Ancient Money

Catalog description

Introductory overview of the different coinages and monetary practices of ancient societies from the Mediterranean to East Asia and beyond. Topics include the basics of numismatics; regional features and change over time; monetary and fiscal developments. We will adopt a broad cross-cultural perspective and draw on Stanford's coin collection. Students are expected to prepare class presentations on specific topics. The course is required for certain PhD students on the ancient history track; graduate students and advanced undergraduates with a background in ancient studies are welcome.