CONSORT COINS
The portraits of leaders on coins hold stories of power, pride, and politics, but as our guide reveals, those coins portraying the leaders’ partners are just as intriguing
The myriad portraits of leaders on the world’s coins hold stories of powerful people, national pride, and political history and, as Paula Hammond reveals, those coins portraying the leaders’ partners are just as intriguing
When Prince Philip died, in April this year, he had the distinction of being the longest serving royal consort in British history. It’s a role that’s as historic as it is undefinable, changing to reflect the needs of every royal spouse, and each new era.
However, while consorts spend their lives in the public eye, they rarely appear on coins or banknotes. In fact, although the Duke of Edinburgh served as president of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, from 1952 until 1999, he appeared on only a handful of coins.
1972’s silver wedding anniversary commemorative crown was a subtle affair, with the intertwined letters ‘E&P’ standing in place of portraits. In 1997, the year of Elizabeth and Philip’s golden wedding, a conjoined image of the royal couple appeared on a commemorative £5 coin. A similar coin followed in 2007 and, a decade later, a platinum wedding
anniversary design featured the Queen and her consort on horseback. It wasn’t until the Duke of Edinburgh’s ninetieth birthday, in 2011, that Prince Philip finally flew solo on a coin. Another solo issue marked his retirement in 2017, and it’s likely that a further coin will be released to fund a memorial statue later in the year.
Yet while consort coins are rare, they’re also intriguing, giving us an insight into the royal relationships and gender power-plays of yesteryear.
Classical consorts
Some of the earliest consort coins come from the classical world, with examples known from Ancient Egypt to Carthage, from Greece to Rome, from Anglo-Saxon Mercia to Medieval England.
According to popular legend, Queen Dido founded the city of Carthage in 814 BCE. At the height of its power, Carthage sat at the centre of the Phoenician trade network, so it’s not that surprising to find that they produced a wide range of coinage in bronze, electrum, gold, and silver. The region shared much with their Hebrew and Canaanite neighbours, and all three cultures used the shekel as a base denomination.
From around 350 BC, Carthaginian coinage nearly always featured the head of a young woman, wearing a wreath, and this is believed to represent Tanit. As well as being the goddess of war and fertility, Tanit was the wife/ consort of Baal Hammon/Moloch, who was Carthage’s primary god. A stylised horse, which appears on the reverse of coins, produced between c. 350/340 and 320/315 BC, may represent Baal. While some see Tanit as a goddess-consort, others view Baal as the subservient partner in the relationship.
Crowned By God
The Romans were one of the earliest cultures to appreciate the propaganda value of coins, and they used them to promote their reputations and achievements. The issues of Aelia Eudoxia, consort to the Roman Emperor Arcadius, included a variety of coinage, including the small gold tremissis, the delicate golden solidus, and the heavy silver miliarense. Eudoxia was very active in the politics of the early Christian church and her clashes with the Patriarch of Constantinople were the stuff of legend, with each denouncing the other for perceived abuses and excesses. Which is maybe why the coins generally show her being crowned by the hand of god! These coins date from around 395-403 AD.
Sibling lovers…
Arguably, some of the finest examples of consort coins are the gold mnaieion/octadrachms issued in remembrance of Queen Arsinoe II. Arsinoe was the sistergoddess-consort of Ptolemy II – a relationship that the Greeks termed ‘sibling-lovers’.
The octadrachms, minted by Egypt’s Ptolemaic Kingdom, are
enormous, medalesque coins containing nearly an ounce of gold. The Arsinoe coins were probably minted in Alexandria c. 253/2-246 BCE, and show Arsinoe wearing a metallic headband (known as a stephane) coupled with a veil. What’s especially interesting is that the obverse image includes a lotustipped sceptre and the curve of an Amun horn (below the ear) which both symbolise pharaonic power. This has led to suggestions that Arsinoe was Ptolemy’s co-regent rather than consort. Others say that such imagery/titles were only granted to her after death. The quality and sheer cost of these coins makes it debatable if they were used for everyday commerce and they remain rare and desirable objects.
Mother of the Nation
Offa was King of Mercia from
757 to 796 AD and pennies bearing the name and portrait of his queen, Cynethryth, also exist. Cynethryth is the only known Anglo-Saxon queen to have her name and portrait on coinage. Because her marriage to Offa was officially recognised by the Christian church (unusual at the time) this gave her considerable status, and this is reflected in the choice of image used on her coins. In them, Cynethryth wears a Greek-style peplos, and her hair is adorned with a royal diadem. The portrait is reminiscent of those of Constantine’s mother, Helena. The intention was likely to link Cynethryth to Helena, thereby emphasising her role as the mother of legitimate heirs to come. Again, it’s been argued that such coins wouldn’t have been in general circulation, but rather given as gifts to dignitaries.
Place of honour
After Mary I’s marriage to
Philip of Spain in 1554, busts of both monarchs were included on English silver shillings and sixpences. The head-and-shoulder portraits of Mary and Philip face each other, following the style of the gold coinage of Spain’s Ferdinand and Isabella. The title ‘consort’ is often assigned to queens and empresses, who may in reality have wielded equal power to their spouses. Yet, in this instant conventions of the time meant that, while the true power remained vested in Mary, Philip, as the man, was afforded more power than other female ‘consorts’. Indeed, Parliament could only to be called under the joint authority of the royal couple. So, on the coins, Philip is shown in the primary position, to the left of the design, despite his lesser status. Curiously, when she married Philip, Mary also became queen consort of Spain.