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Religious People, Artifacts, Icons... on coins...


Tiffibunny

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I'm on a theme kick, and this one I've been very interested in lately. I am not religious myself and I don't want any religious debates here, but just coins with a religious theme.

 

 

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To keep on the theme and deep into the past, I offer this Celtic coin from the Carnutes region of France. The reverse features an eagle (a favorite image of the Carnutes tribe) superimposed on a temple. Its not really known exactly how bronze coins were used, although they are often found in temples, apparently offerings.

 

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Or this Roman piece of the rebel Magentius featuring a Chi-Rho. He was not a Christian, but he appealed to them for support.

 

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Scotland - James III (1460-1488) Penny from the Crosraguel Abbey Hoard, these coins were long thought to be an ecclesiastically issued coinage, since most of the coins known were found at the Abbey, but now it is believed they were a royally issued coinage. They were contemporaneously known as "black money" for the toned copper colour of the coinage, they replaced what had previously been billon coinage and were remarkably unpopular, leading to their withdrawl from circulation.

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More religious images.

 

First, a Roman Republican denarius of Petillus Capitolinus. Compare the eagle and the temple with the Celtic piece I posted above. The temple is the Temple of Jupiter in Rome.

 

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An as of Tiberius. Struck by Augustus. The reverse features the Altar of Lugdunum. The inscription below refers to the cult of Rome and Augustus. Pretty cool to have your own cult!

 

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Another religious rebel, Postumus. The reverse honors Hercules of Deuso, a town in Gaul where Postumus may have been born. I guess if you are in the middle of a war challenging Rome, you might want Hercules on your side.

 

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Jumping forward to the 800s and Christianity, an obol of Louis the Pious. The inscription around the temple reads XPISTIANA RELIGIO. Thats a Chi-Rho starting the inscription and it translates as the Christian Religion. The Roman style temple calls on the imagery of the past to legitimize the Carolingian rule (that's a real short hand explanation for a more complex story).

 

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Just as Roman coins announced the godhood of the emperors, so, too, do all U.S. coins deify a past president. They all show a president and next to his head, the motto "In God We Trust" indicating the faith of the people in the lives of their past leaders.

 

From left to right, top to bottom:

Quarter Dollar. George Washington. Reverse: eagle of Jupiter (or eagle of Empire).

Half Dollar. John F. Kennedy. Reverse: eagle of Jupiter (or eagle of Empire).

Dime. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Reverse: torch and laurels (or olive branches).

Nickel. Thomas Jefferson. Reverse: his temple, Montecello.

Cent. Abraham Lincoln. Reverse: his temple, Lincoln Memorial.

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Just as Roman coins announced the godhood of the emperors, so, too, do all U.S. coins deify a past president.  They all show a president and next to his head, the motto "In God We Trust" indicating the faith of the people in the lives of their past leaders.

 

When a nation deifies it's leaders and not the principals of Liberty, then you need to be concerned.

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Great thread Tif. Thank you for launching it. These images have powerful influences on our lives and cultures (regardless of your beliefs) which makes them fascinating to study. I'm enjoying the combined contributions.

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I'd love to post one or two but haven't figured it out yet. What is the method for uploading an image to a thread.

If the image is already online (at some website), you can post the address here. Like this:

http://www.omnicoin.com/coins/907992.jpg

 

If you want the image to be visible here right away, use the IMG tags. You can either type them, or click the button that says "IMG" above the reply/message box, and then paste the address into the window that will pop up. Hope it is OK if I use one of your OmniCoin images, of a very nice and appropriate coin, for demo purposes: :ninja:

 

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There are more options to display/attach files here, but this is the one you use for showing your OmniCoin images here ...

 

Christian

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