Speelpenning uit Neurenberg met Alexander de Grote c. 1790 - 1800

This is a 'Speelpenning' or token coin from Nuremberg, featuring Alexander the Great, made by E.L.S. Lauer. The coin's circular form and the relief details produce a captivating interplay of light and shadow, emphasizing the profile of Alexander and the symbolic imagery on the reverse. The formal structure of the coin reveals much about its cultural function. The choice of Alexander the Great signals an appeal to historical greatness. His image, rendered in profile, a convention used to represent rulers, is encircled by text, grounding the figure in the symbolic system of language. On the reverse, the arrangement of the three birds and foliage invites us to decode its heraldic and symbolic meanings. The tactile quality of the coin—its material weight and the texture of the relief—situates it as an object of both aesthetic and economic exchange. The interplay between form and symbol suggests how even small, functional items can serve as potent carriers of cultural and historical narratives.