Visit to the numismatic museum
Transcript of Visit to the numismatic museum
Visit to the Numismatic Museum
of Athens
On Wednesday, April 13we visited the Numismatic Museum of Athens
The Numismatic Museum is one of the oldest public museums
and probably the most important one in Greece.
It also ranks among the five greatest museums
of its kind in the world.
It was established in 1834 and today houses one of the greatest
collections of coins, ancient and modern, in the world.
The museum itself is housed in the mansion of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, formally known as Iliou
Melathron
At the time of its completion, it was considered to be the most
magnificent private residence of Athens
The love for Antiquity, prevalent at the time in Europe
and the recent foundation of the Modern Greek state
had created the conditions of protecting the national cultural heritage.
Hence, from the beginning, the history of the Museum
was directly related with that of the Modern Greek state,
the social circumstances and the cultural directives of each age.
However, a decisive role in its progress was played
by the personalities
of those who directed it.
The Numismatic Museum owns 500.000 acquisitions –mostly coins as well as medals, lead
bullae, gems - dated from the 14th century BC until today.
In 1867, the Numismatic Museum
of Athens was officially defined by law
as an annex to the National Library