Coins and the treachery of images

Southern Indian states were more likely to accept their own currency than give credence to a foreign royal stamp. This coin exemplifies the adoption of numismatic forms already accepted by Indian society, with only a subtle allusion to Charles II with two linked Cs.

On the reverse is the image of a Hindu deity. Tactics to secure British coinage's legitimacy included inscriptions in Persian and Indian rulers' names. Despite being a non-government entity, the Company became sole issuer and controller of India's circulating money until 1858.

This currency cleverly legitimised Ecuador as a geographic location on the equator, but also aligned it with the mythology of the zodiac beyond the Earthly realm. The icons of the mountain and condor would become key elements for the Ecuadorian flag.

Crucially, Michael replaces the monarch's portrait. It is therefore strange that the Angel completely escaped re-design during the Edwardian Reformation (1547–53) because of its popularity, when other royal emblems were scrutinised, and the cult of saints was under sustained attack.

(Pictured: reverse of coin)

One of the last people to be touched, in 1712, was two-year-old Samuel Johnson, later an eminent writer and author of the first dictionary. Despite having no discernible effect on his scrofula, Johnson wore his touchpiece throughout his life.

Athens and the Owl

The Athenian 'Owl' tetradrachm is unquestionably one of the most influential coins of all time. This distinctive coin was a solution to the problem confronting trade everywhere: how to pay for goods using a compact medium with a universally recognised value. During 5 BCE, Athens emerged as the greatest of the Greek cities, treating its currency not only as a way of facilitating commerce and trade but projecting its image abroad.

In Greek mythology, the owl is Athena's mascot. The species depicted on this coin is the Mediterranean native Athena Noctua, also called the Little Owl. The owl then, as today, was a symbol of wisdom.

The Elephant was a perfect opportunity for Caesar to advertise his own achievements and the shortcomings of his opponents, mocking Pompey's attempt to impress the populace by driving an elephant-drawn chariot through Rome's gates, failing as the gates were too small.

(Pictured: reverse of coin)

Caesar's choice of iconography was deliberate, since this was not supervised by the senate. The crushed serpent may allude to the battle between good and evil, but the coin's fundamental message was unquestionably a statement of Caesar's confidence in his political and military strength.

Native Americans were neither bloodthirsty savages nor the noble 'red men' of popular imagination. The former caricatured on this coin is part of the material culture of the European-American narrative that ignores the genocide, disease and cultural devastation brought to Native American communities.

(Pictured: reverse of coin)

The image of the 'American Indian' and the stories sold to the new settlers of America was the fiction that endured, enhanced by dime-store novels, shows such as Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and eventually, Westerns on TV and film.