76 until it received a crown of olive leaves, positioned above Athena’s head. Little by little, the coins were gaining more details and turning into true works of art. Alexander the Great’s reign marked Greek history and is reflected in the coins of the period. With him, international coinage was first recorded - part of his plan to unite Asia and Europe. In addition, it was under his power that the most beautiful coins of the time were seen: the silver tetradrachms. Alexander died in 323 BC, but remained alive in numismatics until 113 BC: many kings continued to mint coins with his effigy until that date. COINS AND THE SACRED It was common for coins to have names related to the divine. For example, Aes, a roman coin, comes from assum,H or roast, a reference to sacred banquets. It took a while until Rome discovered its talent for coin minting. While minting was already an art form in Greece and Sicily by the fourth century BC, Rome still used animals as the main trade currency. Around 335 BC, when the Roman Republic discovered its potential for warfare and lawmaking, the first official coin appeared, made of heavy bronze and of circular shape: the aes grave, also called ace or as. On the obverse of asses is Janus, the Roman god of changes and transitions, with two heads. Rome was not a maritime power yet, but the most common reverse in asses was the prow of a ship . SHIPS It is believed that the reference to ships in the roman coins in the fourth century BC is a tribute to the victory in Anzio in 338 BC during the Second Latin War. the romans pulled off the bows of the enemy ships and took them to the forum as a symbol of triumph. It is estimated that imperial coinage began with Caesar in 44 BC in a transition from the Republic. It was with him that the effigy of a living person first appeared on a Roman coin, and during this period it became usual to represent leaders and prominent figures in politics. One can say that the Romans recovered their lost time in coin minting: they had one of the most continuous one, from 335 BC to 476 AD, and the variety also stands out - they used all kinds of metals. MONETA, MOEDA, MONEY Have you ever wondered where the word money comes from? And how it resembles the way we call money in other languages? the romans built their mint within the temple of goddess Juno Moneta. the terms money (English), moeda (Portuguese), monnaie (French), moneda (Spanish) and münze (German) derive frommoneta. REPRESENT LEADERS FROM MEMORY TO DAMNATION When Roman emperors died violently or suspiciously, their successors immediately ordered the senate to consecrate the dead one – even to prove that they were not involved. For the consecration to become public, coins were issued with the titles Consecratio Aeternitas or Aeternae Memoriae – which translates into Consecration to eternity or Of eternal memory. However, the opposite was common, too. Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, known as Caracalla, wanted his brother’s existence erased from history. First, he had him killed. Then, to consummate oblivion, he ordered the elimination of everything in his memory - including the coins. The procedure became known as Damnatio Memoriae (Memory Damnation) and has been widely used throughout history: it is possible to find many units whose names were scraped off the legends. UFOS AND NUMISMATICS the gods Were Astronauts. the statement in the title of Erich von Däniken’s book is quite pertinent in this case: some roman coins have images of stars and celestial spheres engraved that very much resemble supernatural events. IMMORTALIZED Two hundred and fifteen characters were immortalized in coins in five centuries of Ancient Rome. At least 181 families marked roman coins with their names. MIDDLE AGES AND RENAISSANCE Roman coinage inspired many peoples, including the Byzantines. However, they retained their particularities, especially the format: they were often made of bowl-shaped coins. In addition, they engraved sacred images on them - like Jesus and the Virgin Mary - until the empire of the iconoclastic Leo III. That’s why these figures disappeared from 717 AD to 843 AD. In 886 AD, perhaps one of the most famous coins of the world originated: the penny - in the plural, pence. It was born along with the opening of the English mint, the Royal Mint, created by Alfred the Great. In 1154, under the reign of Henry II, the name sterling first appeared - today, the pound sterling is the official currency of the United Kingdom. A little more than two centuries later, in 1360, the franc originated during the Hundred Years’ War under the reign of John II of France. FRANC The franc a cheval (franc on horseback), as the units issued during the reign of john ii were known, showed the monarch galloping on his horse, with a drawn sword. On the reverse, a streaked cross with leaves and a four-lobed leaf in the center. After his death, the franc à pied (franc on foot) was also minted - in which the king appeared walking on foot, obviously. Both coins appeared in other reigns and were copied by many rulers. It sought to stabilize the economy and pay for the ransom of the king, captured by the English at the Battle