Coin images are among the smallest portraits in the world. Making use of extremely confined space, they show finely detailed half-length likenesses, usually in profile. The small size of coin portraits frequently calls for highly symbolic imagery. The hairstyles, garments, and accessories that are depicted go beyond being aesthetically pleasing add-ons: they reflect the Zeitgeist and open a window into the cultures of bygone ages.

More than a hundred coin portraits are on show from a cultural history perspective in the exhibition Head & Shoulders, illustrating several millennia of fashion and lifestyle.

Like small time capsules, coins and medals preserve the elaborate hairstyles, magnificent beards, and intricate head coverings of each period. The exhibition travels through more than 2,400 years of fashion history with the help of over 100 coins.

Coins were minted in large amounts and were in daily use. A coin portrait was therefore the image that was most frequently seen by a ruler's subjects. Hence, the way the sovereigns styled themselves carried particular importance.

Some became real trendsetters: their fashion turned into distinctive trademarks.

Everybody who was anybody during the Italian Renaissance would make sure to show their status. The hat or biretta was a telltale sign of social standing, education, and political attitude. Elaborate head coverings were particularly prevalent at the Northern Italian courts as fashion statements and reflections of the way people perceived themselves in a society that hovered between tradition and new beginnings.

For more information, see:
Head and Shoulders(https://www.khm.at/en/exhibitions/head-and-shoulders-coins-in-fashion)
Head and Shoulders: When Coins Became Fashion Statements at KHM Vienna(https://couturenotebook.com/best-haute-couture-blog/coins-in-fashion-exhibition-kunsthistorisches)
New exhibition reveals how coins became history's smallest fashion statements(https://artdaily.cc/news/187976/New-exhibition-reveals-how-coins-became-history-s-smallest-fashion-statements)