As a rule, ancient money commands respect: it has seen and known much, sometimes containing secrets that remain unsolved for centuries. For instance, the material from which a coin is made allows us to conclude what metals were used at that time, how various alloys were composed, and whether the blanks were processed by casting or forging. If you weigh several identical coins, you will get an answer to the question of what units of measurement our distant ancestors used. Are you interested in ancient prices? Add to this some other data, and your curiosity will be more than satisfied. The samples of gold and silver coins will give a complete picture of the wealth of a particular country - if the precious metal is less than declared, it means the ruler deceived the people by debasing the coin.
Metal discs convey to us the likenesses of people who lived many centuries ago. On the drachma of the Sasanian king of Iran, Kavad (who ruled from 489 to 531 AD), we see a man with a distinctly Eastern facial type, with a beard and long hair. How would we know about this if it weren't for this coin? As written sources confirm, a reliable portrait of the great commander Alexander the Great is depicted on the tetradrachm. Coins have also preserved the faces of famous poets, writers, philosophers - Herodotus, Hippocrates, Horace, and others... Many monuments of architecture and art have left only ruins, but coins have conveyed their original appearance through the ages.
Coins can be used to study the flora and fauna of the countries where they were minted, to restore certain legends, to determine the time of great battles and sporting Olympics through episodes. What gods were revered, in which temples services were held, and what ancient rituals were like - metal money can tell us about this too. As well as about political struggles, for example, between kings and popes: French King Louis XII, out of hatred for Pope Julius II, ordered the inscription on coins: "Let us destroy the name of Babylon" - the king referred to papal power...
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since metal money came into use. From household items - knives, nails, arrowheads, dishes, which were exchanged like any other goods, they gradually became money. Among the Germans: "pfanne" (pan) - "pfennig". Eastern knives were weapons, but over time they became lighter, lost their blades and handles, and took on a special monetary form of rings that were carried around on a string. In China, pieces of metal in the shape of a "shirt," resembling clothing of that time, circulated as money. Over the years, money began to take on specific forms: in Indochina - thick copper rods, in North America - lead balls, in Africa - pieces of iron shaped like horseshoes; in Cambodia - iron diamonds...
