Insects! Some of the first words that come to mind are: disgusting, small,
and unimportant. Yet, not all people think these tiny creatures are any
of those. Insects were important in ancient times, and to honor the creatures,
the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Ephesians minted coins that depict insects
ranging from bees to locusts. Some cultural entomologists believe that the
ancient Greeks minted over 300 different coins that depicted bugs. The Ephesians
minted coins that depicted the honey bee for over six centuries.
WHAT IS NUMISMATICS?
"The definition of Numismatics is (nooomizomato'iks) n.: The study
of coins, medals, and related objects such as paper money." Two other important
terms that I will use are: "obverse (ob'vûrs) adj.: The
front or principal side of anything, especially the side of a coin bearing
the main design or device."1 And "reverse: (riovûrs') adj.:
the back, rear, or secondary side of anything."1
COINS
There was information on a total of five coins. The first coin
is an ancient Greek stater. On its obverse is a locust on the right
of a strand of wheat and on the left is the word "META". On its reverse
is a strand of wheat with a dolphin on the left. It appears to be made of
silver. The second coin was a silver Tetradrachm that was minted in
the ancient Greek city of Messana (in what is now the modern city of Messina)
Sicily, Italy. The coin depicts a cicada in the bottom center, eating what
appears like an ear of corn and it has a hare above it. "The design of the
coin was mentioned by Aristotle, who states that the Tyrant of Messana, Anaxilas,
was responsible for introducing hares into Sicily." The third coin
had a beetle depicted in the center of it. It looks like it is
made out of silver. The fourth depicts a bee and comes from the ancient Greek
town of Praesus located at the eastern end of the island Crete. On the obverse
is a picture of Persephone. On it's reverse is a bee. It was minted sometime
between 400 and 148 BC. The fifth coin comes from the ancient Greek town
of Elyrus (witch is now the modern town of Rhodhovani) located in southwestern
Crete, it also depicts a honey bee on its reverse. On it's obverse is a male
goat.
PAPER MONEY
I found only one piece of paper money that has an insect on it. It is a bank
note from Denmark's National bank for one hundred Kroner. The note was printed
in 1912. A picture of a moth is in its upper left-hand corner.
THE IMPORTANCE OF INSECTS
Insects are important to many cultures. To the
Ephesians, the honey bee was the sacred symbol of Artimimis whose center of
worship was the Ephesians. So, the honey bee was minted as the main design
on coins of the Ephesians for almost six centuries. While a grasshopper on
the back of a lion could be a double reference connected to Hercules' battle
with a lion and his freeing of Mt. Oeta of Locust. On some coins, a small
picture of insects may be symbols of families, political leaders and religious
leaders that where responsible or the minting of the coin. Since ancient
times, in many European cultures the butterfly has been a symbol of death
and resurrection. It also represents the soul leaving the body.
Even though many people today have a negative viewpoint regarding insects,
some ancient cultures thought higher of them. For example the Ephesians minted
coins that depicted their sacred symbol of Artimimis: The Honey Bee. While
the Romans also minted their own coins depicting insects until the fall of
the Roman Empire when coins being minted with insects depicted virtually
ceased. While today in modern times it is uncommon for a piece of currency
to be minted with an insect on it, one is minted every so often.
