Holiday guide - museums

[chrisild]

I saw the exhibition and was VERY impressed. The collection of the Geldmuseum is finger-lickin'. If they come out with what they consider their 100 best pieces, it's a spectacle.

Yesterday I was in Utrecht and visited the museum. And I agree, that presentation is a great one. Very interesting coins, and a good way of showing them (and other money related objects, as you mentioned).

I am not quite sure whether "Eyecatchers" is a temporary or permanent show; probably something in between. There is no deadline, as in "on display until 31 March" or so, but since the museum has 400,000 objects that could be shown, it may be modified or replaced by a new exhibition at some point.

Some objects (such as bank note designs) you can view from above. Others, particularly the coins are in vitrines that allow you to see both sides. Very nice by the way: The description/info in on either side, so you can view an obverse and read the explanation, then walk around the vitrine, see the reverse and read the same text again. No reason for running back and forth ...

By the way, the objects shown there are also depicted in a nice catalog (A4 size) that you can buy at the museum store. The texts are a little shorter than the ones that accompany the exhibition, but quite a few photos are enlarged. Oh, and it has lots of women wearing nothing but makeup and coins. Nah, no full frontal nudity, but apparently the catalog makers know that coin collectors are primarily male.

Another interesting show (did not see the entire museum on that day) is "Poen, Para, Doekoe, Floes". The mint building is in a pretty multicultural quarter (Lombok), and the show has life-size photos of many of them, each one showing money from his or her native country. You will see an actual note or coin, and can read a short comment. Probably made with junior visitors in mind, but nicely done for not-so-young people too. By the way, they do a lot for and with kids; I was pleasantly surprised at how many families, ie. parents with children, were there.

The museum is usually (Tue-Fri) open from ten to five. On Sat/Sun it does not open until noon, but (for those who do not take public transport to get there) parking around the mint/museum is free, and actually available, on Sundays.

Christian

[Figleaf]

Coin reflects early currency styles
By Zhao Dan  |   2010-5-2  |      

STARTING from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) in ancient China, coins used as currency were called "tong bao."

Different emperors issued different kinds of coins in their ruling title name.

For example, the coins issued by Emperor Yongle in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) are called "yong le tong bao."

The Shanghai Museum displays a partly damaged yong le tong bao.

The bronze coin is called "ji zhong qian," meaning it was inscribed with the weight of the coin.

The inscription on the back of the coin, says "san qian," which means "3 qian."

Qian was a unit of weight in ancient China, and 1 qian approximately equalled 3 grams, so that the coin weighs about 9 grams.

The front of the coin is inscribed with the four characters "yong le tong bao."

These characters represent the name and type of the coin and indicate the time when it was made.

The characters on the coin bear the style of the earlier Song Dynasty (960-1279) and are clearly inscribed in an ancient and elegant writing method.

Only two "yong le tong bao" coins weighing 3 qian are known to exist.

One of them, a coin completely intact, has been lost.

This damaged one was found by coin expert Wang Yinjia, now deceased, who was a Suzhou native.

It was later added to the Shanghai Museum collection.

The coin is not recorded in history books and experts believe this is because it could be a product of a trial casting.

The discovery of the coin not only fills in the blanks of history books, but also is significant for historians wanting to know more about the currency systems of the early Ming Dynasty.

Source: Shanghai Daily

[Salvete]

To me, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford still looked like a mad scientist's attic, which is fortunate for me, because that sort of museum I like best.
Side note: Oxford's "park and ride" system (combined with pedestrian streets in the centre) works very well, with constant, cheap bus transportation to the centre from two parking areas. Alas, the system is a victim of its success. The parking areas fill up quickly in the morning and are full for the remainder of the day. Either arrive early or prepare to wait in your car until someone leaves. Alternatively, arrive by public transportation.

Visit highly recommended.

Peter

Hello, Peter, I know you wrote this some time ago, and I apologise for late reply, but I only managed to get there a couple of weeks ago.  May I take issue with your description of the way the coins are laid out?  I had the advantage, before looking round, to get advice (also available in the 'bumf' available to the visiting public) about the layout and why and how the galleries were laid out in the way they were.  Taking that into account, the layout seemed natural, and made sense from both a time and place point of view.

And the Coin Room itself can be accessed by anyone, with a prior appointment, and any part of the collection can be viewed, handled, photographed, and notes taken in a very light, airy study room (which may not prove to be big enough to hold everybody who wants to use it, once word gets around).  To those interested in Indian coins, I recommend first approaching Dr Shailendra Bhandare, well-known to members of the ONS?)

And, yes, if arriving by car, please use the park 'n' ride facilities.  It is an old, crowded city, with little parking available - and yes, as Figleaf says  'Come early to avoid disappointment.'

Salvete

[Figleaf]

Ancient Coin Hoards Displayed in Greece’s Capital

12 May 2010 | An exhibition, titled “Found underneath a tree root: Ancient Greek Coin Hoards,” opened in the Athens Numismatic Museum and will be on display through December 31.

The exhibition contains 21 ancient Greek coin hoards, dating to between the fifth and first centuries BC, made up of 3,644 electrum, gold, silver, silver-plated and bronze coins. Two hoards from Epidaurus and Thebes, on loan from the IV and IX Ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities respectively, consisting of 549 coins and 498 pieces of gold jewellery, are also included in the presentation.

In archaeology, a hoard is a collection of valuable artefacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, usually with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder. However, since hoarders sometimes died, were displaced or forgot about their location before retrieving them, the hoards are often found much later by gold-diggers or archaeologists.

The exhibition in Athens, according to the ana.gr website, aspires to convey to the visitor the mythology surrounding the ancient treasures, with emphasis placed on the conditions of their discovery, the causes behind their concealment and information derived about their initial owners.

According to the publication, ancient hoards – buried inside walls, beneath floors, inside caves or in secret locations, are connected with historical events, offer information on the phenomenon of savings and attest to matters of coin circulation in Greece, focusing on savings at a time before banks and banking systems.

The Numismatic Museum of Athens, whose permanent collection boasts around 600,000 coins covering the ancient Greek world, the Roman and Byzantine periods, western Medieval times and modern times, is the only museum of its kind in the Balkans.

In addition to the coins, the museum’s collection also includes hoards – closed numismatic groups, weights, lead stamps, medals and precious stones, as well as thousands of volumes devoted to the field of numismatics, history, seals and archaeology and an extraordinarily rich archive of documents.

Housed in the Iliou Melathron (The Palace of Ilion), the home of Heinrich Schliemann, the Numismatic Museum’s building was created by German architect Ernst Ziller in the style of the Italian Renaissance adapted to the neoclassical spirit of the late nineteenth century. The building was inaugurated on January 10, 1881, and its inside walls are decorated with paintings on Pompeian themes and the finds of Schliemann at Troy and Mycenae.

Source: Balkan Travellers

[Figleaf]

Rare coin stolen from Paldi museum
Ahmedabad Jun 07 2010

A rare 18th century Mughal coin was stolen from the civic body-run museum at Paldi area in the city on June 4, an official said on Sunday.

“A gold coin belonging to Emperor Muhammad Shah Rangila has gone missing from the museum and we have registered a police complaint in this regard,” said the museum in-charge. He said the 10.5 gm gold coin was a rare item in the museum’s collection.

“In our museum, we have a good collection of rare gold and silver coins, paintings and other artifacts,” the civic official said. According to him, the civic body has now decided to install CCTV cameras so that the museum can be monitored properly.

Meanwhile, officers at the Ellis Bridge police station have recorded the statement of the museum staff and those in charge of security.

Source:

[Numismatica]

Visited the Dinesh Modi Numismatic Museum in Kalina campus of Mumbai University today It is basically divided into two parts,one for Indian coinage,and one for foreign.

The Indian section starts with oldest known coins of India(bent bars etc),and gradually it moves towards modern Indian coinage.I could see many familiar coins there,like Larins,punch marked coins(thanks to WoC!).It has a huge collection of princely states' coins,I think at-least one coin from each state has been shown there.It also exhibits some nice British,Portuguese and Danish India coins.Banknotes of British India as well as modern India are worth watching! Some scarce Republic India coins and banknotes (pieforts etc) are also there on display.

The foreign section is mainly flooded by pseudo issues Lots of NCLTs,bullion pieces...Not so attractive as Indian section!

The museum is open on weekdays (Monday-Saturday),10.00 am-5.00 pm(I guess).

Aditya

PS: I didn't see any security guards outside the museum

[Figleaf]

Your self-control is admirable.

Great, how you could see so much more because you knew what you were looking at. Are there other collections on view in Mumbai? Would you say that this is the city's best numismatic museum?

Peter

[Numismatica]

I do not know any other museum in Mumbai which is devoted completely to coins.There's one Prince of Wales Museum of Western India in South Mumbai (one of the best in India) where they have a section for Indian coins.

A collector from Baroda has set up a museum of coins from his personal collection.I don't have any info about its address..May be asm can help us..

It was allowed to take photos inside the museum,but I didn't have a camera.I didn't carry it because of heavy rains (it was proved to be a wise decision!) I'll take some photos next time.

Aditya