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Document Details :

Title: Greek Coin Types in Context
Subtitle: A Short State of the Art
Author(s): DE CALLATAŸ, François
Journal: Pharos
Volume: 22    Issue: 1   Date: 2016   
Pages: 115-141
DOI: 10.2143/PHA.22.1.3285004

Abstract :
This paper aims to: 1) provide general comments on Greek coin types concerning absolute numbers, relative frequencies and main themes by taking advantage of two large databases (SNG Britain and Mantis); 2) give a short historiography of how these types were perceived and dealt with during the last two centuries, describing the dominant paradigms successively applied (coins for the gods, for trade or for military purposes), with comments about what could be called a ‘structuralist’ and a ‘poststructuralist’ approach; and 3) describe the main trends looking at cultural identities, focusing more on the users than on the issuers. This includes a comparison with the repertoire found on engraved gems and clay seals (for the issuers) as well as the advantages one might expect from large databases of single finds and the spectacular advances in the archeology of ritual (for the users).

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