How were medieval coins made?

How were medieval coins made?

As a crafter of worlds, I created an economy for my medieval fantasy series, and that included a set of medieval dragon coins. But my artisans need to know how to make these coins, which is why I delved into the topic of wealth creation and how medieval coins were made. 

The pursuit and control of wealth is a continuing theme in the life of humanity and so I could not help but investigate who were the wealthiest rulers in history. King Solomon comes up as one of the wealthiest men in history. He was reportedly also the wisest of kings. An article about the world’s richest men in Marketwatch.com estimated that King Solomon received $40 million per year in tribute. This gives him a net worth of approximately $2.2 trillion in today’s currency. But as there was no minting process available in his lifetime, this king did not have a coin with his face on it, even though we can now find commemorative coins dedicated to his legacy. Solomon used a system of standardised stone weights to evaluate the metals used in barter tractions. 

The first coins in history reportedly came from the Lydians, a small and wealthy merchant nation in western Asia Minor. These coins appeared from around 640 BC were made of Electrum, which is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. Many of their coins had an image of a lion embedded in them. Coiners used a simple technique of hitting a hammer onto the coin to create an impression for these early coins. 

Another name that emerged in the article was Augustus Caesar, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, who had an estimated asset value of $4.6 trillion. According to the Joukowsky Institute, Augustus Caesar was the first living Roman leader to mint coins with his own portrait on it on a regular basis. Augustus had his coins minted in Colonia Patricia in Spain, which was an area under his control, and used them to pay troops and build his influence. I think he could have taught the crypto currency creators a thing or two about building wealth.

In 800 AD, the period in which my books are written, medieval artisans made coins by pouring molten metal into a die which had pre-engraved designs on them. In order to ensure that the coins had a uniform weight, the coiner would shave off some of the coin if it was overweight. If the coin was underweight, the caster would melt down the coin and recreate it.

How were medieval coins made?  The medieval coin die process

A coiner would place a softened metal blank coin into a two part die which was secured on a workbench. These artisans purchased the dies from an engraver who created the design for the coins on the dies. While we use heads and tails to describe sides of the coins, minters used the terms obverse (the front) and reverse (the back). The die for the obverse was called a trussell, and the pile was the die for the reverse design of the coin. With one firm strike of the hammer, the coiner would slam the dies together and thereby create the impressions on the coin. An engraver would supply three reverse dies for every obverse die because the reverse die would have more wear and tear due to the weight of the obverse die constantly bearing down on it.

In my medieval fantasy series, my coiner is a blacksmith named Nullah who, together with his wife Peberra, are part of the dragon artisans society. The dragon coins they create are always made of gold and, once acquired, are melted down for use in normal society. Dragon artisans are highly skilled craftspeople who are allies of the dragons and their Whisperers. Nullah and Peberra emerge in book 3, The Call of the Ancients and become entangled in one of King Radolf’s plots later on in the series.  

While a Christian Medieval Fantasy may seem far removed from the world of wealth and economics, in my quest to reintroduce wisdom into the art of storytelling, you will find a number if real world principles imbedded into the pages of the Chronicles of Nadine series.



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One old use for vinegar Hippocrates and his contemporaries favoured included oxymel, which was a remedy for persistent coughs. They made this ancient medicine of honey and vinegar.

Mental Health Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

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If you know of someone who is suffering with mental health issues, reach out to them and also to organisations who can help. Too often, people live in silent shame and don’t get the help they need.

Dragon Mugs

If you love dragons, then these Dragon coffee mugs are for you. Muquin is a Silver Wing Dragon from the Chronicles of Nadine epic Fantasy Series.

Books

Have a look at Kim’s books in the series.

Kim Vermaak is a South African born author, speaker, trainer and bookstore owner who has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years and in that time; she has helped hundreds of authors, brand managers and entrepreneurs build their brands. Kim’s super power is using the power of what many see as crushing events and using them to transform not only herself but the hearts and minds of others.

She was a winner of a Regional business award, a recipient of the Panache Woman of Wonder Award and has been featured in publications such as Cosmopolitan and Destiny Magazine and served as the vice chair for the Johannesburg Business Women’s Association.

Kim’s passion for bringing wisdom back into the art of storytelling touched the hearts of her medieval fantasy series but she also has a love for teaching authors to create strong foundations for building book-preneur businesses that help them turn their dreams of being an author into a reality. You can connect with Kim via her website, www.writelearnandearn.co.za or www.kimvermaak.com or via LinkedIn.

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