The Semiotics of Banknotes and Coins : Reading Contemporary Currency Design

This book studies currency from a semiotic perspective, with a focus on how it reproduces and produces social meanings in the public sphere of the countries, and political organizations in the case of the EU, where it is used.It analyses currencies from ten countries as text, in a broad sense, as defined by semiotics, with the purpose of rendering visible how they function as the material support for the construction of an idea of the nation in banal terms.The currencies studied are the Argentinean Peso, the Brazilian Real, the British Pound Sterling, the Canadian Dollar, and the Croatian Kuna, the Euro, the Mexican Peso, the Swiss Franc, the Uruguayan Peso and the U.S.Dollar. Particular attention is paid to what were chosen for the design of the banknotes and coins of a number of countries including the local encyclopaedia, historical figures, national heroes, autochthonous animals, typical landscapes, and historical moments and episodes.Moreover, the book focuses on showcasing the ty