Paper short abstract:

The paper presents PhD research project at the graduate college Value & Equivalence at J. W. Goethe University in Frankfurt. It aims to explore transformations of values which occur when objects are traded or transported across different social and cultural spheres.

Paper long abstract:

Coins by their "nature" belong to the category of things that are understood as tokens of a certain value(s) and they are very portable objects. This combination enables them to appear in various contexts. Being tokens of some specific value they are used as a means of exchange and trade. This is possible only if the actors share to some extent the same or compatible notions on relationships between value and equivalent. Sometimes the final deposition of coins implicates a more diverse usage of these coins than their primary purpose. This could be seen, among others, as a consequence of different comprehensions of value in the widest sense.

In this dissertation case studies of ancient coins discovered in contexts that point to some change in their treatment will be examined. For example roman coins shaped into a pendant found in medieval graves of Europe. The idea is to try to find a way to adequately apply the concept of object biography in order to give an insight for some of the question that these coins impose in terms of their valuation, such as following: What were the social rules constructed through everyday practice in roman world that "made" the value of a coin and how did or did not this same coin through some different set of rules or individual agency gain another value? How did this alteration happen? Can we speak about the transformation from value to valuables?