An Australian scientist has offered fascinating insights into the extensive history of coins depicting bees.
As the Royal Australian Mint issued an AUD 2 (EUR 1.23, GBP 1.07) coin showing two large honeybees, Prof Adrian Dyer from Monash University in Melbourne has examined the pollinator’s traces in numismatics.
The AUD 2 coin was presented last year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the insect’s introduction to Australia.
Prof Dyer said: “About 2,400 years earlier, a mint in the kingdom of Macedon had the same idea, creating a silver obol coin with a bee stamped on one side.”
The researcher from Monash University‘s Department of Physiology explained: “Over the centuries between these two events, currency demonstrating a symbolic link between honey and money is surprisingly common.”
Prof Dyer told the news platform The Conversation that money “is a store of value and can act as a medium of exchange for goods or services.”
He explained that “coins are a durable representation of value.”
Prof Dyer found in his study that some of the earliest coins ever created in Europe had depicted bees.
He said: “A silver Greek obol coin minted in Macedon between 412 BCE and 350 BCE, now housed in the British Museum, shows a bee on one side of the coin.”
The depiction of bees continued throughout the centuries, according to Prof Dyer.
The Australian coin presented in 2022 is a collector’s item and therefore unlikely to make its way into day-to-day cash circulation.
Royal Australian Mint CEO Leigh Gordon called the AUD 2 coin showing bees, “particularly beautiful.”
According to the CEO, it took the creative team more than a year to create it. He added: “But we also get suggestions from the public.”
Prof Dyer, meanwhile, emphasised the importance of bees.
He explained: “Bees are relevant because their pollinating efforts contribute to about one-third of the food required to feed the world.”
The scientist warned: “They are threatened by climate change and other environmental factors.”
There are around 30,000 registered beekeepers in Australia. The country is the habitat of more than 1,600 different types of bees.
