Category Archives: Coins and Jewels

The most popular gemstone in the world today is the diamond. We expect fine jewelry to have few colors, or possibly even none at all. The most expensive tiaras are so encrusted with diamonds that they appear to be pure … Continue reading →

In addition to amber, Europe had immediate access to seven more gems. Some were actually native, others were imported but from within the ancient Mediterranean trading circuit. Garnet is the second chief gemstone native to Europe. Like amber, it’s found … Continue reading →

Constantinople, standing at the crossroads of continents, always had access to imported gemstones. But Northern Europe depended mainly (and for a long time) on its native gems. Chief among them: amber, traded since the Stone Age. Amber was cut, polished … Continue reading →

Jewelry illustrates one of the fundamental problems with historical artifacts: some were targeted for destruction and only survived in small numbers through unusual circumstances. Jewelry is wearable wealth; the fashion for wearing it changes, but the wealth is conserved. Gold … Continue reading →

Constantinople’s greatest industry in jewelry was the making of elaborate head-pieces for royalty and other aristocracy. We tend to take “crowns” for granted now, as part of the whole history/fantasy landscape. Crowns, gowns, horses, lances, etc. But crowns, like anything … Continue reading →

The word “jewel” first came into use without any reference to personal adornment. The jouel, or joyau, was the golden centerpiece on a king’s feast table. The word didn’t apply to gold and gems fastened onto clothing and hair until … Continue reading →

By starting to talk about coins in Western Europe—with Charlemagne’s penny—I passed over what was actually the dominant coin in the early medieval years. Constantinople controlled eastern Mediterranean trade all through the Middle Ages, and even when its military power … Continue reading →

Charlemagne’s silver penny, the denarius or denier, set the norm for European money. When his empire split into pieces, which eventually became Germany and France, both continued to mint coins similar to the denier for several centuries. Silver deposits discovered … Continue reading →

For most of the medieval era, the silver penny was the basic currency in all places. Silver was the most common precious metal; gold was too uncommon until the late medieval, and copper was not precious enough. Silver was precious, … Continue reading →