Department VII - Numismatics room
Department VII - Numismatics room
Established in 1883 the Numismatics Room boasts of rich resources of coins, medals and banknotes, both Polish and foreign, as well as a superb assemblage of antique coins: Greek, Roman and Byzantine. The most valuable part of the holdings is the collection of around 11,000 objects amassed by Emeryk Hutten-Czapski, an expert in numismatics. In 1903 the Museum received this collection from his heirs, and published a five-volume catalogue of it. More gifts followed, for example from Wiktor Wittyg (1903), Julia and Piotr Umiński (1906), Bronisława Starzeńska (collection compiled by Edmund Starzeński, 1909), Franciszek Biesiadecki (1910–1935), Stanisław Mineyko (1924 and 1926), Karol Halama (1946), Jadwiga and Andrzej Kleczkowski (collection compiled by Zygmunt Zakrzewski, 1960). A significant recent acquisition was the collection of Lech Kokociński, Mirosław Kruszyński and Jacek Budyn.
At present, the holdings include approximately 85,000 collectibles divided into a few sections: ancient coins (ca. 9,000), Polish and foreign coins (ca. 50,000 objects), Polish and foreign medals, religious medallions (ca. 10,000 objects total, an exception on the Polish scale), Polish and foreign banknotes (ca. 13,000 objects), and varia.
Ranking among the largest in Poland, the section of antiques contains a few rara avises. Best represented are Roman coins, especially from the Empire period.
The Polish coins, which give the most complete overview of Polish mintage, include an extraordinary collection of Polish denars from the time of the first kings of the Piast dynasty, Latin and Hebrew bracteates of king Mieszko III, king Casimir the Great’s grosz coins, early Polish ducats, thalers of Sigismund I, Sigismud August and Stefan Batory as well as Gdańsk and Toruń donatives (16th-17th centuries). Amongst the unique items are: king Boleslaus the Brave’s denar featuring the inscription GNEZDVN CIVITAS, a florin of king Ladislas the Short and, last but not least, the largest Polish coin: 100 ducats minted in 1621. This collection is considered the best in Poland.
Early medieval Anglo-Saxon, German, Czech and Far Eastern coins and an overview of the world’s coin emissions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries form interesting sets. Among the historical polonica mention should be made of the coins of the Tutonic state, Baltic vassal states of Inflants (or Polish Livonia) and Kurland (Courland) as well as Poland and Saxony.
The collection of Polish banknotes and securities ranging in date from the introduction of this tender up to the 20th century is nearly complete. Rare collector’s items are Polish paper money from the Kosciusko Uprising of 1794 and 20th-century scrip and securities.
The collection of Polish royal and private medals (16th-20th century) comprises works of the most illustrious medal-makers: Samuel Ammon, Sebastian Dadler, Jan Filip Holzhaeusser, Gianmaria Padovano, Christian Wermuth and some contemporary artists.
The section of varia represents a high scientific value for their early medieval hoards of hacksilber, a unique set of stamps for marking counterfeit coins, made in the mid-19th century by the Warsaw-based medal-maker Józef Majnert (from the collection of Emeryk Hutten-Czapski), fake coins from various periods (collection of Lech Kokociński) and original exotic money.
The resources of the Numismatics Room are catalogued on an ongoing basis.
At present, the holdings include approximately 85,000 collectibles divided into a few sections: ancient coins (ca. 9,000), Polish and foreign coins (ca. 50,000 objects), Polish and foreign medals, religious medallions (ca. 10,000 objects total, an exception on the Polish scale), Polish and foreign banknotes (ca. 13,000 objects), and varia.
Ranking among the largest in Poland, the section of antiques contains a few rara avises. Best represented are Roman coins, especially from the Empire period.
The Polish coins, which give the most complete overview of Polish mintage, include an extraordinary collection of Polish denars from the time of the first kings of the Piast dynasty, Latin and Hebrew bracteates of king Mieszko III, king Casimir the Great’s grosz coins, early Polish ducats, thalers of Sigismund I, Sigismud August and Stefan Batory as well as Gdańsk and Toruń donatives (16th-17th centuries). Amongst the unique items are: king Boleslaus the Brave’s denar featuring the inscription GNEZDVN CIVITAS, a florin of king Ladislas the Short and, last but not least, the largest Polish coin: 100 ducats minted in 1621. This collection is considered the best in Poland.
Early medieval Anglo-Saxon, German, Czech and Far Eastern coins and an overview of the world’s coin emissions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries form interesting sets. Among the historical polonica mention should be made of the coins of the Tutonic state, Baltic vassal states of Inflants (or Polish Livonia) and Kurland (Courland) as well as Poland and Saxony.
The collection of Polish banknotes and securities ranging in date from the introduction of this tender up to the 20th century is nearly complete. Rare collector’s items are Polish paper money from the Kosciusko Uprising of 1794 and 20th-century scrip and securities.
The collection of Polish royal and private medals (16th-20th century) comprises works of the most illustrious medal-makers: Samuel Ammon, Sebastian Dadler, Jan Filip Holzhaeusser, Gianmaria Padovano, Christian Wermuth and some contemporary artists.
The section of varia represents a high scientific value for their early medieval hoards of hacksilber, a unique set of stamps for marking counterfeit coins, made in the mid-19th century by the Warsaw-based medal-maker Józef Majnert (from the collection of Emeryk Hutten-Czapski), fake coins from various periods (collection of Lech Kokociński) and original exotic money.
The resources of the Numismatics Room are catalogued on an ongoing basis.