Aims

- To analyse the different monetary systems in their economic, social and political context.
- To be able to make a correct inventory of numismatic collections.

Main themes

Introduction to the study of monetary documents of the Middle Ages and Modern Era and examination of recognition criteria (striking, metal, weight, legend, iconography, circulation).
Application to our former principalities and study of ateliers.
Study of money as dating method in archaeology and links to lectures on archive sources, history of techniques, and economic history.

Content and teaching methods

Content :
- Numismatics and monetary history, followed by a presentation of numismatic sources.
- The work methods (study of dies, weight, metals, hoards, coins from excavations).
- History of money from the Middle Ages and the Modern Era (the Later Empire-Byzantium, the Merovingians, the Carolingian denarius, the feudal denarius, the transformations of the " XIIIth century " (1160-1330), bimetallism and its consequences (1330-1500), the era of the silver thaler (XVth-XVIIth centuries.)
- The art of medals : technical and artistic aspects, from the Renaissance till the XXth century.

Method :
Essentially lectures with a visit to the Coin Cabinet of Brussels and another one to the collections of the UCL ; identification exercice of determination of numismatic objects.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisites : a good knowledge of the history of the Western world.

Assessment : oral.

Other credits in programs