When discussing coin finds in Italian graves it is best to study the phenomenon across the entire medieval period, from the sixth to the fifteenth century. Only by comparing poorly documented periods with those for which the written evidence is more plentiful is it possible to appreciate continuities and disjunctures over time. It is also helpful to consider coins in graves in the wider context of the ritual use of coins. Few coins are found in ancient and early medieval graves compared to other artefacts. In the later middle ages, when graves did not normally contain gravegoods, an occasional coin is the only object that may have caused that grave to be recorded.

Prejudices of all types represent a profound failure and blight on our society.  These prejudices manifest themselves in individuals and nations having policies which, overtly or covertly, subtly or blatantly, discriminate on the basis of religion, race, nationality, gender, age  or sexual orientation---religious and racial prejudices being among the most commonly encountered. Even a cursory examination of the history of religious bigotry amply demonstrates the frequent, prevalent and globally widespread nature of these practices.  The consequences on individuals range from the relatively inconsequential, such as slurs and insults, to the devastating, including confiscation of property, expulsion from countries and mass slaughter.  Religious and racial intolerance has also been responsible for a multitude of regional conflicts and global wars in the past as well as in the present,  as evidenced by a mere perusal of current events.  This article traces the repercussions of religious and racial intolerance through the eyes of historical and commemorative medals.

De naam Troje is al tientallen eeuwen een strijdkreet in de Europese cultuur. De befaamde Ilias van Homerus is het oudste literaire werk van Europa. Met dat boek in de hand ontdekte Heinrich Schliemann in 1873 het oudste Troje, weliswaar niet dat van Homerus, maar de formidabele schat die hij uit Turkije smokkelde is zo legendarisch geworden als de heldendaden van Hector en Achilles. In 1945 verdween de schat uit Berlijn, om een halve eeuw later pas op te duiken in Rusland. Het touwtrekken om de schat resulteerde in tentoonstellingen in Rusland en nu in Duitsland.