硬幣：終極宣傳工具

統治者使用硬幣來宣傳自己和他們的成就以及他們想要傳達的任何訊息。

Money was invented by rulers to make a profit. About 2,600 years ago, the kings of Lydia hit upon a clever scheme. They turned everyone's silver and gold into coins with their emblem on it, and forced everyone to use it. But the face value of the coin was greater than the value of the metal content. The difference went into their tunics, and everyone has been doing it ever since.

貨幣是統治者為了牟利而發明的。大約 2,600 年前，呂底亞國王想出了一個聰明的計畫。他們把每個人的金銀都變成了帶有他們標誌的硬幣，並強迫每個人使用。但硬幣的面值大於金屬含量的價值。差別在於他們的束腰外衣，從那時起每個人都在這樣做。

Even the Lydians would have been surprised by the phenomenal success of $TRUMP, the recently launched cryptocurrency bearing the name of the new President of America and now worth billions.

即使是呂底亞人也會對 $TRUMP 的巨大成功感到驚訝，這是最近推出的以美國新總統名字命名的加密貨幣，目前價值數十億美元。

But Trump's coin is nothing new. In a pre-social media world, coins were the ultimate propaganda tool. Rulers used them to advertise themselves and their achievements and any messaging they wanted to get across.

但川普的硬幣並不是什麼新鮮事。在社群媒體出現之前的世界中，硬幣是最終的宣傳工具。統治者用它們來宣傳自己和他們的成就以及他們想要傳達的任何訊息。

Alexander the Great was the first person to put his own image on Greek coins, hitherto the preserve of the gods. But he came to consider himself a god which gave him the OK.

亞歷山大大帝是第一個將自己的肖像印在希臘硬幣上的人，迄今為止，希臘硬幣一直是眾神的保留地。但他開始認為自己是上帝，這給了他OK。

His vast coinage became the standard issue for his successors. The obverse shows the head of Alexander wearing a ram's horn, indicating the Horns of Ammon – the iconography thanks to an Egyptian Oracle which identified him as being the son of the god Zeus Ammon.

他的大量鑄幣成為他的繼任者的標準貨幣。正面顯示亞歷山大頭戴公羊角，代表阿蒙之角－此圖源自埃及甲骨文，確認他是宙斯阿蒙神的兒子。

The reverse has the goddess Athena personified as Nikephoros (bringer of victory) holding Victory in her hand with a spear and shield, and the inscription naming King Alexander. You definitely wanted Athena on your side.

背面是女神雅典娜化身為尼基弗魯斯（勝利使者），手中拿著長矛和盾牌，上面刻著亞歷山大國王的銘文。你肯定希望雅典娜站在你這邊。

Coins were primarily minted to pay the army. There were no fancy economic notions of maintaining an adequate money supply; that was simply a by-product. But coins were the main medium in which everyone got to see Alexander as a divine being with the warrior goddess par excellence on his side.

鑄造硬幣主要是為了支付軍隊費用。沒有什麼花俏的經濟概念來維持充足的貨幣供應；這只是一個副產品。但硬幣是每個人將亞歷山大視為神聖存在的主要媒介，他身邊有著卓越的戰神女神。

The Romans were the best at using coins for propaganda.

羅馬人最擅長使用硬幣進行宣傳。

This coin of Julius Caesar features, on the obverse, Caesar at the height of his power with a legend naming him as “Dictator in Perpetuity”, an honour bestowed on him by the Roman Senate in mid-February 44 BCE.

這枚朱利葉斯·凱撒硬幣的正面刻有凱撒的權力巔峰，傳說中稱他為“永久獨裁者”，這是羅馬元老院於公元前 44 年 2 月中旬授予他的榮譽。

On the reverse is his mythical ancestor Venus holding Victory. Essentially, he was making himself king and ending the Roman Republic. If you know your Roman history, or Shakespeare, you will realise this was not going to go down well.

背面是他的神話祖先維納斯手持勝利女神。本質上，他是在自立為王並結束羅馬共和國。如果你了解羅馬歷史或莎士比亞，你就會意識到這不會順利進行。

And indeed, it did not. Caesar was assassinated just one month later on the Ides of March.

事實上，事實並非如此。僅僅一個月後，凱撒就在三月十五日被暗殺。

Marcus Junius Brutus celebrated the event with one of the most famous coins in history bearing his own bust and name on the obverse.

馬庫斯·朱尼厄斯·布魯圖斯用歷史上最著名的硬幣之一來慶祝這一事件，硬幣的正面刻有他自己的半身像和名字。

On the reverse, above the inscription, the “pileus” cap was a symbol of freedom often worn by recently freed slaves. The daggers on either side were, of course, the weapons used to slay Caesar.

背面銘文上方的「菌蓋」帽子是自由的象徵，新近獲釋的奴隸經常戴著。兩邊的匕首當然是用來殺死凱撒的武器。

The First Jewish Revolt started in 66 CE, when the Jews tried to reclaim their freedom from the Romans and reconquered Jerusalem. They issued coins proclaiming their independence from Rome.

第一次猶太起義始於公元 66 年，當時猶太人試圖從羅馬人手中奪回自由並重新征服耶路撒冷。他們發行硬幣宣布脫離羅馬獨立。

The obverse features a chalice with an inscription in paleo-Hebrew alphabet reading (from right to left): “Shekel Israel Year 3”, and the reverse with three budding pomegranates and an inscription: “Jerusalem the Holy”.

正面是一個聖杯，上面刻有古希伯來字母銘文（從右到左）：“Shekel Israel Year 3”，背面刻有三個含苞待放的石榴和銘文：“耶路撒冷聖地”。

Other coins in the series had the legend “The freedom of Zion”, which can be interpreted as a political statement to rally support and to emphasise Jerusalem as the capital.

該系列的其他硬幣上有「錫安自由」的傳說，這可以被解釋為一種政治聲明，以爭取支持並強調耶路撒冷作為首都。

The Romans did not take kindly to being beaten up. Their Emperor Vespasian subdued the revived Jewish state and destroyed the Temple, issuing umpteen versions of the famous “Judaea Capta” coins.

羅馬人並不樂意挨打。他們的皇帝維斯帕先征服了復興的猶太國家並摧毀了聖殿，發行了無數版本的著名“猶太卡普塔”硬幣。

Struck in 71 CE, this coin has Vespasian on the obverse. On the reverse, on the right side is a female personification of the Jewish nation in mourning, seated beneath a palm tree; on the left side, a captive Jew with his hands tied behind back and captured weapons behind.

這枚硬幣於公元 71 年鑄造，正面印有維斯帕薌 (Vespasian) 圖案。背面右側是一位坐在棕櫚樹下的哀悼中的猶太民族女性化身；左邊是一名被俘虜的猶太人，雙手被反綁在背後，背後藏著被繳獲的武器。

The circulation of these coins in the province of Judaea (Israel) for the next 25 years would have rubbed it in for the local population.

這些硬幣在接下來的 25 年裡在猶太省（以色列）流通，為當地居民帶來了影響。

When the Jews revolted again in 132–135 CE, they once more issued their own coinage. They gathered in all the coins circulating and overstruck them with their inscriptions, first expressing hope for rebuilding the temple and then, in desperation as the revolt failed, “For the freedom of Jerusalem”.

當猶太人在公元 132-135 年再次叛亂時，他們再次發行了自己的貨幣。他們收集了所有流通的硬幣，並在上面刻上了自己的銘文，首先表達了重建聖殿的希望，然後，在叛亂失敗後的絕望中，「為了耶路撒冷的自由」。

The tradition of using coins for propaganda and profit has continued throughout history. Even in modern times, we are used to seeing the head of the monarch on our coins.

使用硬幣進行宣傳和獲利的傳統在歷史上一直延續著。即使在現代，我們也習慣在硬幣上看到君主的頭像。

Coins and banknotes are still fiduciary, which means that they have little or no intrinsic value. Their value derives from the state enforcing their use and guaranteeing them, just as it was for the Lydians.

硬幣和紙幣仍然是受託的，這意味著它們幾乎沒有內在價值。它們的價值來自於國家強制使用它們並為其提供保障，就像呂底亞人一樣。

And even Trump's meme coin is not his only venture into coins.

甚至川普的迷因硬幣也不是他唯一一次涉足硬幣領域。

Private mints can issue commemorative coins which are not actually legal tender. Trump's version are “med

私人造幣廠可以發行實際上並非法定貨幣的紀念幣。川普的版本是「醫學