The National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution is one of the largest numismatic collections in the world and the largest in North America. Located in the National Museum of American History, the collection includes approximately 1.6 million objects. There are more than 450,000 coins, medals and decorations and 1.1 million pieces of paper money ( including the recently acquired “Confederate Treasury horde” of cancelled Confederate paper money ), highlighting the entire numismatic history of the world.

The collection contains many great rarities in coins and currency, from the earliest coins created 2,700 years ago up to the latest innovations in electronic monetary exchange, as well as objects such as beads, wampum, dentalia and other commodities once used as money.

The collection emphasizes the development of money and medals in the United States. The core of the U.S. collection, consisting of more than 18,000 items, including coins of great rarity, came to the Smithsonian in 1923 from the United States Mint. Among exceptional rarities in this section are the Brasher half doubloon, the 1849 double eagle ( first of the gold $20 pieces ), and two 1877 $50 patterns. Other rarities are the very popular and rare 1913 Liberty head nickel as well as all three types of the 1804 dollar, and two of three known examples of the world’s most valuable coin, the 1933 double eagle, the third of which recently sold for $7.6 million.

Among recent donations are the unprecedented Josiah K. Lilly holdings, consisting of 6,150 gold coins including an almost complete U.S. gold coin collection, a rich Latin American gold section, and many of the great rarities of European gold coins such as a 20 excelentes de la Granada of Ferdinand and Isabella, and two large and heavy 100 ducats of Austria and Poland.

Another outstanding donation is the Willis H. du Pont collection of more than 12,000 Russian coins in all metals, including platinum, from the Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich estate.

The ancient Greek section has grown through many small donations, notably that of Captain B. Bennett, to almost 19,000 coins. The recent donation of the “Demareteion” decadrachm of Syracuse and four related masterpieces of early Greek numismatic art by John Whitney Walter has enhanced the importance of the ancient Greek collection. Also of great importance is the large collection of paper money donated by Mortimer Neinken, and the group of checks with presidential signatures from the Chase Manhattan Bank collection.

Through the discovery of money, America’s largest museum dedicated to numismatics brings culture to life. The museum explores art, history, science and much more to promote the diverse nature of money and related items.

The museum includes exhibits in three main galleries, where visitors can find spectacular rarities and learn about the history of our nation and the world as seen through money.

The multimedia Bass Gallery houses the Harry W. Bass Collection, a spectacular and comprehensive collection of American gold coins, experimental pattern coins and paper money.

The museum’s main level features a new exhibit every year designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests, including history, art, archaeology, banking and economics, and coin collecting.

The Maynard Sundman-Littleton Gallery and the Whitman Publishing Gallery on the museum’s lower level also feature new exhibits every year, illuminating aspects of numismatics and collecting designed to appeal to collectors and the general public.

The museum collection consists of over 250,000 objects encompassing the history of numismatics from the earliest invention of money to modern day. The objects include paper money, coins, tokens, medals, exonumia, and traditional money from all over the world.

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Bode-Museum
legend Bode-Museum Ende der Bildunterschrift For the design of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (renamed Bode Museum in 1956), the emperor Wilhelm II commissioned the head government building officer Ernst von Ihne, one of the best-known exponents of “Wilhelminian Baroque”. In order to achieve the appearance of a building rising from water the architect arranged the three-winged building around several interior courtyards so that the exterior facades immediately bordered the banks of the river Spree. A dominating dome and two opulent staircases lend the building a stately air which is underlined further by the decorative elements such as the monumental pilasters, demi-columns and window surrounds. The former general director of the museums Wilhelm von Bode himself made suggestions concerning the lighting of the rooms and their proportioning. The art works were shown within the context of original ceilings, fire places, door jambs, tapestries and furniture. Bodes presentation concept, aimed at a general effect of authenticity, was influential throughout the world. The museum was opened in 1904. During the Second World War much of the building, especially the dome, suffered great damages. Beginning in the 1950s, step by step the museum was reconstructed and put back into use. In the 1990s, general restoration began with the first parts of reconstruction work; in August 2000 construction works for the basic restoration followed. The Numismatic Collection has been open to visitors at the Bode Museum since 22 October 2004, opened on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. In October 2006, the Bode Museum will re-open in its entirety, displaying the Sculpture Collection, the Numismatic Colletion and works from the Gemäldegalerie – Old Master Paintings.

The Münzkabinett (Numismatic Collection)
is one of the largest collections of its kind with around 500,000 objects. The collection owes its international renown to its rich diversity as well as the comprehensiveness of its coin series which range from the beginnings of coinage in the seventh century BC in Asia Minor to the coins and medals of the twenty-first century. On the occasion of the centenary of the Bode Museum, the Numismatic Collection was ceremoniously re-opened on 22 October 2004, after six years of restoration. Until the Bode Museum re-opens in its entirety in 2006, only the study room of the Numismatic Collection will be accessible to the public. In the meantime, the collection is presented in a permanent display of 2,000 first-class exhibits of ancient coins at the Pergamon Museum. Selected coins are also exhibited at the Altes Museum and the Museum of Pre- and Early History. The most significant holdings within the Numismatic Collection include: 102,000 Greek coins and about 50,000 from ancient Rome; 160,00 European coins from the Middle Ages to modern times and 35,000 Oriental-Islamic coins. There are also 25,000 examples of medals, which began to develop as an art form around 1400 AD. Apart from the coins and medals, the collection also contains paper currency, historical seals dating from the Middle Ages, and examples of different forms of money used by primitive peoples. In addition there are more than 15,000 minting tools, including over 10,000 dies with which coins were struck in Berlin from the 17th century onwards, as well as a large collection of casts. The Numismatic Collection acquired its leading status primarily through the comprehensiveness of the series in its possession, as well as through a significant number of extremely rare items. The motifs on the coins are highly varied and themes tend to reappear throughout the centuries. Images include religious themes from ancient mythology and Christian beliefs, coats of arms, animals, plants, buildings and famous personalities.

Numismatic Collection History

The beginnings of the Münzkabinett (Numismatic Collection) date back to the art collection of the Electors of Brandenburg. In 1649 there were already about 5,000 items, mainly ancient coins. In 1830 the Numismatic Collection moved for the first time into its own rooms at the Altes Museum where it could be viewed by the public. In 1868 the collection was awarded independent status as a museum. By the end of the German Empire in 1918 the number of coins had increased significantly as a result of numerous purchases and the acquisition of large private collections. In 1904 the collection moved to its new home at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum (renamed Bode Museum in 1956) where rooms on the lower floor facing Kupfergraben were specially redesigned to suit the needs of the Numismatic Collection. The collection managed to survive the Second World War in the air-raid shelter belonging to the Pergamon Museum. From there it was taken to the Soviet Union and returned in 1957. As the Numismatic Collection was situated in the east of the city it belonged to the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin) of the German Democratic Republic. With German reunification the collection became part of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Foundation of Prussian Cultural Heritage). In the 1990s, the initial of reconstruction of the Bode Museum began; in August 2000 basic restoration work followed. The Numismatic Collection re-opened on 22 October 2004 as the first of the Bode Museum’s collections. Until the Bode Museum re-opens in its entirety in 2006, only the study room of the Numismatic Collection will be accessible to the public. In the meantime, the collection is presented in a permanent display of 2,000 first-class exhibits of ancient coins at the Pergamon Museum. Selected coins are also exhibited at the Altes Museum and the Museum of Pre- and Early History.

Address:

Bode Museum
Berlin Mitte, Bodestrasse 1-3
D-10178 Berlin Germany