Matthew Boulton: The Art of Making Money

On Thursday 25th September at Mills & Reeve, Dr Richard Clay of the Barber Institute marked the 200th anniversary of Boulton's death with a private presentation and exhibition. 

Next year, the 200th anniversary of Boulton's death, will be marked by the Barber Institute with an exhibition with the title of this evening's Society presentation and Q&A with Dr Richard Clay (left) on Matthew Boulton: The Art of Making Money.

Matthew Boulton's contribution to the Industrial Revolution is well-documented. However, his contribution to emerging mass visual cultures and cash economies is less understood and the subject of current collaborative research at the University of Birmingham between Dr Clay and Professor Richard Jones.

Boulton developed steam-driven technology for manufacturing coinage in Birmingham and, to this end, employed artists and medalists from Britain and overseas. Clay and Jones' work explores these activities and his marketing of coins and minting machinery, as well as the significance of coins in relation to contemporary discourses on national identity.