Reformation with Martin Luther's 95 Theses (1517 AD)
My favorite option—though it may have fewer adherents—is to mark the start of the modern period and the end of the medieval period from a coin perspective in 1550. This is the year that Donato Bramante built a screw press, initially designed by Leonardo da Vinci in his notebooks to make lead bullae. A few years later, Eloye Mestrelle, a French moneyer working for Elizabeth I, would use a horse-powered screw press to mint coins.
Medieval is most often in reference to European context, although it can be used outside of that to discuss medieval China, India or Islam, to describe periods of transition that bridge ancient and modern. Even then it is most often drawing connection to the medieval time period in Europe. Using "medieval" can be seen as Euro-centric, as an imposition of a European framework on non-European history. Other frameworks such as "Golden Age of Islam", Islamic Caliphates, and ruling dynasties of China, India, and other regions can provide more relevant context.
All of this gives you some wiggle room as a collector. Medieval, ancient, and modern coins often overlap, and as you point out, many people do not mind seeing the occasional medieval coin in an ancient collection or vice versa. The Byzantine Empire, seen as a continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire, spans these periods, starting with Constantine and ending with the Fall of Constantinople.
Italy, Genoa. Republic (1139-1339) AR Grosso. Struck in the name of Conrad II
Italy, Venice, Giovanni Soranzo, AD 1312-1328, AR Grosso
Right: IO SVPANTIO SM VENETI, Doge and St. Mark standing facing, holding banner between them DVX going down
Left: IC - XC, Christ Pantocrator enthroned facing
This coin is not the usual for my collection which is mostly European and Asian and mostly before CE 1550 - this coin is from the 19th century, South America:
Notes on the opening image: A fresco by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1290–1348) detail from "The Allegory of Good and Bad Government". Good Government is represented by a bearded, stately figure sitting on a throne. Next to him are the four cardinal virtues, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, and Temperance, joined here by Peace and Magnanimity. Painted 1338 - 1339 and located today in the Fondazione Musei Senesi, The Sala della Pace (“Peace Room”). The fresco was commissioned by the Council of the Nine and is a civil and political manifesto of Siena’s enlightened and ambitious government. The Council of the Nine, or "Consiglio dei Nove," was the governing body of the Republic of Siena, Italy, during the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. It was established in 1287 and functioned until the early 16th century. Public Domain image via Wikimedia Commons.
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