Citi Money Gallery Education Programme Money Week: History of Money Image Bank Coins from the Hoxne Hoard; Roman Britain, buried in the 5th century AD. Found in Hoxne, Suffolk (1992). Museum number: 1994.4-8.1-400 Supported by Citi

Cowrie shells. From China; Shang and Zhou dynasty, 16th-8th century BC Museum number: CM 1952-10-29-24

Electrum 1/6slater; Lydian, about 650-600 BC Electrum 1/6slater; Lydian, about 650-600 BC. From western modern Turkey. One of the very earliest coins. Museum number: CM BMC Lydia 6

Bronze hollow handle spade money Bronze hollow handle spade money. From Jin state, China; Eastern Zhou dynasty, 5th century BC Museum number: CM 1996-6-12-1

Silver denarius of Augustus; Roman, 2 BC-AD 4 Silver denarius of Augustus; Roman, 2 BC-AD 4. Minted in Lugdunum (modern Lyons, France) Museum number: CM BMC Augustus 533

Gold aureus of emperor Claudius; AD 46-47; minted at Rome, Italy Museum number: 1863,0501.1

Silver penny of Eric Bloodaxe. Viking, AD 947-54; York, England. Museum number: CM SCBI 1228; BMC II, p.238, no.1112

Great Ming Circulating Treasure Note from China Great Ming Circulating Treasure Note from China. Ming dynasty, first issued AD 1375. Museum number: CM 1942-8-5-1

Pieces of eight. Potosi, Bolivia, AD 1589-1598 Pieces of eight. Potosi, Bolivia, AD 1589-1598. The eight reales coin, or 'piece of eight', was the most common silver coin of late sixteenth and seventeenth century Spain. As trade became a global activity for the first time, it became the international currency. Museum number: CM 1920,0907.382

£5 note, Bank of England. Great Britain, AD 1947 £5 note, Bank of England. Great Britain, AD 1947. The black and white fiver. Museum number: CM 1981-3-8-1

Credit card; issued from United Arab Emirates, 2009 Museum number: 2009,4128.2

Money hat from Samu'ah, southern Hebron hills, modern Palestinian Authority, AD 1840s (with later additions). Museum number: 1968.As4.5

What does money look like now? Bimetallic £2 coin. Great Britain, AD 1997 Museum number: CM 1999-6-6-1 What does money look like now?

Why would someone deface a coin? Suffragette-defaced penny. United Kingdom, AD 1903 Museum number: CM 1991,0733.1 Why would someone deface a coin?

Why don’t all coins look the same? Coin spiral display of the national currency of UN recognised countries. The coins spiral alphabetically by country from the centre to the outer edge of the display panel. There are 192 coins in total, with one space representing South Sudan, which issues banknotes but is yet to issue coins, following its independence in 2011. Why don’t all coins look the same?

Now you have finished… For more information Go to www.britishmuseum.org/money or www.google.com/culturalinstitute/collection/the-british-museum. All images: © The Trustees of the British Museum