New Podcast from the ANS: The Planchet
The American Numismatic Society is proud to announce the launch of its podcast, The Planchet. Recorded for non-specialists and professionals alike, The Planchet shares conversations by numismatists and other scholars about the stories and histories of currency and medals. Why did we call it “The Planchet“? Listen to Episode 1 to find out!
For those who do not know what a podcast is, think of it as being a radio show played on your computer, tablet, or smart phone. iPhone users will already have (or can download) the free Apple Podcast app. Android users will be able to use the Google Podcasts app. Both phones can access the podcast via the Spotify app. If you do not want to listen via an app, you can stream the audio directly on your computer or phone by visiting the podcast’s webpage and pressing the “Play” button at the bottom of an episode’s description.
To subscribe and hear new episodes each month, visit Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcasting platforms, and click/tap the “Subscribe” button. You can even receive email reminders whenever a new episode is published. Subscriptions to the podcast and its current and forthcoming episodes are free for ANS Members and non-Members as well.
The ANS plans on producing an hour-long numismatic conversation each month as well as occasional, short episodes filled with ANS news. If you have any questions, comments, or requests for topics, send an email to The Planchet.
Episode 1: Jesse Kraft, ANS Curator of the Americas
From the earliest days of the British-American colonies, up through the late 1850s, a variety of foreign coinage circulated in the United States, including Spanish-American, British, French, and Portuguese formed a majority of the hard-money supply in the United States. Most of these coins did not conform to the predominant unit of account (i.e. “dollars” or “pounds”) and forced American consumers and merchants to navigate this system through a variety of ingenious, though sometimes confounding methods. This episode will discuss those methods, including the use of abstract mathematical formulas, a variety of exchange charts, the prolonged usage of British monetary terminologies, and ways to evade the heightened threat of counterfeit coins.
