American Numismatic Society
ANS 1968.34.25
Thursday, January 30, 2025
7:30 PM
We carry pocket change as currency. The idea for these coins or coinage came from the ancient Greek world. The earliest coins, made of electrum at Sardis, rapidly evolved into silver coins of different weights and values. One drachma (the Greek monetary unit at the time) equaled a day’s wage. Both the front and back of the coin displayed designs, resembling miniature relief sculptures. Artists sometimes added their signature to the coins. Cities and islands developed unique images, an early form of advertising and branding. Once in circulation, Greek coins traveled great distances throughout the Mediterranean region and beyond. Even today, many of these ancient coins are admired in museums and sought by collectors for their beauty and rarity.
About Katherine Schwab
Dr. Katherine Schwab received her B.A. from Scripps College, her M.A. from Southern Methodist University, and her Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She is Professor Emerita of Art History & Visual Culture at Fairfield University, former curator of the Plaster Cast Collection at the Fairfield University Art Museum (1991–2024) and was Founding Director of the Arts Institute established in 2023. While specializing in ancient Greek art and archaeology, her research focuses on the Parthenon sculptural program. Scans of her metope drawings are permanently displayed in the Acropolis Museum. The original drawings formed a traveling exhibition in the United States from 2014 to 2018, including a time at the Timken Museum of Art. Her research extends to the Caryatid Hairstyling Project (film 2009), exhibition Hairstyles of the Classical World, 2015, and historic plaster casts of ancient sculpture. Her drawings and photographs formed three separate exhibitions at the Greek Consulate General in New York City. She has been a member of the Managing Committee of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and returns annually to Athens for her research. Recently retired, Dr. Schwab resides in San Diego and continues to conduct research in her focus areas.
Tickets: $16/21
The lecture will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for this event. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. This event will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of the lecture.