The Road to Riches
The Love of Money: 650 BC to 450 AD
S1 • E2 Jul 16, 2000 55m
As ancient trading broadened and became more complex, barter became inadequate. In this program, host Peter Jay; Andrew Meadows, curator of the British Museum; Exeter University's Richard Seaford; and archaeologist John Camp examine history's first surge of coinage, from the stamped nuggets of electrum used at Sardis to the dominance of the denarius throughout the far-flung Roman Empire. The rise of the Agora in Athens as a locus for commerce and information, the effects of Roman law on trade, and other topics are discussed-along with the massive limestone currency used on the Micronesian island of Yap.