Coins are an object that allows us to embark on a fascinating journey through time. In its multiple forms, it tells us of politics and institutions, of economy and society, of language and culture and even of religion and philosophy. Art and technology come together perfectly in this portable and hard-wearing object, whose every side contains the keys to decode history. Understanding its inestimable value, CTT, in partnership with INCM, is presenting a stamp series in 2020 based on the coins minted on Portuguese soil in pre-national times, covering 1350 years of history of the Western Iberia, from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.
This series of stamps recalls times when those in power used coins to restore old memories and build new identities. Found during archaeological excavations or part of museological collections in Portugal, the coins shown on these stamps are a very important source of information about the societies of the past, now also remembered in a stamp issue where philately has a close conversation with numismatics.
Mário de Gouveia Portuguese Mint and Official Printing Office Portuguese Mint Museum
The pre-Roman coin is a bronze as minted in Alcácer do Sal during the 2nd or 1st centuries B.C.E. (MNA 2005-182-3). It shows two dolphins, facing left, and the head of Heracles-Melqart, facing left, with a lion skin and sta over his shoulder, combined with pre-Latin letters. Linking Indigenous and Mediterranean cultures, this coin evokes symbols related to ancient maritime myths and legends.
The Roman coin is a bronze dupondius minted in Évora between 27 B.C.E. and 14 C.E., under Augustus (MNA 2014-23-3). It shows a patera, an aspergillum, a pitcher, a simpulum and a knife, with the words LIBERALITAS IVL EBOR (‘Liberalitas Julia Évora’), and the head of Augustus, facing left, with the words PERMISSV CAESARIS AVGVSTI P M (‘By permission of Caesar Augustus, pontifex maximus’). The objects refer to imperial cults in which the princeps represents the political and religious unity of the Roman Empire.
The Suevic coin is a silver siliqua minted in Braga in 448-456, under Rechiarius (AHMP, CMP 1814-2). It shows a tall standing cross encircled by a crown of laurel, with the letters B-R and, below, a palm, with the words IVSSV RICHIARI REGES (‘By order of Rechiarius, king’), and a bust of Honorius, facing right, with the words D N HONORIVS P F AVG (‘Our lord Honorius, pious, felicitous, august’). For the rst time in history, a barbarian Christian king, striving for legitimacy, ordered a coin to be minted in his own name.
The Visigothic coin is a gold triens minted in Idanha-a-Velha in 710-711, under Rodericus (INCM, MCM 3871). It shows a cross on three steps, with the words + EGITANIA PIVS (‘Idanha, pious’), and the bust of Rodericus, in a frontal position, with the words + IN D NE RVDERICVS RX (‘In God’s name, Rodericus, king’). The cross and the king are a reminder that the royal family is a sacred institution and that the king is a warrior linked to ancestral traditions.
The Islamic coin is a gold dinār minted in Silves in 1149-1150, under Ibn Qasi (MPXII NUM 0010-MDDS 1993/0249). It shows aniconic sides, with the words ‘The imām / Abd / Allāh / prince of the believers – In the name of Allāh, this dinār was minted in Silves in the year 544’ and ‘There is no god but Allāh / Muhammad is the prophet of Allāh / the mahdī by Allāh – And he who seeks another religion than islām will not be accepted by Him, and, at the end, will be among the condemned’. Following the Islamic revelation, this coin evokes Allāh’s unicity, Muhammad’s prophetic mission and the destiny of those who refuse to convert to Islam.
