Coins are an unrivaled source of information about the past. They survive in large numbers, and unlike most other artifacts they are often stamped with words, images, and dates. In this generously illustrated book, a recognized authority on ancient coins offers a cogent lesson in how to evaluate the evidence that coins provide. With examples from antiquity through the seventeenth century, Burnett explains how we can establish when and where a coin was made, and what a coin's function as a piece of money tells us about the economy in which it participates. Finally, he asks how we can use the designs of coins to throw light on the political, religious, and cultural life of the past.
