List of museums with major numismatic collections
Encyclopedia
Numismatic Collections
Many history and cultural museums have large numismatic collections (coins, money, and tokens). Some museums are specifically dedicated to the history of money or coins, while others have major collections amongst other material. Many small museums often have important collections of coins from their local area or important archaeological sites.Major Collections of World Numismatics by Size
- Smithsonian InstitutionNational Museum of American HistoryThe National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, USA - 1,600,000 objects http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/group_detail.cfm?key=1253&gkey=50 - State HermitageHermitage MuseumThe State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
, St. Petersburg, Russia - 1,125,000 objects http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_7.html - British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, London, UK - 1,000,000 objects http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/the_museum/departments/coins_and_medals.aspx - American Numismatic SocietyAmerican Numismatic SocietyThe American Numismatic Society is a New York City-based organization dedicated to the study of coins and medals.-Introduction:...
, New York, New York, USA - 800,000 objects http://www.numismatics.org/about/introduction.html - Kunsthistorisches MuseumKunsthistorisches MuseumThe Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
, Vienna, Austria - 700,000 objects http://www.khm.at/system2E.html?/staticE/page993.html - Numismatic Museum of AthensNumismatic Museum of AthensThe Numismatic Museum in Athens is one of the most important museums of Greece and houses one of the greatest collections of coins, ancient and modern, in the world...
, Athens, Greece - 600,000 objects http://www.arxaiologia.gr/assets/media/PDF/migrated/1535.pdf - Cabinet des MédaillesCabinet des MédaillesThe Cabinet des Médailles, more formally known as Département des Monnaies, Médailles et Antiques de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, is a department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, France, housed in its former premises in Rue de Richelieu.The Cabinet des Médailles is a museum...
, Bibliothèque nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de FranceThe is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
, Paris, France - 555,000 objects http://www.bnf.fr/fr/collections_et_services/dpts/s.departement_monnaies_medailles.html - Bode MuseumBode MuseumThe Bode Museum is one of the group of museums on the Museum Island in Berlin, Germany; it is a historically preserved building. The museum was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904...
, Museumsinsel, Berlin, Germany - 500,000 objects http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/smb/sammlungen/details.php?objID=9&lang=en - Ashmolean MuseumAshmolean MuseumThe Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
, Oxford, UK - 333,000 objects http://www.ashmolean.org/documents/HCRhistory.pdf - MünzkabinettOriental Coin Cabinet JenaOriental Coin Cabinet Jena is a collection of oriental coins at Jena University, in Jena, Germany, founded in 1840.- History :In 1840, Johann Gustav Stickel, Professor for Oriental languages at Jena University, succeeded in convincing the Grandduke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach to acquire a collection...
, DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- 300,000 objects http://www.skd-dresden.de/de/museen/muenzkabinett.html - Fitzwilliam MuseumFitzwilliam MuseumThe Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
, Cambridge, UK - 192,000 objects http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/dept/coins/collection/
India
- Alkesh Dinesh Mody Institute, Numismatic Museum, on the Kalina Campus of Mumbai University, http://www.stay.com/mumbai/museum/2440/dinesh-modi-numismatics-museum/
- Indian Institute for Research in Numismatic Studies Museum, Numismatic Museum, located near Nasik, [www.iirns.org/]
Pakistan
- National Museum of PakistanNational Museum of PakistanThe National Museum of Pakistan is located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. National Museum of Pakistan was established in Frere Hall on April 17, 1950, replacing the defunct Victoria Museum. Frere Hall itself was built in 1865 as a tribute to Sir Bartle Frere, a Commissioner of Sind during the...
, Major Collection 58,000 coins - Lahore MuseumLahore MuseumLahore Museum , established in 1894, is located in The Mall, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Rudyard Kipling's father, John Lockwood Kipling, was one of the famous curators of the museum. Over 250,000 admissions were registered in 2005.-Attractions:...
, Major Collection - Peshawar MuseumPeshawar MuseumThe Peshawar Museum is a Museum situated in the historic city of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.-Introduction:Situated between the old Deans Hotel and the Old city, about five minutes walk from Jail Bridge and the Railway station....
, Minor Collection 8,625 coins - Taxila Site MuseumTaxila MuseumTaxila Museum is located at Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan.-Location:Taxila Museum is located 35 km from Islamabad on the Grand Trunk Road to Peshawar. It is famous for remains of Gandhara art...
, Site Museum
Turkmenistan
- Saparamyrat Türkmenbaşy National Museum of TurkmenistanNational Museum of TurkmenistanThe National Museum of Turkmentistan , also known as the Sparmurat Turkmenbashi Museum, is a museum in Turkmenistan.The museum was opened on 12 November 1998....
, Unknown Collection
Uzbekistan
- Bukhara State MuseumBukhara State Architectural Art Museum-Preserve-Introduction:The Bukhara State Architectural Art Museum-Preserve is a museum in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. It was founded in 1922 and contains archaeological and historical material relating to the region of Bukhara.-Numismatics:...
, Unknown Collection
Collections of Central Asian Coins beyond Central Asia
The coinages of Central Asia from the Achaemenid Persians, through Alexander's successors, to the Islamic conquests, play an important part in reconstructing the history of the region. They are particularly important because of the complex web of trade routes, sometimes known as the 'silk' or 'spice' routes which connected different parts of the world through Central Asia. As a result many museums outside of Central Asia have significant collections of coins from that region.- Shanghai Museum, Minor Collection 1,783 coins