In this article of a specialized web site Numismatica Ranieri, we will speak of the medal and its features trying to explain to you what are the main differences between coins and medals. Good read.
The medal and its features
It is often been much confusion between the medal and coin, and some texts of numismatics does not help to clarify the ideas when they try to explain that the numismatics
"it is the science that studies the coins, medals and related..."
Now, to the part between the categories of "related" to the coins will fall even the telephone tokens that share the shape, the metal and even the nature. As facts also to be spent, even if in this case only in exchange for a specific service, we refuse to think that everything that is round and metal should be part of the force to become part of the already large group numismatics.
The distinguished scholars Ambrosoli, Gnecchi and Bernareggi their works have shown that the coins have little to do with the medals, and that, consequently, to return to the latter in the numismatics is wrong. The Manual Hoepli more than other texts, the author emphasizes this fact in a manner less categorical:
"The collection of medals, both ancient and modern, is certainly very interesting, but, I hasten to say, it has nothing to do with Numismatics...".
Perhaps due to the fact that the ancients already knew the medal, perhaps due to the fact that the old texts numismatic did not indicate "coin", but the "gold medal" the confusion was made of chaos. We see, therefore, to clarify some of the basic differences.
First of all, the coin is always issued by an authority (the state, the city, the reigning) of which bears the name or symbol (coat of arms, initials, or monogram). In the contemporary age, the coin also find the date and the indication of value. The latter may not appear on the medal, not having the same value liberating.
To mint coins are issued decrees in which you determine the precise characteristics that all specimens of a given series should absolutely own titles and weight). Moreover, the coins can be minted only in ticks official.
In the medal all this does not exist because, coming precisely to miss the legal value, can be produced by anyone, varying at will the weight and diameter.
The exception to the above rules, and are therefore part of the context numismatist, the medals issued by the romans. The medal, as it is now understood, was born in the era of the renaissance and, more specifically, towards the end of the FOURTEENTH century. And so in this period that the coin starts to lose its importance as a document commemorating people, places, or events as well as a tool of propaganda.
Conclusions
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