ADVENT SILVER COIN WITH NATIVITY

Silver coin with Nativity scene

For the final day of our Ashmolean Advent calendar we're sharing this silver coin which features a Nativity scene.

The coin was produced in Rome under the named pope Gregory XIII in the late 16th-century.

Popes in this period were not merely spiritual but also temporal rulers and so, like any other king or baron, they administered their territories, taxed and ruled them, and they waged wars.

This particular coin is called a teston, a very common denomination. The word teston means ‘large head’, named after the large ruler heads usually found on coins. However, papal coins like this one normally bear the reigning pope’s coat of arms.

Testons are large and heavy, in this case nearly 10g. Because of their size they can have elaborate reverse scenes like the Nativity scene here, which in itself is quite rare.

More frequently Papal coins depict Christ in other aspects, such as Mary and Child, Christ in the Temple or Christ and the Apostles. 

Modern coin
1572–1585
Struck silver, 29.6mm diameter
HCR46975

Not on display