The End of Barter System

The Roman Republic, throughout the 5^th and 4^th centuries BC had a barter system. Thus various goods were exchange for other goods. These included: farm products, livestock, as well as services. However, the republic continued its expansion, heading towards a point when its economy required another system, a more effective one.

Thus various pieces of metal, such as bronze, began to be used for buying goods. Such lumps were called Aes Rude, meaning raw bronze. Metal lumps were used not only in the field of coinage but also in production of various tools.

The Value of Ancient Coins

It is believed that the market exchange value of a coin has strong connections with either its historic value or the value of the metal the coin is made of.

Generally coins are made of silver, gold and platinum. The modern coins of today are made of a base metal whose values rely on the status as fiat money. The status of fiat money basically means that Government is the one to determine and establish the value of a coin through its laws.

Coins have their roots deep in the lands of Ancient Rome. They still continue to be in circulation around the world, every country having its own mint and coin denominations. Some countries reintroduce some denominations in their economy, like the United States who had their dollar coin reintroduced.

When the Roman Republic was created barter system was widely used. The standard of exchange within the Republic's boarders was cattle – pecus. The latter was the word, from which pecunia derived. Pecunia was a Latin word for money. Later, in addition to the barter system, Romans started using pieces of bronze which were exchanged for various goods. The bronze pieces were called aes rude.

Durig the times when Roman Empire grew stronger its nobles were fascinated by the coins minted in ancient Greece. It was the period of Augustus Caesar reign when the art and knowledge of collecting coins and antiquities started.

Unfortunately there is no record regarding the collecting of antiquities throughout the Dark Ages, however, starting with Renaissance magnates, such as Petrarch, began collecting Roman coins with fine portraits of its emperors. As the will to collect specific coins grew the world saw the appearance of the first numismatic replicas – Paduan medals. These were struck by Cavino as well as some other medalists of that period.

Aegina's coins standard was adopted by the whole Aegean. It was widely used throughout the period of 600 to 450 BC. Coins minting technology developed westwards, while the silver "colts" of Corinth, influenced the development of minting in the north-western part of Greece as well as in the southern parts of Italy and Sicily. The name "colts" comes from the Pegasus design found on the Greek silver coin's front.

This week the American Numismatic Society was proud to announce that it bought a large collection of extremely rare medals, tokens and coins. All of the numismatic items were collected by the late Prof. Guido Kisch (1889-1985).

Exclusive and amazing examples of more than 1000 pieces are dedicated to the law and legal profession. These items were gathered for more than half a century. The collection includes various badges and emblems linked with the law, institutions, personalities, legislation, history and prison. The objects are dated from the 16^th century to the middle of the 20^th century.