Saints On Coins - Any Reference Suggestions?

It can be messy to try to draw parallels between Catholic theology and the late Roman theology, especially since the Roman state religion was mostly an amalgamation of cults, and there were still some very "pagan" aspects of early Christianity from the transitional period until the old Roman religion fizzled out in the early middle ages. I suspect that the concept of sainthood could be compared to the deification process within the imperal cult:

- It is reserved for the especially pious and righteous
- It must happen after death, by vote of a council, and usually requires a ceremony and/or "sign"
- It is in a sense a "better heaven" since the Catholics believe that the saints are holy enough to have some small level of sway over God's decision on how to answer prayers.
- Although Constantine was the last emperor with a specific deification coinage, emperors were sometimes deified after death up until the time of Anastasius.

@finn, thanks for the thoughtful comments. I wasn't necessarily trying to draw a parallel between the theologies of Rome and early Christianity. I was just observing that Roman coinage had an image of a civic authority on one side, and often a god on the other, and this pattern resurfaced later in western Europe (maybe it never disappeared in the Byzantine world? I'm a lot shakier there). Though as you say, that's even not so black and white because of the deification you mention.

There is a lot of good literature on the cult of sainthood throughout the history of Christianity ... My issue is with finding any literature on the numismatic angles. For example, one can learn about the first martyr, Saint Stephen, but it's a lot trickier to figure out why he shows up on medieval coins of Metz, Halberstadt and Passau. Often it has to do with the trade in relics in medieval times. If your town had relics, you could attract pilgrims, and trade. But I don't think that was always the connection.

The coins of the Byzantine empire used images of Christ, Mary, and the saints up to and after the Iconoclast period. Their devout faith in the Eastern Christian Church was seen displayed everywhere on, coins, icons, paintings, clothes. etc.

I haven't really done any research on it, but I believe the first appearance of Christ on Byzantine coins was during the rule of Michael III (the drunkard) mid to late 800's Mary showed up not to long after. However the Cross appeared very early in the series.

Regarding the secular/spiritual coinage design, I believe this is incorrect. The Romans did not believe in the modern concept of "separation of church and state", but rather, the opposite: the unification of secular and religious authority, in the person of the Emperor. The Emperor was not just "imperator" (commander of the army), but "pontifex maximus" - the high priest of the Roman pagan religion. He appointed priests, took part in major religious rituals and was (in the middle period of the Empire) frequently venerated as a living god, though this tended to happen in the outer provinces rather than in Rome itself, where worshipping people while still alive was usually frowned upon.

Roman coinage was a masterpiece of propaganda: the primary purpose of the coinage design was to convey a message to everyone who used it. Usually the message was along the lines of "with me in charge, you've never had it so good", so symbols of peace, prosperity and military victory were commonplace. These often took the forms of "minor deities" or personifications, purely as an artistic convention rather than a religious declaration: it's difficult to draw what "peace" looks like, so they drew a picture of Pax, the minor goddess of peace.

There are some clear linkages between late Roman and early Christian symbolism: Victory was a minor deity, a pesonification - a winged female, who commonly appeared on coins as propaganda. This symbol eventually evolved into a Christian angel, and it is difficult to tell which one a winged figure on a late Roman or Byzantine coin is supposed to represent.

Back to the subject at hand: many cities and states in mediaeval Europe portrayed on their coinage their "patron saint": a saint whom they believed had a special connection with their city or country. This concept has a different origin but a similar goal to the ancient "local deity": in an age before the invention of jingoistic nationalism, having a locally-specific cult helped give people something to be proud of, something to fight for and in the name of.

Thus, Saint Mark (or his badge, the winged lion) is on coins of Venice (because Crusaders allegedly brought his bones back to Venice); Saint Eugenius is on the coins of Trebizond (they claimed he had been born there); Saint Blasius is on the coins of Ragusa (they claimed to have seen him in a vision that saved the city from invasion), Saint George is on the coins of England and Russia (as the "patron saint of soldiers", he was claimed by several warrior-kings), and so forth.

One should be aware of some "false flags". Coins of Monaco show a robed figure or two that look saintly, but they're not actual saints; those represent the soldiers dressed in monk's robes, who sneaked into the city and captured it in 1297; the current princes of Monaco claim descent from those sneaky soldiers.

@sap, thanks for those insights. I am still thinking the medieval coins might not be so different from the Roman ones in the "propaganda" intent you mention, a difference being that the lord and the bishop are in cahoots on the propaganda. Often, we have a duke or count's portrait (or insignia) on one side, with the reminder that his authority comes from God. On the other side we have the patron saint, who has the ability to intercede in matters where the duke's power doesn't reach. Still something along the lines of "between us, we've got you covered."

@spence. Thanks very much for that list of firsts. What you've pointed out about Justinian I is especially interesting, if I understand correctly. There is a category of royal saints from medieval times (Louis IX of France, Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, Wenceslas of Bohemia and many more), but they have in common being recognized as saints only after their death. I am aware Justinian I is recognized as a saint in the Eastern church. Is this depiction of a current emperor nimbate unique to him? Again, probably my ignorance of the entire Byzantine era is showing.

Thanks to everyone for the good discussion.

Given the seasonality and the topic of the thread, I thought I would post these today:

Thank you for that great link, 1c5d!

However, I will need to get it translated, as German is not one of my languages.

The medieval iconography of St. Stephen includes some things that are generic to any saint (the halo), or to martyrs (holding a palm frond).

Then there are things that are specific to the position of St. Stephen in the church (deacon): his haircut, his vestments, and the presence of a book.

Last, there are the instruments of his martyrdom (he was stoned to death). On the second Halberstdt bracteate, and on the Breisgau dicken, we see a scene of his stoning. In several of the thalers, he holds three stones.

The Serbian example stands out as the only one where he his holding a book. I wonder if this could have been some laziness on the part of the moneyer? This is a well-known type borrowed from Venice, in which the doge is depicted being blessed by St. Mark, who (as an evangelist) was depicted carrying a book. It looks as though this was copies closely, and only the legend was changed to indicate it is St. Stephen.

The only one of these in my collection is the Metz gros, which unfortunately is the least rich in symbols (but also the least expensive to acquire )