Publications and Research

Winter 1999–2000

Recent Developments: An Update to the Monetary Policy Report by Governing Council of the Bank of Canada The Exchange Rate, Productivity, and the Standard of Living by Robert Lafrance and Lawrence L. Schembri Trends in Canada's Merchandise Trade by Richard Dion Feedback Rules for Inflation Control: An Overview of Recent Literature by Jamie Armour and Agathe Côté See also: Tables A1, A2, and Notes to the Tables

Cover: Coins from Y1K

Today, financial transactions are conducted with everything from coins, cheques, and paper notes to debit and credit cards, but in the year 1000, the choice of financial instrument was limited. People either bartered for goods or used coins like those illustrated on the cover.

In Europe, North Africa, India, and Asia, coinage had already been in use for more than a thousand years and was familiar to the populace. However, the coins circulating in 1000 differed considerably from those used today. They had more than an assigned or superficial value because their worth was determined by the amount of metal they contained. This would have been copper, silver, or gold—not the modern base-metal alloys like cupronickel, aluminum-bronze, and copper-plated zinc. Designs differed markedly from one area of the world to another—some were merely inscriptions, while others mimicked their classical antecedents. In addition, coins were cast or struck by hand. This resulted in coins with uneven edges and slightly irregular shapes. The pieces on the cover include examples of both methods of production. Clockwise from the upper left they are:

Silver penny of Aethelred II, England. This piece is typical of the small silver coins used for trade and commerce in Western Europe during the early Middle Ages. The profile bust of the monarch is based on the imperial portraiture of ancient Roman coins. The inscription is in Anglo-Saxon.

Gold solidus of the emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII, Constantinople. Gold coins were produced for the highly developed commerce of the Eastern Mediterranean. The solidus is very Christian in appearance and features the brothers Basil and Constantine, co-emperors of the Byzantine Empire. They are holding the cross of the Eastern Orthodox Church and wearing crowns surmounted by crosses. Their names are inscribed around the edge in Greek, the official language of the empire.

Copper cash piece of the Emperor Chên Tsung, China. Distinctive in its simplicity, this cast coin relies on four characters to identify the monarch of the Northern Sung Dynasty. This style of coin, with a square hole for stringing on a cord and a simple four-character inscription, was typical of all Chinese coins until the beginning of the 20th century.

Silver dirham of Hisham II, Moorish Spain. The design of this coin is distinguished by its complete reliance on a skilfully arranged inscription, containing both religious and secular information. In the centre of the coin is part of the Kalima, or Muslim expression of faith, "There is no God but Allah. He is alone. There is no partner to him." The location of the mint and the date are written around the edge. The inscription is in a version of Arabic known as "squared Kufic."

The largest of these coins is about the size of a twenty-five cent piece. They form part of the National Currency Collection, Bank of Canada.

Photography by James Zagon.