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British Museum Department of Coins and Medals facts for kids

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The British Museum Department of Coins and Medals is a special part of the British Museum. It's where they keep, study, and show off a huge collection of coins, medals, and other related items. This department has the biggest collection of its kind in the United Kingdom, with almost one million objects! These items show the history of money from its very beginnings around 700 BC all the way to today. You can find coins and medals from both Eastern and Western cultures here.

Discovering the History of Money

Milkau British Museum 307-2
The famous British Museum building.

The story of this department began in 1753 with Sir Hans Sloane. He gave his amazing collection of about 20,000 objects, including many coins, to start the British Museum. At first, the coin collection was part of a larger department. But because it was so important, a separate Department of Coins and Medals was created in 1860.

Over the years, the department has grown a lot. They get new items by buying them, or through generous gifts and bequests (when someone leaves items to the museum in their will). Many collectors have helped build this amazing collection.

A really strong part of the collection is British coins from all different time periods. This is thanks to an old law called Treasure Trove. This law helps the museum buy important collections of gold and silver coins that people buried long ago, often during times of trouble or war.

You can see about 9,000 coins, medals, and banknotes on display around the British Museum. More than half of these are in a special area called the Citi Money Gallery (Gallery 68). The rest are shown in other parts of the museum. If you want to see more, you can even make an appointment to view items from the full collection in the Study Room!

The department celebrated its 150th birthday in 2011, showing how long it has been helping us understand the history of money.

Research and Exhibitions

The Department of Coins and Medals does a lot of important research. This research helps them learn more about the objects they have. They use this knowledge to create books, like the British Museum Catalogues of Coins, and exciting exhibitions for everyone to enjoy.

Their exhibitions often explore interesting topics related to money and history. For example, they have had shows about:

  • 2000 years of coins and medals
  • Money: from Cowrie shells to credit cards
  • Fake? The art of deception (about fake coins and medals)
  • The Hoxne Treasure: an illustrated handbook (about a famous Roman treasure found in England)
  • Magic coins of Java, Bali and the Malay Peninsula
  • Chairman Mao badges: symbols and slogans of the Cultural Revolution
  • Coins and the Bible
  • Hoards: Hidden History (about buried treasures)
  • Playing With Money: Currency and Games

These exhibitions help people understand how money has changed over time and what it tells us about different cultures and historical events.

See also

  • British Museum Catalogues of Coins
  • Numismatics
  • Silk Road numismatics
  • Digital Book Index

Gallery

  • British Museum gold coin of Croesus

    Gold coin of Croesus, from Lydia (modern Turkey), around 550 BC.

  • Chinese knife money

    Knife money made from bronze, from China, 4th-3rd centuries BC.

  • Alexander coin, British Museum

    A large silver coin (called a Tetradrachm) of Lysimachos showing the head of Alexander, from Greece, about 305-281 BC.

  • Tetradrachm Ptolemy V

    A silver coin (Tetradrachm) made for Ptolemy V, from Greece, 204–181 BC.

  • British Museum Alton A Hoard

    50 gold coins (called staters) of Commius, Tincomarus and Eppillus, found in Alton, southern England, 1st century BC - 1st century AD.

  • Roman gold coins excavated in Pudukottai India one coin of Caligula 31 41 and two coins of Nero 54 68

    Roman coins of Nero and Caligula found at Pudukottai, India, 1st century AD.

  • TrajanCoinAhinposhBuddhistMonasteryAfghanistan

    Coin of Trajan from Ahin Posh Buddhist monastery in Afghanistan, 2nd century AD.

  • Battriana, monete d'oro del IV secolo 03

    Gold coin from Bactria, Afghanistan, 4th century AD.

  • Honorius Hoxne 1

    Gold coin of Emperor Honorius from the Hoxne Hoard, England, 4th-5th centuries AD.

  • Gold coin of Kumaragupta I

    Gold coin of Kumaragupta I, from the Gupta Empire, India, 415–455 AD.

  • Wigmund archibishop of York 837 854 gold solidus

    Gold coin (called a solidus) of Wigmund, Archbishop of York, northern England, 837-854 AD.

  • Nasr II Nishapur coin 921 922

    A coin of Nasr II, from Nishapur, central Asia, 921-922 AD.

  • Aethelred II gold mancus 1003 1006

    Aethelred II gold mancus, England, 1003-1006 AD.

  • British Museum Ming banknote

    Chinese Ming banknote for 1 guan, China, 1375 AD.

  • Quentin metsys, medaglia di desiderio erasmo

    Renaissance medal of Desiderius Erasmus, by Quentin Massijs, Holland, 16th century AD.

  • British Museum Sharja Hoard

    A collection of 78 Persian silver coins from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, late 17th century AD.

  • 8 Reales, 1770, British Museum 1

    A silver coin (called 8 Reales) made in Potosí, Bolivia, 1770 AD.

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