Money that Tells a Story
Carrhae was the Biblical city of Haran, and was mentioned in Assyrian monuments as Harranu, meaning "Road". Abraham came there from Ur with his family, which remained there while he continued on to Canaan. Crassus was defeated and killed by the Parthians there, in 53 B.C.; and Emperor Galerius was also defeated there 350 years later. Prior to his war against Persia, Julian II (the Apostate) preferred to reside there instead of Edessa, because the latter was a Christian city. Harran is today a Bedouin village, with ruins of a Roman camp, churches, and a fortress dating from the Crusades. Nearby is the well where Rebecca was drawing water, when Eliezer found her.
MACEDON, Alexander the Great, Tetradrachm, after 323 B.C., 17.2 grams
Struck at the Carrhae mint, after Alexander's death. On the obverse is the head of Herakles, facing right, wearing a lion's skin headdress, knotted at base of his neck. On the reverse is Zeus, father/king of the gods, enthroned facing left, holding a scepter, and an eagle on his outstretched arm, with Alexander's name in Greek, ALEXANDPOY behind. Mint mark ST in left field, and monogram SR below throne. Struck under Antigonos I Monophthalmos, circa 325/4-317 B.C. References: Price 3802, Muller 1466.
CENTRAL ITALY, Sextans
The earliest Roman coinage followed that of the Greek colonies in Southern Italy. Issued during the Republican era, c.280-260 B.C., these coins were cast bronze pieces, with their value based on the Roman system of weights. The earliest Ases weighed a cumbersome 324 grams, equal to a Roman libra (pound). The As was divided into twelve Uncias (ounces), along with three other fractional denominations.: the Semis, equal to half an As; the Triens a third; and the Sextans a sixth, with their weights proportionate to their value. Shortly after the introduction of the bronze coinage, silver didrachms (and some drachms) were minted, in order to facilitate trade with Rome's neighbors. Cast bronze coinage continued to be issued for seven decades, but with gradually reduced weight standards, until it was replaced by struck coins, c.211 B.C., under the monetary reforms that were made necessary by the Second Punic War.
CENTRAL ITALY, Sextans, 280-260 B.C., 39.76 grams
On the obverse is an Owl standing, facing left, with a Boar's head facing left, dividing two pellets. A very rare coin, with only six specimens known to Thurlow and Vecchi. References: RCV 574 Crawford 35/2; Sydenham 174, T&V 217. (Lot #114, Stack's Coin Galleries 11-12-03 Auction.)
Astronomer Michael Molnar, in his book, The Star of Bethlehem, offers his educated opinion that the Star that led the Magi to travel to Judaea in search of the Christ child was actually the planet Jupiter, that rose as a morning star in the constellation of Aries the Ram (ancient symbol of Judaea) on April 17, 6 B.C. While other theories have held that the Star was a supernova, Molnar states that a supernova was not held to be a significant astrological event by the ancients. He also dismisses the possibility of a comet, because the ancients considered comets to be an bad omen, of death, or of war, not a good omen of the birth of a king. It is possible, however that the Star was a literary invention, many years later, when the Book of Matthew was written, to elevate the historical significance of the birth of Jesus.
SYRIA, Antioch Æ22, 64 B.C., 7.0 grams
Struck at Antioch, after the annexation of Syria by the Romans. On the obverse is Zeus, paramount among the Greek's gods and goddesses of Olympus, with a Ram, looking backwards at a star, possibly the "Star of Bethlehem."
In 1732 the Spanish mint at Mexico City began producing coins by striking blanks in a press, with a collar. These ''milled'' eight reales coins, gained acceptance throughout the Americas, since they were of regular size and weight, unlike the crudely struck ''cobs'' that had preceded them. They were popularly known as ''Pillar Dollars'' (from the design) or ''Pieces of Eight'' (from the practice of cutting them in pieces to make change), most often in quarters (two reales), from which we get the expression ''two bits.''
For the American colonists, the Spanish coins were a convenient method of exchange, since England had left them to their own devices. Often, contracts specified Spanish Milled Dollars for payment, and Maryland even used the word ''dollar,'' and showed two Spanish milled dollars on its 1770 two-dollar paper currency.
Later, the Continental Congress in 1775 approved bills of credit for defense amounting to two million Spanish milled dollars. And in 1776, Thomas Jefferson recommended that the United States adopt the ''Pillar Pieces of Eight'' as its monetary standard, since business was transacted in those coins. In 1777, Robert Morris, the Superintendent of Finance in the Continental Congress, wrote: ''The various coins which have circulated in America have undergone different changes in their value, so that there is hardly any which can be considered as a general standard, unless it be Spanish dollars.''
It would be another twenty years before the United States had its own mint, and even then, the Spanish coins, often clipped or worn, circulated freely, while United States coins, of higher intrinsic value, were hoarded, or shipped to Europe.
This kept the Spanish ''dollars'' in circulation for decades, and Congress was forced to extend their legal tender status until 1857-60, when the U.S. Treasury redeemed them at a discount for the new small cents that were issued to replace the old large copper cents and half cents, which were also being removed from circulation.
SPAIN, Mexico City, 8 Reales, 1741, 26.5 grams
On the obverse, the two hemispheres of the earth represent the Old and New Worlds, with waves below to represent the sea that divided the Old and New Worlds. The Pillars of Hercules represent the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain's gateway to the new world, and the crowns show Spain's power over both the Old and New worlds. The banners on the Pillars show the motto PLUS VLTRA, ''more beyond,'' a reference to the discovery of the New World. At the top is the legend VTRAQUE VNUM, '''both are one,'' an expression of Spain's oneness with its colonies, with the date and mintmarks at the bottom.
On the reverse is the crowned Spanish Royal family's coat of arms, with the castle representing Castile, the lion representing Leon, and the fleur de lis representing the Bourbon dynasty. On the left are the assayer's initials, with the denomination on the right. The legend PHILIP V D G HISPAN ET IND REX, stands for ''Philip V, by the grace of God, king of Spain and the Indies.''
This coin (and 50,000 others, along with many artifacts) was recovered from the wreck of the Dutch East India Company's ship Hollandia, after it was discovered in 1971. The Hollandia, a 750-ton ship of 32 guns and a crew of 276 men, was built in 1742, and sunk on its maiden voyage June 13, 1743, with the loss of all hands. She was under sail with three other ships, and nearly through the English Channel, when rough weather caused her to get separated from the others, and apparently struck Gunners Rock off Annet island, in the Isles of Scilly.
After Britain's American colonists declared their independence in 1776, raising and maintaining an army became both a priority and a problem. Since taxation by the King had provoked the Revolution, the Continental Congress was reluctant to levy taxes, and chose to pay for the War by borrowing money. When people failed to lend money by buying bonds, Congress resorted to printing money, in ever-greater amounts. The issuance of paper money backed by nothing more than Revolutionary spirit produced the inevitable result: spiraling inflation. In 1778 General Washington complained, "It takes a wagon load of money to pay for a wagon load of supplies." Inflation eventually rendered Continental Currency worthless, and inspired the phrase, ''not worth a Continental.''
One of the signers of this note was John Leacock (1729-1802). His father, a merchant, apprenticed him to a goldsmith or a silversmith, and soon the young John Leacock had prospered, enabling him at 23 to marry Hannah McCally. The following year, he received a sizable inheritance from his father, and he moved his business to the heart of Philadelphia's Front Street silver and gold trade, where he sold tea services, snuff boxes, buckles, and a variety of other goods. With the help of his brothers-in-law David Hall and James Read, and Benjamin Franklin, Leacock was able to sell his wares to the colonial elite of Philadelphia, and his social standing rose. He signed the 1754 petition to build St. Peter's Church, and in 1759 became the 88th member of the prestigious Colony in Schuylkill.
Like many of his fellow wealthy Philadelphians, Leacock purchased a 28-acre plantation in 1767, shortly before Hannah died. Leacock eventually participated less directly in his trade, preferring life as part of the landed gentry, raising wheat, buckwheat, vegetables, fruit, and livestock. He remarried in 1771, and began experimenting with vine cultivation, and in 1772, proposed a ''public vineyard by subscription, for the good of all the Provinces'' on his plantation, that would serve as a clearinghouse for the cultivation of many different varieties of grape, to be exported and adapted to other regions of the country, with cuttings made available to the public free of charge.
Leacock's involvement in politics began before then, while he still lived in the city. As a member of the Society of the Sons of Saint Tammany and one of the signatories to the Non-Importation resolution of 1765, he was associated with the Revolutionary faction in Philadelphia from its earliest days, and gained fame as a playwright in the cause of independence. His biblical parody/satire, ''The First Book of the American Chronicles of the Times'' was widely reprinted in newspapers.
Although the Continental Congress had passed a resolution in1774 discouraging all forms of public entertainment, plays were still published, including Leacock's patriotic ''The Fall Of British Tyranny, Or, American Liberty Triumphant.'' in 1776. Though never performed, the play was the first to portray George Washington, and chronicled the early war years, as well as the events leading up to Revolution.
When the British occupied Philadelphia in 1777, Leacock wisely departed for Reading, where he became one of only two dozen men authorized to sign bills of credit for the United States. Later, after the British left Philadelphia, he left his farm in his brother's care, and returned to the city. He was appointed coroner in 1785, an office he held for 17 years, and also ran an inn on Water Street, until his death on November 16, 1802.
CONTINENTAL CURRENCY, $30, January 14, 1779
Between January 14 and November 29, 1779, Congress passed seven separate resolutions authorizing the printing of paper currency. Over 95 million dollars worth of notes were eventually issued, all dated January 14, 1779, in sixteen different denominations, from $1 to $80 face value, supposedly payable in Spanish milled dollars, or the equivalent in gold or silver. By the time these notes were actually issued later in the year, Congress had already devalued them to $7.42 for each dollar in silver coin. And by 1780, when Washington's army was reduced to foraging, and confiscating supplies to continue the struggle, one silver Spanish dollar was worth 40 dollars in Continental paper currency.
The notes were printed by Hall and Sellers, of Philadelphia, on paper made at Ivy Mills in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The paper contained blue fibers and mica flakes, and is watermarked "CONFEDE / RATION" in two lines, readable from the front. These devices were to foil counterfeiters -- which included the British military. The border on the front of the notes uses the legend "United States of North America," with various emblems, and the backs have various leaf and cloth nature prints. The front of this specimen shows a wreath on a tomb, with the motto: "Si recte facies" (If you act righteously). The nature print on the back shows a sprig of climbing fumitory, a vine often used for medicinal purposes.
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