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Here, coins are not considered as a neutral ground for economy, but as objects whose materiality is a keystone for their uses. Therefore, archeological research is a valuable source allowing the observation of the reality of the uses of coins under precise circumstances, through a well-adapted methodology. Why is this very coin used in a given situation and what does this choice mean? A deep study of well-documented cases allows us to mention various uses, such as paying wages, managing coins on a domestic level, accumulating coin stashes or leaving offering-coins in sepulchers. This work aims at creating interpretation keys in archeological numismatics as well as defining their limits. It also offers hypotheses for an anthropological analysis of long term, or longue durée, monetary uses. In this respect, theories issued by economic anthropology present very efficient ways of investigating. As such, the last part of this work will show a more theoretical analysis that will allow us to figure out why different kinds of coins always differ from each other. Coins, are thus organized as systems of values that are far from strictly economic or dogmatic but are instead systems that people use to give meaning to situations. The various uses of coins can then be put into five main categories corresponding to different ways of considering social interactions. Numismatic, as a field of study, may belong in itself to this scheme