2000 Years of Coins
We are about half-way there with this project to fill in a coin from every half century between the 4th century BCE and the 19th century CE. Enjoy!
350 - 300 B.C.E.
The Lokrians who issued this coin were Greeks who fought with Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE), and with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE). This coin issued during the time when Macedonia was growing in power under King Philip II (359–336 BC) and subsequently his son Alexander III "the Great" (336-323). The detail from an oil painting, "Ajax and Cassandra", by Solomon Joseph Solomon, 1886, depicts the Abduction of Cassandra by Lokrian hero Ajax "the Lesser". In the Illiad, this Ajax was one of the great Greek heroes who led forty ships against Troy.
350 - 300 B.C.E.
The coin is a drachm from Sardes in western Anatolia. Although uncrossed legs of Zeus (reverse) is often associated with Philip III Arrhidaios, this AR drachm. struck under Menander or Kleitos, in the name and types of Alexander III, is an early posthumous issue circa 323-319 BCE, during the reign of Philip III Arrhidaios (323-317 BCE) as the pawn of Alexander's generals.
The painting is by Giuseppe Cades (1750–1799) "Alexander the Great Refuses to Take Water" from 1792 tempera and wax on canvas in the Hermitage Museum. Image source Wikipedia. The painting recalls a story from Plutarch Life of Alexander 42.5. Alexander after 11 days riding and weak from thirst refuses water with the words: "For," said he, "if I should drink of it alone, these horsemen of mine will be out of heart." His men declared that they would be neither weary, nor thirsty, nor mortals at all, so long as they had such a king.
250 - 200 B.C.E.
The Roman republic and Carthage fought three wars as the super-powers of the Mediterranean. The three Punic wars were fought over a century and resulted in the complete destruction of Carthage and lasting Roman dominance in the Mediterranean. The second Punic War known for Hannibals attacks on the Italian peninsula, crossing the Alps with elephants. This coin issued sometime after 211 BC during the Second Punic War and shown with a Map of Roman and Carthaginian territories at the start of this War. Map from 1911 by Shepherd via University of Texas Austin Map Collection.
200 - 150 B.C.E.
This Bactrian Drachm was issued by Apollodotos, Bactrian King from sometime in the early second century B.C.E. It is shown with an axe head from the MET museum that is close to 2000 years older (ca. late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BCE)
from the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex located in what would eventually become southern Bactria.
100 - 50 B.C.E.
There was little peace in the last century of the Roman Republic. This coin issued after the Social Wars, the Civil Wars of Marius and Sulla, and in the third and last of the Mithridatic Wars which would conclude in 63 BC. Civil War would soon follow between Caesar and Pompey. This coin shown with a detail from a 2nd century C.E. mosaic "Poseidon’s Triumph and the Four Seasons" from the National Bardo Museum in
Tunisia.
50 B.C.E. - 1 C.E.
January 10th, 49 BCE, Caesar crossed the Rubicon without relinquishing his troops in violation of Roman law. This attack on Rome was the beginning of Caesar's civil war between him and the allies of Pompey the Great that continued until 45 BCE when Caesar successfully took control. In 44 he was named dictator for life - which wasn't long when on the Ides of March he was murdered in a conspiracy led by the Cassius responsible for this coin. The painting, "César Franchit le Rubicon" (Caesar crosses the Rubicon), is the scene as imagined by Adolphe Yvon, and can be found in the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Arras (Pas-de-Calais, France).
1 - 50 C.E.
Tiberius began his reign (14-37 AD) as an able replacement for his adoptive father Augustus. He was cautious, entered no wars of conquest, and maintained the Empire's finances in good order. However toward the end of his reign he became cruel and paranoid, and was responsible for a "purge" of senators and members of his own family. "Tiberius was a man of profound common-sense and the cleverest of all his contemporaries at knowing a person's secret intentions, and he surpassed them as much in sagacity as in rank." Caligula may have murdered him. For most of his reign he used the same design for both silver denarii and gold aurei. He ruled Rome during the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Judaea (circa AD 30 and 34). This coin is often associated with as the "Tribute Penny" from Mark 12:16: “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Portrait by Aegidius Sadeler II from 1589-1629 after Titan in the British Museum.
50 - 100 C.E.
Poppaea is depicted here on the reverse of a coin from Alexandria Egypt, issued by the Emperor Nero. She is implicated in the death of the philosopher Seneca and Nero's mother Agrippina the Younger. Nero reportedly kicked her when she was pregnant and she died in 65 AD a year or two after this coin was issued. The image is a detail of a painting from the workshop of Giulio Romano (Rome c. 1499-Mantua 1546), "Nero Playing while Rome Burns" c. 1536-9 Oil on panel in the Royal Collection Trust.
150 - 200 C.E.
Marcus Aurelius was the last of the "5 Good Emperors". He ruled Rome C.E. 161-180. Marcus Aurelius wrote a diary in 12 books called the Meditations with his reflections and thoughts on self-improvement. This coin is a Æ Dupondius issued in Rome 179-180. "M AVREL ANTONINVS AVG TRP XXX III", the obverse legend, and "IMP X - COS III PP", the reverse legend, date the coin based on the emperors titles. The reverse shows the goddess, Victory, advancing left, holding wreath and palm. Image via Wikipedia.
300 - 350 C.E.
In CE 324 Constantine I (reigned 307/10-337) defeated Licinius to become sole Augustus of the Roman Empire. This coin issued in Thessalonica circa 324 AD.
Constantine chose Byzantium as his "Nova Roma" (New Rome). In 330 he dedicated the new city as Constantinopolis. The reverse on this coin commemorates the wishes of the empire for the next 20 years of Constantine's reign. Constantine is declared "Dominus Noster" on the coin ("Our Lord"), a ceremonial title inherited from Diocletian.
Constantine was born in 274, son of Constantius Chlorus and Helene. He was named Caesar on the death of his father, July 25, 306 and was proclaimed Augustus on December 25, 307.
He married Fausta, the daughter of Maximianus Herculeus, who gave him five children, three of whom were Augusti. The first twenty years of his reign he battled with his co-rulers to achieve sole rule as emperor. He is recognized as the first Christian emperor, although he was only baptized on his deathbed on May 22, 337.
The public domain image of "Triumphant Entry of Constantine into Rome" by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was painted about CE 1621 and can be found at The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.
450 - 500 C.E.
"Perfection has been attained! In the tranquil reign of Skandagupta, whose hall of audience is shaken by the wind caused by the falling down (in the act of performing obeisance) of the heads of a hundred kings; who is born in the lineage of the Gupta; whose fame is spread far and wide; who excels all others in prosperity; who resembles (the god) Sakra : (and) who is the lord of a hundred kings - in the one hundredth year, increased by thirty and ten and one; the month Jyeshtha having arrived."
-Skandagupta (circa 455-467 C.E.) inscription on the Kahaum pillar (images public domain via Wikipedia)
750 - 800 C.E.
The Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by his uncle and centered in what is today modern Baghdad. This gold coin is from the time of Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr, the third Abbasid Caliph. The Image is from “Preparation of Medicine from Honey," translated and illustrated from Dioscorides by the Baghdad School a 12th century school of Islamic art from Baghdad that died out at the end of the Abbasid Caliphate (via Wikipedia). Baghdad became a center of science, culture and innovation during the period of the Abbasids.
900 - 950 C.E.
Nasr ibn Ahmad was the ruler of Transoxiana and Khurasan and head of the Samanid dynasty from 914 to 943. He was the son of Ahmad ibn Isma’il.
1150 - 1200 C.E.
Saladin and Guy of Lusignan after the Battle of Hattin in CE 1187, 1954, by Said Tahseen (1904-1985). Saladin was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the first sultan of Syria and Egypt.
1150 - 1200 C.E.
This large 35mm 6.85g Seljuk of Rûm coin of Sultan Sulayman II (reign CE 1196-1204) was issued 1198/99 CE. Son of Kilij Arslan II, Suleiman overthrew his brother, Sultan Kaykhusraw I, and became sultan in 1196. He fought neighboring rulers and expanded the territories of the Sultanate. Map of the Sultanate of Rûm by Swordrist, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
1200 - 1250 C.E.
Queen Lilavati was the fourth women known to have ruled Sri Lanka in her own right. She held the throne 3 times between 1197 and 1212 CE. She rose to prominence as the Queen to King Parākramabāhu the Great who died in 1186 CE. The modern photo shows the ruins of the castle in Palonnaruwa. Photo by M. Lechanteur, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
1300 - 1250 C.E.
Muhammad bin Tughluq (1290 – 20 March 1351) was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from February 1325 until his death in 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. He introduced this token currency in AH 730 after his failed attempt to shift the capital to Deogiri. There brass and copper coins were valued equally to gold and silver. This currency was disputed in trade and devalued quickly. The 19th century painting depicts the sultan in court. [Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad]
1450 - 1500 C.E.
Ferdinand II and Isabella of Spain, 1474-1504. The portraits are a pair showing Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452-1516) and his wife, Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504), King and Queen of Spain and parents of Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536). Public domain image via the Royal Trust Collection.
1550 - 1600 C.E.
A coin of Akbar the Great (1556-1605) with picture of Akbar the great training and elephant. Miniature of the Mughal school via Wikipedia (Public Domain) from the State Museum of Berlin.
1600 - 1650 C.E.
Louis XIII, King of France, by Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674), oil on canvas 1635, Museo del Prado, public domain image modified via Wikipedia
1600 - 1650 C.E.
Mughal Empire, Mirza Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim known by his imperial name Jahangir – literally “Conqueror of the World” he was the only surviving son of Akbar the Great.
1600 - 1650 C.E.
Shah Jahan was the third son of Jahangir, and the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire(C.E. 1628 - 1658). Under his emperorship, the Mughals reached the peak of their architectural achievements. He commissioned monuments that include the Red Fort, Shah Jahan Mosque and the Taj Mahal, where his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal is entombed. Illustration by Payag of Shah Jahan on Horseback, Folio from the Shah Jahan Album ca. 1630, via the MET museum.
1650 - 1700 C.E.
Mustafa II's reign was a period of transition and challenge for the Ottoman Empire, with military setbacks in Europe and internal dissent, which set the stage for the 18th century Ottoman politics. Early 18th Century illustration of Sultan Mustafa II dressed in full armor. Public domain image via Wikipedia.
1750 - 1800 C.E.
King George the III of Great Britain (1761-1820), France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire (Magnae Britanniae Franciae et Hiberniae Rex Fidei Defensor Brunsvicensis et Luneburgensis Dux Sacri Romani Imperii Archi Thesaurarius et Elector). 18th Century coronation portrait of King George III by Allan Ramsay, c.1761-62. Public domain image via the Royal Trust Collection.
1800 - 1850 C.E.
This coin was issued in the 47th Regnal Year of Shah Alam II (C.E. 1806), with a "Saya-e-fazle elah" Couplet, in the name of Shah Alam II on the obverse Persian legend "sikka zad bar haft kishwar saya-e-fazle elah, hami deen-e-Muhammad Shah Alam Badshah",
And the date with a flower mint mark on the reverse with persian legend 'sana 47 julus' zarb.
The couplet reads: "He struck coins in the seven climes under the shade of Divine Grace, Protector of the faith of Muhammad, Shah Alam, the Emperor."
Daurat Rao Shinde was involved in several conflicts with the British East India Company. He was one of the maininstigators of the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-1805) and remained neutral in the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-1818) in which the Company gained control most of India.
The Marathas, under his leadership, faced defeat at the hands of the British. Daulat Rao Shinde signed the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon in 1803 after defeat in the Battle of Argaon. This treaty resulted in the loss of several territories to the British.
He died on March 21, 1827, and was succeeded by his adopted son, Jankoji Rao Scindia II. The "Company painting" depicts Maharaja Ali Jah Daulat Rao Sindhia of Gwalior (1781-1827) seated on cushions under a canopy, surrounded by courtiers, and was painted by Khairullah of Delhi around 1825. Public Domain image via Wikimedia Commons.