Material Witness and Dematerialized Image: The Sixteenth-Century Siege Coin, Post-Siege

In early modern Europe, emergency currency was manufactured hurriedly and without the usual regulatory standards, primarily to pay soldiers when funds for their salaries had run dry. The precious material of so-called siege coins often derived from existing stores of plate. This transformation from vessel to coin embodied the tumultuous conditions of emergencies and made siege coins unique material witnesses to, and later souvenirs of, the events that had produced them. This talk considers the coins’ status as material witnesses as well as their later representation in print, where they circulated as dematerialized images that struggled to convey their special metallic provenance.  

This lecture is part of the series Image Economies, organised by Tom Wilkinson at the Warburg Institute. Other events in this series:

• Image Economies: Promissory Notes of Architecture, Wed 13 March, 17.30 – 18.30 followed by a drinks reception till 19.30.
• Image Economies: Ink on Paper - A Material History of Financial Risk, Wed 20 March, 17.30 – 18.30, followed by a drinks reception till 19.30.