66937 - Ancient and Medieval Numismatics

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide skills usefull to the identification and interpretation of ancient and medieval coins as historical and archaeological sources, through a critical reading of the numismatic evidence in different historical periods and cultural contexts. At the end of the course, students will be able to identify coins of several periods, with particular reference to Italian production, to understand the guidelines for setting up scientific research un numismatics, to approach the problems of managing and preserving the numismatic heritage in public collections.

Course contents

The course aims to outline the history of ancient and medieval coinage, with particular reference to the Ravenna mint.

The following topics will be covered during the course:

• Characteristics and contents of the discipline.
• Outlines of ancient and medieval numismatics.
• Knowledge, enhancement and use of the numismatic heritage.
• The numismatic evidence in archaeological research: coin hoards and dating criteria.
• Focus on: "Beyond the coin: non-monetary uses of numismatic materials".

Readings/Bibliography

The following texts are mandatory for the preparation of the exam

Foreknowledges: The course requires a basic knowledge of the discipline. In the absence of a preparation carried out during the three-year degree course, students should read the following handbook: F. Barello, Archeologia della moneta. Produzione e utilizzo nell'antichità, Roma 2006.

Attending students:

Textbook

• D. Castrizio, Manuale di numismatica medievale, Reggio Calabria, 2005.

Articles

• A.L. Morelli, Il gioiello monetale in età romana, in I. Baldini Lippolis, M.T. Guaitoli (a cura di), Oreficeria antica e medievale. Tecniche, produzione, società, Bologna, 2009, pp. 79-101.

• E. Filippini, Un gruzzolo di gettoni di conto dagli scavi di piazza Matteotti a Imola, in I. Baldini, A.L. Morelli (a cura di), Beni da conservare. Forme di tesaurizzazione in età romana e medievale, Bologna, 2020, pp. 147-168.

Further reading for non attending-students:

• C. Perassi, Usi “non monetali” delle monete romane. Monete-gioiello, monete-talismano, monete-offerta, in G. Russo, M. Chimienti (a cura di), Colloqui di Numismatica. I, 2003-2004, Bologna, 2005, pp. 37-49.

All bibliographic resources are available on the platform virtuale.unibo.it.

Teaching methods

• Frontal lessons.
• Practical exercises: identification and cataloging of ancient coins.

Students who are affected by learning disability (DSA) and in need of special strategies to compensate it, are kindly requested to contact the Teacher, in order to be referred to the colleagues in charge and get proper advice and instructions.

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

The final exam will be conducted orally and will assess the students' knowledge of the program contents, based on the bibliographic material indicated above.

Students will be asked to provide an organic view of the topics developed during the course, making connections between them and showing the ability to analyze and interpret the acquired data.

In particular, each student will be asked two questions aimed at assessing basic knowledge of ancient (Greek and Roman) and medieval numismatics. A third question will focus on one of the articles included in the specific bibliography of the course.

• Top marks will be awarded to students displaying their ability to use the numismatic evidence as a source for historical reconstruction, combined with a critical approach to the discipline and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.

• Fair marks will be awarded to students demonstrating a mnemonic knowledge of the subject, combined with a correct, but not always appropriate, command of the field-specific language.

• A pass mark (or just above) will be assigned to students showing a superficial knowledge of the material, in addition to a scarce analytical and expressive ability in the discussion of the topics examined.

• Students will be deemed to have failed the exam if they display significant gaps in their understanding of the subject, in addition to a partial and inadequate knowledge of the bibliography, and/or together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Students won't be admitted to the oral exam if they don't prepare all texts.

Teaching tools

• Frontal lessons with PowerPoint presentations.
• Use of traditional tools and Numismatics-related electronic resources.

Office hours

See the website of Anna Morelli