Global Events Reflected in Frankfurt’s Financial Objects

The link between local events and global phenomena unfolds through Frankfurt’s collection: A credit card tells a story about the environmental movement of the 1970s; a stock certificate reveals the dynamics of 19th-century colonial markets; a medal captures the global aftermath of a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Colonial expansion, war, migration, and climate disasters are just as much part of the narrative as technological innovations and cultural shifts. The plural form “globalizationS” is used deliberately —
history unfolds not as a single, linear process but through overlapping movements.

Drawing on Frankfurt’s extensive collection of numismatic and financial objects, the exhibition harnesses the interpretive potential of material culture to convey history. This intentional shift in perspective — from object to global context and back — opens unexpected insights into economic, political, and social developments. One highlight illustrating the exhibition’s appeal is a Frankfurt inflation medal from 1817: ist reverse side records the soaring prices of grain and other staples are recorded. That alone might seem unremarkable at first — but the backdrop to this year of famine was a volcanic eruption in Indonesia two years prior. The massive ash cloud from the volcano shrouded the Northern Hemisphere for an extended period, creating wet conditions and devastating harvests in 1816 due to frequent storms.
Countless myths and solid theories revolve around this historic global event. For example, the destruction of grain supplies may have led to increased horses slaughtered, accelerating the rise of the bicycle.
It’s even possible that the birth of Frankenstein can be traced back to this global weather event: Mary Shelley was forced indoors by the persistent bad weather during a Swiss summer retreat, prompting her to write horror stories — including Frankenstein — to pass the time.
Even the pink sunsets drawings of the Biedermeier era might be linked to scattering long-wave light caused by volcanic ash particles lingering in the atmosphere for decades.

These connections may not be immediately obvious upon first glance at the objects. Yet the stories they reveal are rich, layered, and compelling — extending far beyondwhat we today call “globalization.” “The World in Money” links seemingly modest objects with exciting contexts, history with the present, and Frankfurt with the world. It’s an invitation to marvel, question, and rethink