TheFishpool Hoard of mediaeval coins, northern England, late 15th century AD
TheBritish Museum Department of Coins and Medals is a department of theBritish Museum involving the collection, research and exhibition ofnumismatics, and comprising the largest library of numismatic artefacts in the United Kingdom, including almost one million coins, medals, tokens and other related objects.[1] The collection spans thehistory of coinage from its origins in the 7th century BC to the present day, and is representative of bothEastern andWestern numismatic traditions.
Numismatics constituted an important part of the 1753 bequest ofSir Hans Sloane which formed the British Museum's original collection, comprising some 20,000 objects.[2] The collection was incorporated into the Department of Antiquities in 1807, before the establishment of a separate Coins and Medals department in 1860–1.
As in other parts of the museum, the department has been able to expand its collection by purchase, donation and bequest. The department has benefited from the munificence of collectors such asClayton Mordaunt Cracherode,Sarah Banks,Edward Hawkins, SirAlexander Cunningham and George Bleazby. A significant strength of the collection are British coins from all ages, which have benefited from the ancient law ofTreasure Trove. This has enabled the museum to purchase importanthoards of gold and silver coins, many of which were buried during periods of crisis or upheaval. There are approximately 9,000 coins, medals andbanknotes on display around the British Museum. More than half of these can be found in the Citi Money Gallery (Gallery 68), while the remainder form part of the permanent displays throughout the museum. Items from the full collection can be seen by the general public in the Study Room by appointment.[3]
The department celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2011.[4]
The Department has a strong research history, which underpins publications (see, for example, theBritish Museum Catalogues of Coins), exhibitions[5] and other activities.
Publications associated with exhibitions
1881A Guide to the English Medals Exhibited in the King’s Library, by Herbert A. Grueber
1881A Guide to the Italian Medals Exhibited in the King’s Library, by C. E. Keary
1883The British Museum [Martin] Luther Exhibition, 1883, in the Grenville Library, by George Bullen
1924Guide to the exhibition of historical medals in the British Museum
1924A guide to the exhibition of medals of the Renaissance in the British Museum, by G. F. Hill
19752000 years of coins and medals, by J. P. C. Kent
1979Art of the Medal, by Mark Jones
1986Money: from Cowrie shells to credit cards, by Joe Cribb
In addition to being numismatists, staff of the department have also been distinguished linguists, historians, archaeologists, art historians, classicists, medievalists, orientalists, and authors:[18]
^Jones, Mark (1986).Contemporary British medals (1986 ed.). Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Publications.ISBN9780714108643.
^Cheesman & Williams (2000).Rebels, pretenders & imposters. St. Martin's Press.ISBN9780312238667.
^Attwood, Philip (2002).Italian medals c. 1530–1600 in British public collections. British Museum Press.ISBN9780714108612.
