Barrie Cook

The late 12th and 13th centuries witnessed complete national recoinages in 1180, 1247 and 1279, with the entire national stock of money reminted. After 1279 this did not happen again, with changes to coinage standards from 1351 onwards creating an environment that instead removed older coin more gradually. The collapse of the Angevin empire, Magna Carta and its ramifications, the creation of Parliament and the commencement of major Anglo-Scottish wars all impacted on how currency functioned across this period. The aim of this publication is to publish English coin hoards in the context of each of the successive currency periods between 1180 - around the time England arguably became a fully monetised land, with the silver penny under its recently emerged name of sterling - to 1351, when the penny-dominated currency was replaced by a multi-denominational one in both gold and silver. While the hoards discussed in this publication are seen in their national context, they are also placed firmly in their very local context, identifying relevant local economic and social forces and activities. This approach illuminates the place of money in the lives of the majority of England’s inhabitants, especially as this was the period in which medieval taxation reached its definitive form. With only a handful of exceptions, most of the hoards discussed represent money held by the lower levels of society, above all agricultural workers, whether of free or villein status: this is money in the world of the manor, the village and the parish, not the city, court or government.

Money makes the world. For millennia, currencies have brought order (and disorder) to human society, directing trade, growing economies, developing national identities and religions-and spreading empires. More than ever, money's power to shape our character, our politics, and our daily lives is clear. This revelatory history of ten major currencies details how the trajectory of world civilization is bound up with the movement of money. From the earliest measures of precious metals to the global fiat currencies we use today, the evolution of the shekel, the drachma, the denarius, the florin, the franc, the mark, the rupee, the yen, the pound, and the dollar tracks closely with the rise and fall of influential rulers, governments, and imperial powers. These coins have acted as powerful symbols of political expression and continuity despite deeply disruptive social, economic, and political change. Rich with illustrations from the famous collections at the British Museum and elsewhere, this book charts the fascinating path of each coin as it has traveled throughout history.

Deniers and ducats, groats and guilders, crowns and cruzados: this fun, engaging and beautifully illustrated little book explores the role of money and medals in William Shakespeare’s world and work. "A fascinating account of Shakespeare's cosmopolitan world, illustrated with breathtaking images that bring to life the rich material culture that shaped Shakespeare's writings and his age. This is a superb volume, one that will have pride of place on my bookshelf." -Professor James Shapiro, author of 1599 and Contested Will Angels & Ducats: Shakespeare's Money and Medals "Barrie Cook knows more about coins and medals in Shakespeare's world and works than anyone alive; Angels and Ducats is an invaluable guide for anyone interested in how money mattered in Elizabethan and Jacobean England." -Professor James Shapiro, author of 1599 and Contested Will

The study of Byzantine coins is essentially the study of communications and movement of people and ideas, within and outside Byzantium. This highly illustrated and accessible volume focuses on over 50 coins to explore the empire's political and socio-economic development and cultural relations with its neighbours. It looks variously at city markets and the exchange of goods between different parts of the Byzantine Empire; at Byzantines travelling to the West; including trade between the Svear and the Romans and trade with Britain; Byzantines travelling to the East, including Armenia, Anatolia and China; the Byzantine legacy in the Islamic world, including the cult of Alexander the Great; and Western merchants in the East, particularly Venetians. The study concludes with the story of the late Byzantine emperors travelling to the West, and the impact their journeys had on western European art. AUTHOR: Eurydice S. Georganteli is curator of the Barber Institute Coin Collection and Lecturer in Numismatics at the University of Birmingham. Eurydice Georganteli studied archaeology and history of art at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Oxford. Between 1992 and 1998 she worked for the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, as well as special research assistant in the Department of Coins and Medals, British Museum. She has been a Byzantine Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks Centre,Washington D. C. and a Robinson Scholar at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, before her current appointment at the University of Birmingham as curator of the Barber Institute coin collection and university lecturer in numismatics. Her publications focus on studies of coin finds, monetary circulation and medieval art. Barrie Cook is curator of Medieval and early modern coinage in the Department of Coins and Medals at The British Museum. He has published extensively on medieval coinage. 80 colour illustrations