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Idit Ben-Or presented her current research on the history of non-governmental currencies issued by corporations in the early modern world. The research centers on the case study of the English East India Company (EIC) and the coinage it issued in India. The EIC issued coinage in India from the 1680’s until 1835. The Company’s coinage varied in language, location, imagery, minting technologies, and metals. Each phase of British control over India, from corporate to imperial, saw changes within the coinage systems and designs. These changes were not merely reflective of political change; coinage was a tool to enter, influence, and conquer new markets, as well as a medium to convey messages. By comparing this pivotal example to other types of corporate and privately issued currencies in the era, the project aims at theorizing the category of historic corporate currencies. Comparative case studies include, for example, industrialist token coinage Idit researched in her dissertation (such as the image above) and currencies issued by city corporations in early modern England.
Image: Parys Mining Company Halfpenny, 1788 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
