A moneyer is a private individual who is officially permitted to mint
money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...
. Usually the rights to coin money are bestowed as a
concession by a state or government. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...
. They became most prominent in the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
, and continued into the
Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
. In Rome the position of
Triumvir Monetalis, held by three people at a time, was a minor magistracy awarded by the Senate, often the first office held by young politicians, including
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...
.
Moneyers were not limited to the ancient world. During the Middle Ages, European moneyers created currency on behalf of kings and potentates. For a large part of that era, virtually all coins in circulation were silver pennies, and these often bore the name or other identification of the moneyer.
[Grierson et al. 2007] In 17th century North America,
John Hull acted as a moneyer for the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
.
See also
*
Roman currency
**
List of Roman moneyers during the Republic
*
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
*
Roman Republican coinage
*
Vigintisexviri
Notes
Further reading
*Harlan, Michael (1995). ''Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins 63 BC-49 BC'', Trafalgar Square Publishing.
*Harlan, Michael (2012). ''Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins 81 BCE-64 BCE'', Moneta Publications.
*Sear, David R. (1998). ''The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators 49-27 B.C.'', Spink & Son.
External links
Hollander, David B (2003). The Management of the Mint in the Late Roman Republic''Eligivs''. A prosopography of the mint workers
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* https://coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/MAMintDocs.studies.html
Numismatics
Directors of coin mints
*
Production of coins