29626 - Numismatics (1) (LM)

Academic Year 2020/2021

  • Docente: Anna Morelli
  • Credits: 6
  • SSD: L-ANT/04
  • Language: Italian

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to use the large amount of information provided by the numismatic evidence in order to analyze and reconstruct historical and archaeological contexts, Furthermore, students will be able to interpretet ancient coin iconography as an important source for historical and artistic studies, in the light of the political and technical rules governing ciconographic choices. Students will know how to identify coins of several periods. They will be able to organize the scientific use of the data, contextualizing them in the history of the territory and to reach out to public audiences. They will fully utilize the main IT tools in the areas of specific competence.

Course contents

The course aims to outline the history of ancient Greek and Roman coinage, paying particular attention to the iconography of coin types in different historical periods. Some lessons will be devoted to the coinage of the mint of Ravenna.


The following topics will be covered during the course:

  • Characteristics and contents of the discipline.
  • Outlines of Greek and Roman numismatics.
  • The numismatic evidence in archaeological research: coin hoards and dating criteria.
  • Focus on: "The mint of Ravenna and its coinage".

Readings/Bibliography

The following texts are mandatory for the preparation of the exam

Attending students:

Textbook

  • F. Barello, Archeologia della moneta. Produzione e utilizzo nell'antichità, Roma, 2006.

Articles

  • A.L. Morelli, Ravenna (Emilia-Romagna), in L. Travaini (a cura di), Le zecche italiane fino all'Unità, Roma, 2011, pp. 1045-1059.
  • A.L. Morelli, P. Novara, Sedi di zecca e monetazione in Ravenna dall'antichità al tardo medioevo, in "Atti e Memorie della Deputazione di Storia Patria per le province di Romagna", 58 (2008), pp. 151-200.
  • A.L. Morelli, Il gruzzolo di via Luca Longhi a Ravenna, in E. Ercolani Cocchi (a cura di), Il gruzzolo di via Luca Longhi a Ravenna. Città, monete e mercanti nel Medioevo, Ravenna, 1997, pp. 19-29.

Further reading for non attending-students:

  • E. Ercolani Cocchi, Monete ed economia a Ravenna. Dal periodo longobardo all'inizio della dominazione veneziana, in E. Ercolani Cocchi (a cura di), Il gruzzolo di via Luca Longhi a Ravenna, Città, monete e mercanti nel Medioevo, Ravenna, 1997, pp. 11-18.

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

Teaching methods

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

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.

  • 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