As many of you know I am planning on doing a coin presentation in a school next year. On this threads I will post updates and finally pictures and feedback from the actual event.
Here is a beginning rough draft of the presentation. I intend for there to be specialized "stations" about different types of coins (that the kids can explore themselves) rather than a long, all-encompassing, presentation.
Gold is useful as a store of value because of some of the following characteristics:
- Supply is very constrained. It stays rare.
- It has a recognisable colour
- It doesn't rust
- You can use it in standardised and fractional units, and for most stuff you don't need truckloads.
For smaller payments silver and copper proved more useful. For centuries the money system worked like this and money supply was directly controlled by coin supply. Ever since the invention of fractional banking this changed, as it became possible to have banknotes covered by gold in a vault. As it was unlikely that all gold was redeemed at once, a bank could issue more banknotes than what it had in the vault. If in turn people started not trusting a bank then they would try to claim back their gold and a bank run would happen.
Looks like it's going to be a great presentation. The kids will love it. My four year old son loves "helping" me with my coins. I don't know for sure if it's because he wants to be involved in everything I do, or if I actually likes them. Either way it's great to see him interested.
I'd avoid using a garish background like that, a good gradient always beats something flashy. You want all the focus on the coins.
"In my opinion, sir, any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed"
-Jack Churchill, on his assault of a Nazi german camp riding a motorcycle with his bow and arrows, scottish claymore and bagpipes
There is a problem in the video: gold is a soft metal ; the famous test of the bite use this caracteristic to recognize gold: if the yellow metal folds, it's gold, if not - then, if your teeth are broken - it's not gold.
Sorry to butt in but gold is only "soft" in relation to other metals like iron. It is possible to make a small but visible bite mark in pure gold but it also has a similar hardness as brass ... so a bite test couldn't discern between pure gold and brass in this case a taste test would be better .
Because of this "softness" gold was almost always used in alloys (mostly with silver or copper) for coins ... these alloys would rather break your teeth than deform under human jaw preassure.
The bite test was more a test if a coin was out of a lead core covered in gold.
If you can deform it you had a lump of lead and you could shoot your fellow cowboy, because in medieval times gold coins were rather rare and people that were wealthy enough to own gold had also other means to test it (like weighing etc.), it's more a practice of modern times were gold was more common.
A numismatic presentation can not ignore the usual Association "Coin collecting = Scatology!"
But where does this association come from?
Freud, in a letter to Fliess in 1897, was referring to the association in the unconscious of money to waste.
Sandor Ferenczi, one of his disciples, developed the idea "Poo = money":
"There is more than a step to the assimilation of faeces money be complete soon the stones begin to hurt the child's taste for cleanliness. - He aspires to something more own - and that it is delivered by the brilliant coins, to the esteem which also contribute, of course, respect that adults testify for the money and the alluring possibility of reaching thereby obtain everything a child's heart can desire.
Originally, it is however not the purely practical considerations involved but the joy of collecting, raise and contemplate the bright metal coins; so that here again the coins are estimated more as objects in themselves as providers of fun for their only economic value.
The eye enjoys seeing their brilliance and color, ear to hear their metallic tinkling, touch to play with these small smooth and round disks; only smell remains empty handed, while the taste has to settle for low metallic taste but particular currency.
At that time, the symbol of money is basically reached the end of its development. The enjoyment is linked to intestinal contents provides pleasure. the money that we have seen, is nothing else than deodorized manure, dehydrated and become shiny.
Gold and Silver are useful for electronic industry. That gives the a big part of their worth. But yes; the fact that people likes them increase their value even further. In a work camp cigarettes are pretty valuable and as a non smoker I made a lot of money there XD Or bottle caps like in Fallout.
Numista referee for the "Viceroyalty of the New Spain" (most of it).
History through coins.
Eli V
Anything can be valuable if the right people convince enough people that it's valuable. Look at diamonds. They are actually kind of abundant, but because output is tightly controlled, they are extremely valuable. Also, someone dying of thirst would trade every ounce of gold in the world for a glass of water (probably).
Why did you use only the 1 euro reverse joint to a Japanese 10 yen obverse?
Administrateur du catalogue, référent de nombreuses nations antiques et de la Lorraine.
Catalogue administrator, numerous Antique nations and Lorraine referee.
Quote: dsanders337Anything can be valuable if the right people convince enough people that it's valuable. Look at diamonds. They are actually kind of abundant, but because output is tightly controlled, they are extremely valuable. Also, someone dying of thirst would trade every ounce of gold in the world for a glass of water (probably).
You'd think the idiots advertising proofreading would at least:
1) Use correct English grammar, spelling and punctuation
2) Advertise on a new thread, or even a more recent one.
Why is it always proofreading sites being advertised by bots here, anyway?
You'd think the idiots advertising proofreading would at least:
1) Use correct English grammar, spelling and punctuation
2) Advertise on a new thread, or even a more recent one.
Why is it always proofreading sites being advertised by bots here, anyway?
Ironically, they are also one of the sites that get the least visits and uses. They have bots and people to utilise, so they might just advertise wherever relevant...
The irony of having an advertisement about spellchecking right next to some posts complaining about that very thing is not lost on these people, I'm sure...
.
