#apotropaica

It’s interesting how coins have such a diverse plethora of uses when it comes to magic. At the most basic level there’s the materials they’re made from—especially silver—which often have magical significance. And of course coins also symbolize wealth and prosperity. They’re also just convenient and durable tokens of rememberence—especially when modified—that may or may not serve a magical purpose. But then there’s also the range of meanings that can be ascribed based on the images on coins. Many coins, ancient and modern, depict gods or saints. Certain coins with saints or angels on them were used as apotropaic charms in the Middle Ages, and I’m sure coins with gods or goddesses served a similar purpose in antiquity at times. Many modern coins depict pagan gods, such as Liberty on older American coins or Minerva on the old Italian 100 lire coin. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if neo-pagans use them as devotional objects Then there are all of the coins depicting monarchs. There are cases where the touch of a king was thought to cure certain diseases. Sometimes these kings would also give out coins they had touched (which naturally would bear their images) which were thought to have a healing power of their own. I wouldn’t be surprised if the mere image of a king on a coin sufficed at times when the more potent touch relic wasn’t available.

@icryyoumercy