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 Replies: 13 / Views: 2,308 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
A German janitor who decided to take a peek in a box she had walked past a hundred times, discovered more than 170 ancient coins worth millions of euros.... ..."There are coins there from ancient Rome and Greece, as well as from the Byzantine era, as well as medals from the baroque period and Napoleonic times."... http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/201...7-39361.html |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
My guess is that the "millions of Euros" estimate is WAY overstated.
It also makes you wonder about donating your collection to a museum. Lost for two centuries.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3178 Posts |
Wow I didn't know they had such large medals and coins in ancient days!
Edited by Tunnioc
12/08/2011 10:18 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1348 Posts |
Thats amazing. Its hard to believe these finds are happening all the time. Give you hope that this will spark interest in other to start the addiction :D
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Moderator
 Australia
16829 Posts |
The large ones like the one she's holding aren't ancient; they'd be the "medals from the baroque period and Napoleonic times".
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Valued Member
United States
306 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1007 Posts |
It would be nice to see some close-ups of the coins she discovered.
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
1238 Posts |
Quote:
It also makes you wonder about donating your collection to a museum. You may have good reason for not wanting to do that. Keep in mind though that a library - and the place where these coins and medals were "discovered" is a state library - is not a museum. Its "treasures" are primarily books: http://www.staatliche-bibliothek-pa....html#schatzThen again, the library also has a (dead) crocodile. :) Quote:
It would be nice to see some close-ups of the coins she discovered. Pretty easy to do that. Just go to http://www.staatliche-bibliothek-pa...muenzen.html Click on each coin/medal to view it. In that "single exhibit mode" you can click on the piece again to see a larger image. To see the other side of a piece, click on "Rückseite ansehen". As for the possible value, see my earlier reply here: https://goccf.com/t/105154Christian Edited by chrisild
12/17/2011 1:52 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
My understanding is that a lot of those state libraries are museums. The Library is considered to be one of the collections.
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
1238 Posts |
As I wrote, I understand why some collectors do not want to give their collections to museums, or (in exceptional cases) only with a contract that makes sure they are shown to the public. And yes, a library may also work as a museum for books. But the coins (or that crocodile ...) in Passau have simply been sitting there for many years. They were not donated to or acquired by the libary but, well, remnants "hidden" there when the bishopric ended due to the Secularization and Mediatization in the early 19th century. At that time, many valuable objects were "transferred" from bishop's residences to royal residences, and apparently somebody in Passau did not want these coins and medals to go to Munich. :) Ironically, it is now experts in Munich who evaluate the pieces ...
Christian
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Even with a "contract" that the coins will be displayed won't save them. There have been many collections that have been donated to museums with similar contracts or codicils in wills that require display which were later either put in storage or sold.
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
1238 Posts |
Again, it is up to each individual to donate or not, but the coins and medals that this is about were not a donation. By the way, the Passau library will show the coins as part of an exhibition next year.
Christian
Edited by chrisild
12/20/2011 05:31 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
981 Posts |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
For that kinda dough, many would be tempted to take early retirement. You'd think someone would have known about them, or at least to have been nosy.
Reminds me of back in the 70s where someone realized that a painting in the women's bathroom at Ohio University-Athens was worth $50,000.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 2,308 |
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Posted 12/08/2011 10:15 am
