Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700 (Ancient Society and History) |
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Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700 (Ancient Society and History)
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by Kenneth W. Harl
Sales Rank: 779270
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List Price: $67.00
$48.24
At Amazon
on 6-22-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 472 pages
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press June 19, 1996
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0801852919
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0801852916
Book Dimensions:
8.7 x 5.6 x 1.6 inches
Weighs: 1.6 pounds
Product Review
""This thought-provoking work should be important reading for scholars in a variety of disciplines. It challenges, for example, the long-held belief that a large-scale drain of Roman specie went to India and the East in the early centuries of the Roman Empire and the concept that the western provinces of the Roman Empire were never completely monetized. These reinterpretations and others, presented forcefully with careful documentation, should arouse the attention of anyone interested in ancient or medieval history, economics, or numismatics." -- History
Book Description
Richly illustrated with photographic reproductions of nearly three hundred specimens, Coinage in the Roman Economy offers a significant contribution to Roman economic history. The first comprehensive history of how Roman coins were minted and used.
Reader Reviews
A previous Amazon.com reviewer of Kenneth Harl's "Coinage in the Roman Economy" expressed an interest in seeing a review of the book from the viewpoint of other than a numismatist. I suppose that I can at least partly do this. Although I do collect some ancient Roman coins, I am quite casual in my approach to it and, in truth, I am more interested in the history and people behind the coins than the coins as objects in themselves. In looking on the Internet for information about the use and "real world" value of coins in the Roman Empire, I came across mention of Professor Harl's book. Wanting to better understand how those discolored bits of silver and bronze had come to be and how they were used, I understood that there was no better source. "Coinage in the Roman Economy" is unabashedly, unflinchingly academic in its approach to its subject. Expect no whimsical anecdotes about mad emperors; don't imagine that there will be thrilling descriptions of great battles. It is safe to say that Brad Pitt's agent is not negotiating for screen rights to the book. Page after page, Harl details the intricacies of Roman monetary policy, how emperors gradually (and sometimes not so gradually) diluted the precious metal content of the coins, reduced their weight, and repeatedly altered exchange rates in efforts to achieve financial stability. Yet, there is an oddly compelling flow and rhythm to that description of one thousand years of coin history as we watch the story of this instrument of Roman power and art play out against a distant background of civil wars, invasions, foreign wars, and calamities. To tackle this book, a reader should already be familiar with the central events and personalities in the long history of Rome. Otherwise, the information presented cannot be integrated with the larger story. But for the student of Roman history, there is much here not readily available elsewhere, including insights into the standard of living in those distant centuries. For collectors of ancient coins, of course, there is another entire realm of information contained in this book: explanations of the how those treasured bits of metal were manufactured and distributed, how much a denarius could buy under Augustus and how little under Claudius Gothicus, why new eras brought new coins such as the aurelianus and the nummus. The ideal reader of "Coinage in the Roman Economy" is one who blends interests in both Rome and the coins themselves. It is not light reading, by any means, but effort expended will be rewarded by a new appreciation of the real importance of these small pieces of metal to that complex and now-vanished world.
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Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700 (Ancient Society and History)
Available from Amazon
Price: $48.24
Updated on 6-22-2008.
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