Plant Iconography on Coins

This book is for coin enthusiasts. If you are new to coin collecting or if you are an expert numismatist, you will find this book helpful. This book offers something for everyone. In many ways this is a reference book, listed coins with factual data about their properties and mintage. Yet, it reads like a novel. At least, that was the author's purpose. The book is filled with insightful historical stories related to the people and plants depicted on the coins. Yes, it is about plants. And it is about plant iconography, which is the symbolic use of plants on coins. And it is about art. The depictions of plants on coins are stunning. Note though, that while there are no photos in this book, the author went to great lengths to fully describe the images on the coins under discussion. Visualize the language, then visit the many free online sites for the photos, when curious strikes.

And if you are not, at all, a coin person, the book is a resource and, quite frankly, offers entertainment value for the lover of plants. Even the botanist, who, I think, would love to read about the cultural significance of the plants they study, this book may offer breadth to their knowledge base. For the lover of history, this book is for you. The book presents symbolic interpretation with discussion of salient events happening at the time of mintage. Coin iconography has implications for political intentions, too. When politics and culture clash, as during tumultuous periods in history, the images on coins offer a timestamp, since they are dated, and a glimpse into the Zeitgeist.

Who would think that a good portion of all the money that was ever created by humans throughout the centuries contains images of plants, flowers, and trees. This book is loaded with insightful discussion about these very coins. Hundreds of them. Ancient coins, as well as more contemporary coins, display plant iconography. This book offers a comprehensive starting point into this very broad category of numismatics.