And he that in Virginia shall copper coin receive : explicating an undocumented fiscal scheme in the early English settlement at Jamestown through the archaeological evidence
Traditionally, coins and exonumia found in archaeological contexts have been examined in a way that fails to utilize their full potential for making substantive contributions to historical questions. Often bearing dates and/or dateable iconography, these numismatic objects are used primarily to provide temporal data for archaeological contexts or sites; and, as material culture related to the economic sphere, the function of these objects is assumed. When archaeological excavations in Englandâs North American colonies uncover European coins and exonumia that are obsolete in their original countries of origin, they are often interpreted as items imported for the Indian trade without consideration of their full social and cultural contexts. Since 1994, archaeological excavations on the c. 1607-24 site of James Fort, the initial English settlement at Jamestown, have uncovered over two hundred Dutch and English tokens and Irish coins that are both unusual for the Virginia context and are no longer current in their original settings. This thesis examines this unusual group of base metal coins and exonumia found in the fortâs tightly dated discrete contexts as evidence of an undocumented scheme of token currency
Straube, Beverly Ann
And he that in Virginia shall copper coin receive : explicating an undocumented fiscal scheme in the early English settlement at Jamestown through the archaeological evidence. Traditionally, coins and exonumia found in archaeological contexts have been examined in a way that fails to utilize their full potential for making substantive contributions to historical questions. Often bearing dates and/or dateable iconography, these numismatic objects are used primarily to provide temporal data for archaeological contexts or sites; and, as material culture related to the economic sphere, the function of these objects is assumed. When archaeological excavations in Englandâs North American colonies uncover European coins and exonumia that are obsolete in their original countries of origin, they are often interpreted as items imported for the Indian trade without consideration of their full social and cultural contexts. Since 1994, archaeological excavations on the c. 1607-24 site of James Fort, the initial English settlement at Jamestown, have uncovered over two hundred Dutch and English tokens and Irish coins that are both unusual for the Virginia context and are no longer current in their original settings. This thesis examines this unusual group of base metal coins and exonumia found in the fortâs tightly dated discrete contexts as evidence of an undocumented scheme of token currency
shall copper coin receive undocumented fiscal scheme early english settlement archaeological_evidence traditionally coin find archaeological_context examine_way fails utilize full_potential make substantive contribution historical question often bear date and dateable iconography numismatic object use primarily provide temporal data archaeological_context site material_culture relate economic_sphere function object assume archaeological_excavation england north_american colony uncover european coin original country_origin often interpreted item import indian trade without consideration full social_cultural context since archaeological_excavation site james fort initial english settlement uncover dutch english tokens irish coin unusual context longer current original setting examines unusual group base metal coin find fort tightly date discrete context evidence undocumented scheme token currency