Presented by Edward J. Waddell, Ltd.
Introduction and Teaching Method
"Inquiries…are displayed here so that neither mankinds’s achievements may become forgotten in time, nor that great and marvelous deeds… may be without their glory."
-Herodotus, Bk. 1,1
What better way to connect with those marvelous deeds of the past than by using the actual coins of the people who lived in ancient times? Think of what a powerful teaching tool genuine ancient coins can be...the wonder they will engender in your students because of the natural connections kids make with them. Coins have a direct relevance with children. Even the youngest elementary age child understands coins and their purpose.
Hands-On-History is a self-contained teaching kit designed to enrich your Ancient History units by allowing students to literally hold history in their hands as they learn.
This teaching package is designed for middle school or junior high school students who are studying ancient cultures in their social studies classes; future kits will be available for other levels and subject areas.
Hands-On-History is based on topics reflected on ancient coins of the Greek and Roman worlds. It will extend learning on subjects you’ve taught for years, and introduce some new and unusual themes:
- Sports and Games
- Art and Literature
- Mythology
- Politics and Government
- Science and Technology
- Women and Minorities
- Fads and Fashion
- Animals: Real and Imagined
We encourage you to view samples of the overhead transparencies for some of the above topics as well as the activity sheets.
Our method
Hands-On-History combines multi-sensory and cooperative instructional approaches- methodologies embraced by Social Studies experts everywhere.
Your students will be challenged to:
- think critically
- work cooperatively with others
- use their background knowledge
- use their strongest learning style
- communicate about the subject matter in a variety of ways
- use graphic organizers
- connect content with their own life experiences
- Use manipulatives, including authentic Ancient Coins, in meaningful ways
Each Hands-On-History kit contains:
- 25 Greek Coins or 25 Roman coins
- 25 laminated graphic organizers that provide historical background for your coins
- 10 3x magnifying glasses
- Teacher manual which includes:
- An illustrated whole class introductory lesson with accompanying overhead transparencies
- Student/Teacher directed activities designed to accommodate both able and challenged learners
- Evaluation instruments for each of the activities.
- Bibliography and web links
- Glossary of terms
Hands-On-History is designed to be an enrichment, or "extension" of your regular unit of study. Use the activities for high interest closure, as jumping off points for independent study, or as homework assignments through which your learners may share the fascination of ancient coins with their families.
- Retain the coins for year-to-year use, or use them as incentives…Ancient Coins make great honors awards for academic achievement.
- E-mail us your coin-related questions or better yet have your students contact us at question@ancienthistory.com Our experts will answer your queries via e-mail, generally within 72 hours.
Sample Lesson(Lessons are keyed to the overhead transparencies provided with the teaching kits)
Lesson I, part A: Introduction
- Map of ancient world; A coin, by definition is an object that is composed of a scarce metal, has a specific weight standard, and is issued by a government. The design on the coin is the government’s way of making it official. The earliest coins were produced in Ionia and Lydia in western Asia Minor at the end of the seventh century B.C. That's about 2600 years ago! Can you find Ionia and Lydia on the map? Early coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver.
- Coin minting scene; The coin maker, started with a blank coin held with tongs. He heated it to make it malleable, placed it between two engraved dies, and struck it with a hammer. This impressed both sides of the coin at the same time. That’s why we say, "The coin was struck." This process produced the world’s first true coins!
- Ionian coin; This is one of the earliest coins. It is from Ionia and was struck c. 575-550 B.C. We know it was official because of the design stamped onto it. On the front, or obverse, is a cow nursing a calf. Like many early coins, the reverse shows a simple punch mark. The punch mark was the top die and the obverse was the bottom die in the striking process.
Lesson I, part B: Greek Politics and Government
Like today's coins, ancient coins are heavily represented by government themes. Most American coins portray presidents. Many Greek coins depict political leaders as well.
- Alexander the Great; This coin was not struck by Alexander, but by one of his successors, Lysimachus (ly-see-ma-kus) of Thrace (323-281 B.C.), who connected himself with the great ruler by showing the godlike Alexander on the obverse. The upward gaze of Alexander's eyes is a sign of his communication with the gods. Through conquest, Alexander spread the Greek idea of coinage far and wide. His successors introduced portraiture of living rulers onto Greek coins, an idea continued by the Romans.
- Ptolemy I (tall-a-mee); 323-285 B.C. Again, Alexander is honored. The obverse shows the head of Alexander the Great wearing an elephant skin. Ptolemy marched across the Persian Empire to Afghanistan with Alexander and here identifies himself as Alexander’s successor in Egypt.
- Eucratides (yoo-kra-te-dees) of Bactria; c. 171-135 B.C. A coin struck in Bactria (modern Afghanistan), the furthest extent of Alexander’s conquests. This coin shows an unusual rear pose of Eucratides. He should have turned around…his son murdered him, and after doing so, drove over him with a chariot and would not allow his father a proper burial.
- Mithradates (mith-ra-da-tees) the Great of Pontus, near the Black Sea. 120-63 B.C. His early years as king were spent as a fugitive in the interior of Pontus while his mother Laodice (lay-oh-dee-kee) ruled. In 111, he imprisoned his mother, killed his brother, and took control of the kingdom. He expanded his dominance throughout Asia and considered himself another Alexander. He was hailed as one of Rome’s fiercest opponents. In one battle near Zela in 67 B.C., his army killed 7,000 Roman soldiers! He was eventually defeated by Pompey the Great in 66 B.C. He was still plotting to attack Rome when he was killed in 63 B.C. His assassination was planned by his son, Pharnaces (far-nak-ees) II. Mithradates’ portrait with wild, flowing hair appears on the obverse of this silver coin. He struck many coins in gold and silver to finance his huge military operations.
- Pharnaces (far-na-kees) II; 63-47 B.C. Pharnaces engaged Julius Caesar in battle at Zela in 47 A.D., the same place his father had earlier defeated the Romans. In this battle, Pharnaces' army attached scythes or knives to the wheels of their chariots and charged the Romans up a steep hill. It didn't work. Caesar’s victory was swift, and he issued a report to Rome saying, "Veni-Vidi-Vici" or "I came, I saw, I conquered." Some say that Pharnaces looked a lot like his father. What do you think?
Lesson I, part C: Roman Politics
Similar to the Hellenistic Greek coins, Roman coins are heavily represented by government themes. Roman coins also often displayed political propaganda in their choice of design types.
- Mark Antony; c. 41 B.C. This coin pictures Mark Antony- who became one of three co-rulers in a Roman triumvirate - with Octavian and Lepidus. He was also sweet on Cleopatra.
- Brutus; c. 42 B.C. This coin was issued in 42 B.C. by Brutus, the chief assassin of Julius Caesar. The reverse depicts Victory crushing the royal scepter and holding a broken crown. With these images, Brutus symbolizes the reason behind the assassination of Julius Caesar-namely, an attempt to fend off a monarchy.
One of the oddest periods in ancient history-and in coinage-occurred in the years 68 to 69 A.D. During this one-year period, Rome had four different emperors! Even though each of the first three reigned for only a few short months, they found time to issue coins. Their names were Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.
- Galba was emperor and Caesar for only seven months. He was originally supported by Otho, but later Otho led a conspiracy to have him killed. Why? Otho wanted to be adopted by Galba and thus, some day, become emperor. But when Galba adopted another, Otho had both Galba and his adopted son assassinated in the Roman forum. Their heads were brought to Otho. To this day, we can only imagine what Otho did with them.
- Otho ruled for four months, January through April 69 A.D. He was defeated in battle by Vitellius and later committed suicide. We're not sure how. Look carefully at the image of Otho. Can you tell by his picture that he wore a toupee?
- Vitellius ruled for only seven months, April through December 69 A.D., but they were seven interesting months! After defeating Otho, Vitellius was declared emperor in Germany by his soldiers. But Vitellius had big trouble. Otho's soldiers sided with his enemy, Vespasian. He was offered the chance to give up the throne, but Otho refused. Not good. Vespasian's army attacked Rome and captured Vitellius. He was tortured with small cuts, killed, dragged through the streets of Rome on a hook, and finally thrown into the Tiber River. His coin is a testament to the accuracy of Roman die engravers. Vitellius was a famous glutton, and his portrait highlights his fat cheeks and double chin. Not shown is the crippled leg he acquired in his youth after being run over by a chariot. Should've looked both ways!
- Vespasian, the last of the four, ruled from 69 -79 A.D. He was proclaimed emperor on July 1. He and his son Titus successfully quelled the Jewish war against Rome. Vespasian was smart. He wisely kept his armies separated so that uprisings against him were less likely to occur. Unlike his immediate predecessors, he died of natural causes.
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