World Money Video Archive
Explore the Rich Diversity of World Money
Travel across continents through our World Money video series. Uncover the history, culture, and craftsmanship behind currencies from around the globe. With engaging presentations on topics from ancient coins to modern currencies, you’ll broaden your knowledge of numismatics on a global scale.
Italian Numismatics: Insights Through Modern History
Instructor: Antonio Crisa
This session will cover Italian numismatics, offering some intriguing starting points for coin collectors, amateurs, and scholars. Through the lens of history and research, the instructor will assess a series of peculiar Italian coinages, mostly relevant to Sicily between the 16th and 19th centuries, and the Kingdom of Italy (1861-46). The instructor will demonstrate how Italian numismatics can offer much information on historical backgrounds, kings, and dictators from the Spanish rulers in Sicily to Mussolini.
Prince of Youth: Coinage Traces the Rise and Fall of Publius Septimius Geta
Instructor: Michael Kodysz
Discusses Severan-era Roman coinage illustrating the life of the Roman emperor Geta. This youngest son of Septimius Severus was propagandized on coins from childhood as destined to rule alongside his brother Caracalla. Coin types legitimizing Geta’s status as imperial heir include those featuring him as Princeps Iuventutis, meaning “prince of youth” or “first among the young.”
Women in Numismatics
Instructor: Mary Lannin
Sculptors and engravers, mint directors and civil servants, rulers and goddesses….women have been an integral part of the history of money. Although we are familiar with women as the subject of coins, who have we overlooked? Join us for a National Coin Week talk about famous and infamous women from 300 BC to the 21 st century.
Siege Stories: Tales of Courage & Defiance
Instructor: Lawrence C. Korchnak, Ph.D.
Part of the ANA’s eLearning Academy. Siege warfare has generated a fascinating area of numismatics. With it comes its share of heroes, heroines and villains. Dr. Korchnak will use coins, medals and tokens to bring these characters to life with excerpts from his soon-to-be-published work on siege coins, OBSIDIONAL COINS OF THE WORLD, 1453-1902.
Symbols of the Sun God on Coins of the Eccentric Emperor Elagabalus
Instructor: Michael A. Kodysz
The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, known to history as Elagabalus, served as chief priest of the Syrian sun god El-Gabal. This talk explores the significant proportion of Elagabalus’ coins that reference the sun god through symbols such as stars, stones, and the emperor’s priestly accouterments.
Rai Stones
Money Museum Masterpiece Series
What would you classify as money? ANA Communications Coordinator Amanda Miller shares the history behind the culture of the Yapese and their form of currency – the Rai stone. This is the first video in the Money Museum Masterpiece Series, which features numismatic items from the ANA’s Money Museum by explaining its history and significance.
Riksdaler Plates
Money Museum Masterpiece Series
Money comes in all shapes and sizes. Take Swedish plate money, for example (also known as riksdaler plates). These were made by hammering copper and silver into sheets, cut to size with shears and then stamped according to their denominations. While they were cheap to produce, they were difficult to use in everyday commerce.
Inheriting a Coin Collection: Ancient or World Coins
Instructor: Rod Gillis
You’ve inherited a coin collection. Now what? This segment addresses the common questions collectors have who’ve recently inherited an Ancient or World coin collection, and what they need to know.
Mexican Voices in Metal and Paper
Instructor: Ricardo de Leon Tallavas
This course examines the general perspective of coins, some medals, and paper money that compose Mexican Numismatics, covering the period from 1492 to 1925.
Mediterranean Coinage Through the Years
Instructor: Doug Mudd
This presentation will help you discover how the Mediterranean Sea played a critical role in the transmission of the idea of money throughout its coastal regions from the invention of coinage to the modern day in the form of international trade coinages.
The Propaganda of Civil War: The Numismatic Legacy of the English Civil Wars
Instructor: Doug Mudd
The Propaganda of Civil War is about the coinage of the English Civil Wars from 1642- 1653. Learn about how the two sides used the messages of coinage to support their cause!
The 5 Kopecks of Catherine the Great
Instructor: Vincent Contessa
Explore the fascinating series of the 50 gram copper 5 Kopecks of Imperial Russia.
The Occupation of Hong Kong and the Life of a Veteran
Instructor: Michael Souza
The presentation covers the numismatic and philatelic issues affecting Hong Kong before, during and after the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II. In addition, it also incorporates the life of my late father who was one of the 14,000 defenders of Hong Kong, his internment as a POW, and his life after the war as an Olympic marksman.
Royal Arch Masonic Pennies of Canada
Instructor: Tom Carson
The idea of a Chapter having a Chapter Specific Die was an American idea. Dr. B. P. Wright 5th President of the American Numismatic Association, worked with some Canadian ANA members and started them off creating Big, Bold and Beautiful Pennies. This seminar will highlight many of the more interesting pennies. The reason a Canadian Chapter can have up to three different charter numbers will be explained. Canadian R.A.M. pennies are beautiful, and the attendee will be amazed by the beauty.
Backstories
Instructor: Lawrence Korchnak
Numismatic notes on selected coins, currency, and exonumia from Benvenuto Cellini’s Renaissance to Chinese strikebreakers in mid 19th century US.
More on Fakes Targeting Collectors, More on Official Counterfeiting
Instructor: Joseph Boling
This two-hour program completes two previous programs that ran overtime. We will start by finishing October’s discussion of counterfeits made to deceive collectors, not to circulate while the notes were current. That will be followed with more information about official counterfeiting – government-against-government operations.
Medieval European Coinage: Part 2 AD 800 – 1496
Doug Mudd
This introduction to the coinage of the medieval world covers the period from the rise of the Carolingian Empire until the beginnings of the modern era at the end of the 15th century.
Medieval European Coinage: Part 1 AD 476 – 800
Instructor: Doug Mudd
This introduction to the coinage of the medieval world covers the period from the fall of the Western Roman Empire until the rise of the Carolingian Empire.
Money of the Afterlife — AKA “To Hell With Money”
Instructor: Walt Ostromecki
Individuals will learn about there naming, the Emperor and Bank of Hell depicted on many along with their uses in Buddhist Temples/Shrines plus yearly traditional rituals such as ‘Qing Ming-The Festival of Pure Brightness’ and the ‘Hungry Ghost Festival where the gates of Hell or Afterlife are thrown open for the deceased to visit the living on earth’.
Overstrikes: Politics, Economics & Damnatio Memoriae on Byzantine Coins
Instructor: Alex Magnolia
Byzantine emperors frequently overstruck the coins of their predecessors. In some instances, this was due to economic necessity, but in others, the move shows clear ideological implications— the destruction of the memory and image of previous rulers. This presentation will explore this fascinating and under studied medieval phenomenon.
Is Anything Ever Really New? Coin & Currency Déjà Vu Over Two Millennia
Instructor: Hans H. Liu, M.D.
History tends to repeat itself. In cultures separated by years to millennia, intriguing situations involving coins and paper currency have recurred. These include fraudulent gold-plating of minor coinage, using imagery to bolster fiat currency, and recycling cannons and shells to make spending money. Coincidence or circumstance? Tune into this talk to decide for yourself.
Providencia – Cultural Landscape and Numismatic Heritage
Instructor: Hussein Larreal
Providencia is an island that served as a leprosarium for western Venezuela between 1831 and 1985. However, more than clinical history, it’s a cultural landscape that meant the modification of a natural environment by a society forcibly installed on its territory, but that developed there its life and local culture, leaving a legacy reflected in buildings, stories and assets; that is the case of coins and banknotes intended solely for the use of leprosy patients.
Coins of the 300: Numismatics of the Persian Wars
Instructor: Doug Mudd
Inspired by the popular movie, 300, a fanciful retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae during the Persian Wars, this talk focuses on the coins of the lands along the route of the Persian army at the beginning of the 5th century BC.
Dutch Sieges of the 16th and 17th Centuries
Instructor: Lawrence Korchnak
The most prolific era of siege coin production was during the struggle for Dutch independence. The Eighty Years’ War was a large-scale insurrection with political roots, economic implications, and deep religious fervor. The story of the events during this period in history can be told by the coins that were created by necessity under the strain of war.
Euro Coins: Cutting-Edge, Continuous, Cultural Contributors
Instructor: Rukmini Dahanukar
This talk focuses on the imagery of the current Euro coins. Even though all its banknotes have the same design across the Euro-zone; the coins have one nation-specific side. Their designs offer a sneak-peek into European diversity. And even though the coins are lower in economic value; they are higher in value for their contribution towards identity, history, heritage & culture. In recent times money is metamorphosing into an e-avatar, but banknotes and coins (especially in the Eurozone) are still very prevalent. The lowest denomination of the banknotes is 5 euros; coins are still needed for your daily shot of caffeine!
A Numismatic Journey through Egyptian Islamic History
Instructor: Gamal Amer, Ph.D.
This presentation is an overview of Egyptian Islamic history based on a journey through gold Islamic coins minted in Egypt. The journey begins in 170 AH (786 CE) and ends at the fall of the Ottoman Empire and their rule of Egypt during World War I in 1335 AH (1916 CE). This represents approximately 1,200 years of the most interesting times for Egypt and the Mediterranean basin. We will look at gold coins and relate them to the socio-economic events occurring in Egypt and the Mediterranean during that period.
Chinese-Made Counterfeit Coins
Instructor: Brian Silliman
This seminar will look at many of the Chinese-made counterfeit coins prevalent in the marketplace. Chinese-made counterfeits of both collector and circulating coinages is more prevalent than ever. While they have improved significantly since the 1970s, they are still fairly easy to detect when you know what to look for. In this course, the ever improving production methods used over the last few decades will be discussed which have led to the greatly improved examples we encounter now. We will review a wide range of fakes and diagnostics for authenticating them. This video is part of the ANA’s Summer Seminar Course Samplers series.
Are Your Papers in Order?
Instructor: Peter Tompa
Increasing numbers of trade restrictions threaten to turn what should be a relaxing and educational hobby with many opportunities for people to people contacts with collectors from abroad into a bureaucratic nightmare. This lecture will highlight the issues and provide some vital information how to limit any stress when buying coins imported from abroad.
Before the Coinage Act of 1857: How Americans Spent their Foreign Money
Instructor: Jesse Kraft
This talk focuses on the way foreign money circulated on a day-to-day basis. Whether converting money from one currency to another, pricing goods in “shillings/pence” into the 19th century, or constantly worrying about counterfeits, Americans depended on a common “toolbox” of methods to navigate this complex system.
The Leading Ladies of Rome
Instructor: Dave Michaels
As Rome transitioned from a republic to an empire, a significant change took place in its coinage—it began to feature portraits of women. Marc Antony was the first Roman leader to place an image of his leading lady, Octavia, on a coin. She was followed shortly thereafter by the appearance of Cleopatra VII, and in the ensuing centuries, it became commonplace to adorn coinage with portraits of Rome’s leading ladies. This presentation will discuss the evolution of such portraits, from depictions of largely adjunct figures in the 1st century to illustrations of distinction in the 2nd century and beyond. Also discussed will be the variety of portrait styles—from starkly realistic to rather emblematic, and back again—from the era of the Byzantine Empire and the Renaissance to more recent coinage.
Politics, Power, & Positioning: Byzantine Empresses on Coinage
Instructor: Prue Fitts
The segue of the Western Roman Empire to the Eastern Roman Empire (aka Byzantine Empire) was gradual—numismatists pinpoint A.D. 491 as the start of the Byzantine Empire because the new emperor, Anastasius I, reorganized the money system at that time. The Western Romans were pagans and used imagery of gods and goddesses on their money, while the Byzantines were Christian and employed crosses and orbs. However, the most radical change—for the purposes of this discussion—was the addition of women rulers on the coinage struck during the reign of Justin II (A.D. 565-78). The title of “empress” did not come with the right to produce coins, so there is significance in their likenesses appearing on the money.
Colonial Currency; German East Africa
Instructor: Douglas Mudd
German East Africa is fascinating because of its location in one of the last regions of the African continent to be explored – the old phrase “Heart of Africa” referred to central Africa and east Africa equally for many decades – and its exploration was the stuff of legends. The search for the source of the Nile, Henry Morton Stanley, David Livingstone, Richard Burton, John Speke, Samuel Baker – all played a part in developing Doug’s interest in the region. When he discovered the numismatic background of what was to become Tanzania, his interest peaked yet again.
Israel Commemorative Coins by Series
Instructor: Simcha Kuritzky
Israel has issued over 600 commemorative coin types, so collecting them can seem daunting. Breaking them down by series makes it easier to collect, either by specializing in certain series or creating a type set across all series. However, few catalogs organize the coins this way.
Sovereign Money, Past, Present and Future
Instructor: Douglas Mudd
This talk is an exploration of the history and origins of money as a form of mass media – a conveyor of meaning – and how it expresses the messages issuing authorities intend and what they tell us about the authorities. To do so, it is necessary to develop an understanding of the symbolism and written shorthand used to convey messages on coinage over time.