THE CURRENCY OF COMMUNISM Exhibition to Open This Autumn at the British Museum

A free exhibition, "The currency of communism" will be on view 19 October 2017 - 18 March 2018 in Room 69a at the British Museum.

Since the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, many countries around the world have adopted a form of communist government, by adapting Marxist theory to suit a set of diverse economic and geographic conditions. A form of communism has subsequently been brought to more than 20 countries around the world. Drawing on the British Museum's remarkable collection, this display explores how money works and what it looks like under communism.

Another aspect of the project has been the acquisition of posters advertising banking services, government bonds, insurance and other themes relating to money. These are among the most visually striking of the acquisitions and have enhanced our understanding of how money has worked and how it is represented within different artistic media. A selection of the 400 or so acquisitions made so far with the Art Fund grant will be on display, as well as other objects.

Communism holds that money is a social construct, and has no role in a utopian society. However, no communist state has successfully eliminated money from its economy. Rather, concepts of value and wealth are eroded and distorted, while the national currency becomes just one of several types of exchange, both formal and informal. Money assumes a dual function - a medium of exchange and an essential tool for circulating communist ideology. Communist currencies have remained important for circulating propaganda - banknotes are often highly attractive, featuring designs glorifying ordinary workers, soldiers and mothers. Landscapes showing agricultural productivity, industrial progress and military prowess are all designed to demonstrate to ordinary citizens how much life has improved under communism.

Communism looks to end wealth inequalities by abolishing private wealth, land and property ownership, regulating prices and state controlling industries and national service. The devaluation of the state currency is a natural consequence of limited foreign exchange and because many services - such as housing, education, public transport and welfare - become either free or are heavily subsidised by the state. Fragmentation of the monetary system was particularly pronounced during the Cold War, when conventional supply chains from capitalist countries were closed off for long periods. Frequent shortages of some foodstuffs and goods meant that there was not necessarily anything a person could purchase with money and periodically led to payment substitutes such as voucher systems. Visitors to the USSR in the 1970s found that US-made jeans or cigarettes were widely accepted as payment, while spirits such as vodka were added as a 'sweetener' to many a transaction. Citizens frequently turned to the black market to procure certain items - western clothing, good quality coffee and cosmetics. It has been an illicit and yet important component of most communist economies.

States under communist rule have tried to erode the status of money as a measure of value. Although they never succeeded in eliminating money altogether, they have taught citizens to question its role and function in society. In East Germany for example, coins were deliberately made from aluminium so that they felt light and 'cheap'. In the USSR adverts for state savings banks deliberately avoided mention of customer benefits such as interest payments. Ideologically at least, savings accounts existed for the benefit of the state, not the individual.

Stalin said that '[t]he Soviet people have mastered a new way of measuring the value of people... not in roubles, not in dollars [but] according to their heroic feats.' In the 1930s Russia introduced a complex system of awards and honours, emulated by almost all other communist countries, as a substitute for cash bonuses. A worker who exceeded their factory quota might receive the Order of Labour Glory, while a mother who reared nine children would be bestowed with the Order of Maternal Glory, First Class. Such awards were highly coveted because they came with 'perks' such as free travel. They conferred enhanced social status on their recipients and hence access to a better quality of life.

The collapse of the Soviet Union had a domino effect, bringing communist rule to an end for millions around the world. During the transition to democracy and capitalism in the early 1990s most former communist states experienced profound upheaval. Questions were raised about historic ownership and whether property should be returned to its former owners, or to those currently occupying or farming it. Economies collapsed and homelessness escalated. Most former Soviet republics launched new currencies, while former satellite states redesigned theirs, some of which were highly politicised featuring local landmarks and national heroes. Lithuania's first post-Soviet currency features an image of Juozas Zikaras' Statue of Liberty. The original monument had been erected to celebrate Lithuania's declaration of independence from Russia in 1918, and was deliberately destroyed by the invading Soviets in 1940.

Today, China, Laos, Vietnam and Cuba still identify as communist, albeit with near-normalised trading relations with capitalist countries. Since the 1990s, state control on their economies has loosened and commercial enterprise and consumer culture have flourished.

Thomas Hockenhull, Curator of Modern Money at the British Museum, was awarded a grant by the Art Fund through the New Collecting Awards programme in 2016. This has enabled him to build a collection of numismatic material from socialist and former socialist governed countries. His most recent acquisitions include Soviet posters advertising state banking services and a medal commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall, which will be included in this display. Other acquisitions include the first banknote to enter the collection from South Yemen, a 50 yuan note from 1980 featuring an intellectual, a female peasant and an industrial labourer, a rare 5,000 dinar note of Yugoslavia from 1950, and Yugoslav bon (coupons).

The currency of communism is on view in Room 69a from 19 October 2017 to 18 March 2018. Open Saturday - Thursday 10.00-17.30, Friday 10.00-20.30. There will be a range of related events.

Research and acquisitions for the exhibition have been made possible with Art Fund support. Research supported by Loughborough University with funding from The Leverhulme Trust, and University College London.

Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art. In the past five years Art Fund has given £34 million to help museums and galleries acquire works of art for their collections. It works with over 700 museums and galleries across the UK and helps museums share their collections with wider audiences by supporting a range of tours and exhibitions, including ARTIST ROOMS, and makes additional grants to support the training and professional development of curators. Art Fund is independently funded, with the core of its income provided by 123,000 members who receive the National Art Pass and enjoy free entry to over 240 museums, galleries and historic places across the UK, as well as 50% off entry to major exhibitions. In addition to grant-giving, Art Fund's support for museums includes the annual Art Fund Museum of the Year (won by The Hepworth Wakefield, in 2017), a publications programme and a range of digital platforms. Find out more about Art Fund and the National Art Pass at artfund.org

The Department of Coins and Medals is home to one of the world's finest numismatic collections, comprising about one million objects. It spans the history of coinage from its origins in the 7th century BC to the present, and includes related material such as coin weights, tokens and money boxes. The Department holds the national collection of paper money, from early Chinese notes to euros, as well as a magnificent selection of commemorative and art medals from the Italian Renaissance to the present. It is home to the most extensive numismatic library in the country which, like the collection, exists for the benefit of scholars and general public. The collection is brought to a wide audience through temporary exhibitions, publications, a broad programme of events and Study Room facilities. The Citi Money Gallery (Room 68) chronicles the development and use of money throughout the world.

Pictured: Yugoslavia, 5000 dinara, 1950. © The Trustees of the British Museum. The foundry was a common motif in Socialist art, a metaphor for the forging of the communism state.