The Fascination of Ancient Coins
Carson Teaching Gallery
Join numismatist Jerry Theodorou for an exclusive look at ancient Greek coins.
Reservation required - see below
This workshop is free, but space is limited. Please RSVP to ealvord@mtholyoke.edu to reserve a spot by Monday, February 3.
Ancient coins open many windows into the world of the ancients. Beyond their appeal as works of art and as historical documents, they tell stories about the mythology, cults, and gods of antiquity. What is more, they bear witness to the politics, propaganda and economy in ancient times. Join numismatist Jerry Theodorou in a workshop focusing on ancient Greek coins that introduces the many ways ancient coins have held interest through the centuries for museums, collectors, art historians, classicists and anyone with an interest in ancient Greece.
The workshop features an illustrated presentation and lecture introducing the allure of ancient coins, and also includes a hands-on exploration of coins from the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum’s collection. An expert in ancient numismatics, Mr. Theodorou has published numerous articles and given talks on ancient coins at, among other institutions, Cornell University and New York University.
This workshop is offered in conjunction with the exhibition Money Matters: Meaning, Power, and Change in the History of Currency.
Events And Links
Money comes in a surprising multitude of forms and serves a variety of functions. We can trade it, we can hoard it, we can use it to measure our debts. However, Money Matters: Meaning, Power, and Change in the History of Currency demonstrates that money is much more. The objects on view...
Desmond Fitz-Gibbon, Associate Professor of History, and Aaron Miller, Associate Curator of Visual and Material Culture
Money doesn’t just talk. It’s also good to think with. Assistant Professor of History Desmond Fitz-Gibbon describes some of the intriguing stories told by coins and other money-related objects in the MHCAM collection: a Spanish real with layers of history, a gold solidus with a disturbing omission, and an assignat, France’s first paper currency. Taught bienially in the spring semester, Professor Fitz-Gibbon’s History of Money course explores the meaning of money from the distant past to the present day.