Experience 5: Props
Designing and Constructing Coins 

Backstage in a theatre production, designers and craftspeople are creating props, sets and costumes that will enhance the play. In this backstage experience, students will be designing and constructing coins as a prop for their medieval characters to use. These coins serve as points toward becoming knighted sir or dame and are used to purchase food at the medieval feast. (Awarding coins is left to the discretion of the teacher whenever a learning experience goes well. It is preferable to give coins to the whole class to ensure that all students feel success.) 

Coins
Props are objects that actors use on stage. These items help actors “feel” their roles and provide a sense of authenticity to dramatic productions. Hand props are objects carried by an actor (e.g., a sword, book, cane, handkerchief or coins), dressings are items that help decorate a stage (e.g., a candlestick, framed painting or rug) and furnishings are articles of furniture (e.g., a table or throne). 

Prop designers are clever at making their props look real to the audience. A sword might be made out of papier-mâché that is painted to look like metal, a goblet could be a plastic wineglass painted silver with fake jewels hot glued on it and bread could be the real thing coated in shellac to keep it from spoiling. Props and scenery together are called the stage set. 

The Mental Joust: Why do actors need props? What are the different types of props? How are props made? What is important to include in the design of a medieval coin? What is the value of our class coins? How will we use the coins during our festival?

Time: 30 minutes (not including drying time)

Materials: pencils, paper, poster board, glue (such as Tacky Glue), scissors, clear fingernail polish (optional), thread spools, buttons with a relief design (optional), modeling clay (cornstarch, baking soda and water), rolling pin (or the side of a bottle), wax paper, plastic film canisters, mineral oil, paper towels, tray, newspaper and bronze, silver and gold spray paint

Worthy Words: bargain, barter, dressings, furnishings, hand prop, prop, relief, set 

Procedure: 

1. Before class, mix clay according to the recipe found at the end of this experience.
2. Discuss: What images can be found on coins today? What is the meaning of these symbols? Look at examples of coins from the Middle Ages in books. (See the “Resources and Reference” list.) What significance do the images on medieval coins have? What symbols might be appropriate for our class coins?
3. Explain: Students will be creating their own coins to be awarded when a learning experience goes well. Coins will be used as points toward achieving knighthood and as a prop for when their character purchases food at the medieval feast at the end of the unit. 
4. Have students draw some simple coin designs that fit a circle 1-1/4 inches in diameter.
5. To make a stamp, cut shapes out of poster board. Glue the shapes to a disk of poster board, 1-1/4 inches diameter, and let dry. Dribbles of glue, string or some buttons with a relief or raised pattern can make an interesting stamp as well.
6. Glue the back of your relief on a spool. For a more durable stamp, coat your dried stamp with clear fingernail polish in a well-ventilated area.
7. Roll clay between two sheets of wax paper to about ¼ inch thickness.
8. Cut clay discs with a plastic film canister. Rub some mineral oil on the cutter if it sticks. 
9. Dab some mineral oil on your stamp with a paper towel and press the stamp into clay. 
10. Place coins on a tray lined with wax paper and let clay dry overnight. Less time is needed if you place the coins in the sun.
11. Spray paint the coins gold, silver and bronze in a well-ventilated area. 
12. What values should our coins have? For example: four bronze could equal one silver and two silver equal one gold. 

In the Middle Ages, clothing did not have sewn-in pockets. People carried coins, handkerchiefs, aromatic herbs or combs in little bags that hung from their belts. In addition to a purse, some people carried an almoner, a sock-like pouch that contained alms or money for beggars. What do you carry in your pockets? (Use graphic organizers, such as a Venn diagram to compare items from medieval times and today.)

Clay Recipe:
Ingredients: 1 cup cornstarch, 2 cups baking soda, 1-1/4-cups water

1. Combine ingredients in a saucepan. 
2. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until the mixture resembles mashed potatoes.
3. Remove from the stove and let mixture cool.
4. Keep clay in an airtight container until you are ready to mold it. Clay will air dry overnight. 

Writing Extension: 
In the second half of the students’ Book of Days under the heading “Challenges,” students draw a diagram of a coin they designed with an explanation of the significance of their design.

Exhibit Connection:
See examples of props at The Children’s Museum including a theatrical suit of armor, a medieval-style chair, and a knight’s sword and shield. Also, see examples of how props reveal important clues about a character.

References & Resources:

Carlson, Laurie. Days of Knights and Damsels. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. 1998.

Hart, Avery and Paul Mantell. Knights and Castles: 50 Hands-on Activities to Experience the Middle Ages. Charolette, VT: Williamson Publishing. 1998.

Langley, Andrew. Medieval Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.

Wright, Sylvia. The Age of Chivalry: English Society 1200-1400. New York: Warwick Press, 1988