Numismatic Museum of Athens

Coordinates: 37°58′40.08″N 23°44′7.44″E / 37.9778000°N 23.7354000°E / 37.9778000; 23.7354000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Numismatic Museum, Athens
Syntagma station
Athens Metro Athens Metro Line 2 Panepistimio station
Websitewww.nummus.gr

The Numismatic Museum of Athens (Greek: Νομισματικό Μουσείο Αθηνών) is one of the most important museums in Greece and it houses a collection of over 500,000 coins, medals, gems, weights, stamps and related artefacts from 1400BC to modern times.[1] The collection constitutes one of the richest in the world, paralleled by those of the British Museum in London, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Bode Museum in Berlin, and the American Numismatic Society in New York.[1] The museum itself is housed in the mansion of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, formally known as Iliou Melathron (Greek: Ιλίου Μέλαθρον, "Palace of Ilion").[1]

History

Façade close-up

The first attempts at coin collecting by the state began shortly after the independence of Greece in

University of Athens and later at the building of the Academy of Athens where the collection was first exhibited. In 1946, the collection was moved to the National Archaeological Museum. The organization of the museum became twice independent, in 1893 and 1965.[2]

The Iliou Melathron was granted in order to house the collection in 1984, and after a major renovation it finally opened in 1998.[3]

The Iliou Melathron

The building in 1910

The Numismatic Museum is housed at the Iliou Melathron, a three-story building on

Court of Cassation.[3]

View of the interior of the museum

The use of the building as a courthouse caused much damage. After the building was chosen to house the Numismatic Museum, it underwent a major renovation under which the floor mosaics and the murals were restored. Finally, the numismatic collection was inaugurated in the partly restored building in 1998 while the whole collection became viewable in 2007.[5]

Collections

The collection of the museum contains 600,000 objects, mainly coins but also medals, standard masses, dies, stamps and others, from the 14th century BC until modern times.[6] The collection is arranged in such a way so as to follow the history of coinage. The museum holds a very important collection of coins from the 6th century BC until the 5th century CE like those from the Greek Poleis and the Hellenistic and Roman periods. There also major Byzantine and Medieval collections from Western Europe, the East and the Ottoman Empire.

A large portion of the collection is constituted by coins that were found in hoards while the rest comes from the initial collection of Aegina, recent excavations in mainland Greece and donations.

The museum houses a library of 12,000 books specialized in the study of coinage. There is also a conservation laboratory.

Location and visitor information

The Numismatic Museum is on 12

Syntagma metro station
. There is a museum shop and a coffeehouse in the garden.

Gallery

  • Copper ingots from Crete and Mycenae
    Copper ingots from Crete and Mycenae
  • Iron oboloi in the form of spit, uncovered at Heraion of Argos
    Iron
    oboloi in the form of spit, uncovered at Heraion of Argos
  • Athens, 467–465 BC. Silver Dekadrachm. Head of Athena right
    Athens, 467–465 BC. Silver Dekadrachm. Head of Athena right
  • Silver Drachma of Athens. Helmeted head of Athena right / ΑΘΕ (ΑΘΗΝΑΙΩΝ – of Athenians), owl standing right
    Silver Drachma of Athens. Helmeted head of Athena right / ΑΘΕ (ΑΘΗΝΑΙΩΝ – of Athenians), owl standing right
  • Silver decadrachm from Syracuse, Sicily. Head of Arethusa left, four dolphins around
    Silver decadrachm from Syracuse, Sicily. Head of Arethusa left, four dolphins around
  • Hoard of gold coins from Epidaurus, 3rd century BC
    Hoard of gold coins from Epidaurus, 3rd century BC
  • Hoard of gold coins from Ancient Corinth
    Hoard of gold coins from Ancient Corinth
  • Gold and silver coins of Ptolemies
    Gold and silver coins of
    Ptolemies
  • Gold coins of the Byzantine Empire
    Gold coins of the Byzantine Empire

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Numismatic Museum In Athens". Greek City Times. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  2. ^ Papyros Larousse Britannica, Athens, 2006
  3. ^ a b "THE ILIOU MELATHRON". Numismatic Museum, Athens. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Ιλίου Μέλαθρον". ΑΡΧΕΙΟ ΝΕΟΤΕΡΩΝ ΜΝΗΜΕΙΩΝ. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  5. ^ "Ιστορικό". odysseus.culture.gr. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  6. ^ Touratsoglou, I. "Numismatic Museum of Athens, Archaeology and Arts, March 1999" (PDF) (in Greek). arxaiologia.gr. Retrieved 17 April 2016.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Numismatic_Museum_of_Athens&oldid=1157956906"