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Moderator
 United States
28363 Posts |
I have really enjoyed @ultrarant's excellent thread describing the locations of LCSs around the world http://goccf.com/t/261670&whichpage=1). While I certainly don't travel as extensively as he does, I appreciate this resource when I do happen to find myself in a foreign locale. I have a similar vision for this thread, except that my focus (and hopefully others who will also contribute) is to provide a similar numismatic lens for museums in the US and around the world. I'm not looking to photodocument every single display with any coins in it, but rather to give our members who are potential museum-goers a taste of what he or she can anticipate. On the other hand, I do like the idea of including a few pics despite the difficulty of taking good photos through display cases. Also, I note that photography (especially flash photography) is not permitted at some museums, so ask a docent before you whip out that SLR or iPhone. Over the next few days, I'll upload information from a few museums for which I have already acquired some of this information. Please feel free to add your own pics and descriptions so that this thread remains evergreen. As I visit more museums, I'll add information on those as well. I should mention that I am planning to stand on the shoulders of the numerous prior CCF members who have already posted about their museum experiences. Here is an incomplete list of those: 1. Smithsonian National Museum of American History (Washington DC): http://goccf.com/t/2369172. Denver Mint (Colorado): http://goccf.com/t/2645623. The ANA Money Museum (Colorado): http://goccf.com/t/247251; http://goccf.com/t/1108984. Nevada State Museum: http://goccf.com/t/2323345. Bank of Montreal Museum (Canada): http://goccf.com/t/1552676. Capitoline Museum (Rome, Italy): http://goccf.com/t/2712677. Kunst Historisches Museum (Vienna, Austria): http://goccf.com/t/2530268. Museum of London (England): http://goccf.com/t/1510119. Kongsberg Mint Museum (Norway): http://goccf.com/t/10728510. Cultural History Museum (Oslo, Norway): http://goccf.com/t/10587011. Money Museum (Lithuania): http://goccf.com/t/29917512. Israel Museum (Jerusalem): http://goccf.com/t/288260; http://goccf.com/t/288261; http://goccf.com/t/28821213. Tenterfield New South Wales Museum (Australia): http://goccf.com/t/18093214. Osaka Mint Museum (Japan): http://goccf.com/t/246216Interestingly, one of the earliest threads that I have discovered on CCF http://goccf.com/t/2287) has @Susanlynn9 talking about a so-called "Virtual Museum" on CCF. Perhaps this thread can partially address that concept. Thread Page Museum name Location
1 Budapest History Museum Hungary
1 Edinborough National Museum of Scotland Scotland
1 Culloden Battlefield Scotland
1 Glenfinnan Monument Visitor Center Scotland
1 Toledo Museum of Art Ohio USA
1 Museum of Antiquity in Basel Switzerland
1 City of Prague Museum Czech Republic
1 Smithsonian American History Museum Washington DC USA
2 Old US Mint at New Orleans Louisiana USA
4 Hammer Museum of Los Angeles California USA
4 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport Georgia USA
4 Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman Jordan
4 Jerusalem Archaelogical Park Israel
4 La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Spain
5 Figueres Dali Theatre and Museum Spain
5 Prado Museum Spain
5 Ethnological Museum of Barcelona Spain
5 National Geographic Museum Washington DC USA
5 Smithsonian American History Museum Washington DC USA
5 Peabody Hotel Tennessee USA
5 Museum of Banking Luxembourg
5 Museum of the City of Luxembourg Luxembourg
5 Museum of Vietnamese History Vietnam
6 Graceland Tennessee USA
6 Archaelogical Museum in Antalya Turkey
6 Bullock Texas State History Museum Texas USA
6 Museum of Archaeology of Arlon Belgium
7 Cologne Roman Germanic Museum Germany
7 Karples Manuscript Library of Buffalo New York USA
7 National art Museum of Catalonia Spain
7 Madrid National Archaeological Museum Spain
7 Harper's Ferry West Virgina USA
7 Michael C. Carlos Museum Georgia USA
7 Swiss National Museum Switzerland
8 Bogata Numismatic Museum Columbia
8 The British Museum of London UK
8 Colchester Town Museum UK
8 Museum of Fine Art in Lyon France
8 Nimes Museum of the Romans France
8 Curtius Museum in Liege Belgium
8 Smithsonian American History Museum Washington DC USA
8 The Mint Museum in Sydney Australia
8 Teylers Museum Netherlands
8 Ljubljana Castle Museum Slovenia
9 National Museum of Slovenia Slovenia
9 Constance Archaeological Museum Germany
9 Rose Garden Museum of Constance Germany
9 Zurich Art Museum Switzerland
9 Madrid National Archaeological Museum Spain
10 Archaeological Museum of Krakow Poland
10 Cuyahoga Valley National Park Ohio USA "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
Topic StarterUnited States
28363 Posts |
Here is my first museum to discuss--the Castle Museum of the Budapest History Museum (Hungary). On the bottom floor, the exhibits focus on early castle life and the surrounding city of Buda. There is a pretty interesting display of a hoard of silver denars from King Bela IV discovered in a clay pot. Here is the display:  and here is a uniface denar of Bela IV from my collection:   "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
Topic StarterUnited States
28363 Posts |
The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh has quite a bit of for the avid numismatist. Depending on the interest level and patience of your SO, you could easily spend an hour in this one small section of the museum. In addition to some Celtic/Roman coins, there are examples of the very first Scottish coinage (from David I, 1136 to 1153 AD). Another exhibit discusses contemporary counterfeits, while a single display categorizes several centuries worth of Scottish coins. For exonumia enthusiasts, there are also displays of Papal seals and pilgrim's badges. Celtic/Roman coins found in Deskford Scotland that include a "carnyx" or war-trumpet:  Silver pennies of David I (labelled with a number 2) and Stephen (labelled with a number 3):  More early silver pennies, some of which have been halved or quartered to make small change  Overview of Scottish coinage:  My silver penny minted in early Scotland (1280 to 1286 AD):   "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
Topic StarterUnited States
28363 Posts |
If you make it as far north as Inverness in Scotland, you will almost certainly be visiting Culloden Battlefield at some point. Regardless of which side your family was on (or even as a non-partisan bystander), you can just feel the grim history as you walk around the field. Inside the welcome center there is a lot of information about the politics and logistics of the bloody battle. Of potential interest to the numismatist is the section of Hanovarian medals dating back to 1746 and 1747 AD. Coming from the victors, you can expect to see such details as Chamberlain riding victorious on horseback and Jacobite rebels hanging from gallows.  "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
Topic StarterUnited States
28363 Posts |
A few more medals of the Jacobite uprising can be found in the visitor center at Glenfinnan Monument. The accompanying text provides a pretty balanced view of the uprising and its fall-out. Both sides issued medals, perhaps as a form of propaganda. It also includes this footnote about "Bonnie" Prince Charlie: Quote:
Charles spent five months on the run from government troops, sometimes passing near Glenfinnan. No one betrayed him, despite the price on his head and the "blaze of destruction" to torch homes and crops ordered by the Duke of Cumberland. Charles sailed for France on 20 September 1746.
Increasingly unwelcome everywhere he went, Charles wandered through Europe, returning to Italy and a loveless marriage after his father's death. ALone, bitter and frequently drunk, he died on 31 January 1788. Contrasting views of Culloden seen in contemporaneous medals: the pro-Jacobite medal has a defiant Highlander with sword drawn and rose design while the anti-Jacobite medal has the Highlander kneeling before the lion rampant and Cumberland in profile.  "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
Topic StarterUnited States
28363 Posts |
The Toledo Museum of Art is a real gem in Northern Ohio. While I greatly enjoyed the paintings, jewelry, and glasswork, I wasn't expecting to find anything related to coins--and I didn't at first. Then, I noticed a small detail on a wall displaying medieval tapestries of Tournai (Belgium). In the foreground of one tapestry, a customer is paying for casks of wine with a stack of silver coins. This piece, "Tapestries with Vinyard Scenes: Casking and Selling Wine" dates to about 1480 AD. I don't have an exact copy of those Patards in my collection, but I do have one minted in Maastrict (Netherlands) 25 years later that has been countermarked by Tournai. Overall and close-up of wine purchasing in medieval Tournai:   1505-dated Patard from Maastrict Netherlands countermarked with Tournai stamp on rev:   "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
128181 Posts |
A fantastic post.  |
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Moderator
Topic StarterUnited States
28363 Posts |
Thanks @jbuck! I've been thinking about doing this thread for quite some time, but @moxking gave me the kick in the pants I needed to finally get started. I've got a few more to post and hopefully others will chime in too with their own contributions.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
Topic StarterUnited States
28363 Posts |
The Museum of Antiquity (Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig) is located in Basel, Switzerland. I entered primarily for the Greek vase collection, which is world-famous. Their collections of Greek and Roman statues and Egyptian seals are pretty amazing too. For the numismatist, I did find a display of a gold Stater of Philip II of Macedonia, but not tons else specifically in coin form. This museum is a great opportunity for the ancient coin enthusiast to see what other forms of durable art were present during the early parts of his/her collection. My cringe-worthy pic of a gold stater:  "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Valued Member
Uruguay
217 Posts |
This post is like a trip to numismatic museums of the world. Please, fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!!  |
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Moderator
United States
128181 Posts |
Quote:
but @moxking gave me the kick in the pants I needed to finally get started. I owe moxking some thanks. Quote:
This post is like a trip to numismatic museums of the world. Yes it is. 
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Moderator
Topic StarterUnited States
28363 Posts |
Thanks @cara and @jbuck! I still have another museum to list and then will be finished with my backlog. At that point, it looks like I'll either need to visit more museums (or hopefully) have others weigh in with their own experiences.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
Topic StarterUnited States
28363 Posts |
I was at the City of Prague Museum http://en.muzeumprahy.cz/) recently and was excited to see a whole series of displays of interest to the travelling numismatist. One really interesting display featured a hoard of silver groschens buried in the 1460s. For comparison, I have also included a silver groschen minted at Colditz, a town about 120 miles northwest of Prague. This coin dates to between 1457 and 1463 AD so was contemporaneous with the coins in the hoard. However, instead of making the southeasterly trip to Prague, it circulated further west into Germany (to Erfurt, where it was counterstamped). Hoard buried circa 1460 AD, but unearthed in the 1880s near the Church of the Holy Trinity in the New Town region of Prague:  Groschen from the German Duchy of Saxony minted in Colditz between 1457 and 1463 AD:   Several other displays showed a variety of Prague coinage over the years. However, I was disappointed to see that these coins were all replicas. I would much rather be looking at the real thing! Replicas of 10th to 13th Century pfennigs and bracteates minted in Prague:  And here is the real thing--a denar minted in Prague between 1061 and 1085 AD:   Another display included gorgeous baptism medals. Perhaps most interesting to collectors of religious exonumia, but I think that we can all appreciate the workmanship and care put into making them. This one dates to June 27, 1817:  "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
128181 Posts |
Good to see your latest installment. |
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Valued Member
United States
408 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
408 Posts |
Inside the Smithsonian American History Museum (SAHM) are also minor displays related to coins. I believe these images were taken in the transportation display area.    |
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Replies: 172 / Views: 21,555 |
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Posted 12/02/2017 12:17 pm
