A moeda metálica em perspectiva histórica: notas em torno de uma exposição. 1a. parte: de cerca de 600 a.C. ao Séc. XV d.C

Abstract

The objective of this study, divided in two parts, is to present the broad lines of the history of coinage, using it as a guideline to briefly retrace the evolution of the History of the World between 600 B.C. and 2000 A.D. The texts and chronologies presented in this paper were initially prepared for a permanent exhibition at the Museu Histórico Nacional (M.H.N.), in Rio de Janeiro, with the title : "Coins Tell the (hi)story", opened to the public in December 2002. The approximately 2,600 coins exhibited at the M.H.N. constitute a very representative sample of the main coins of the world in the last twenty-six centuries and the discussion of the historical and economic context in which they were issued can contribute to a better understanding of the economic and monetary history of the civilizations focused by the exhibition of the M.H.N.