HomeClubs & OrganizationsFor Coin Collectors, Museums Are Closer Than Ever

For Coin Collectors, Museums Are Closer Than Ever

Museum Coins - Virtual Museum

Numismatic and other treasures in the world’s museums are being digitized so everyone can access them

By Jeff Garrett for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) ……
One of my favorite pastimes and something I have pursued with passion is visiting museums. I have been to hundreds of them over the years, and I still get excited when I discover a new one.

I enjoy everything from mega-museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, to the tiny Headley-Whitney Museum that I visited last weekend in Lexington, Kentucky. I could, and often do, spend hours studying and admiring great art, or learning about a small piece of history that I was unaware of.

My family often complains about my habit of trying to read every story board that I encounter during our museum visits. I would much rather fully immerse myself in a museum than do the “Griswold Family” style tour.

What really gets me excited is to discover numismatic objects while exploring a museum. Surprisingly, rare coins are displayed in an amazing number of museums around the world.

Many, such as the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh that I visited last year, use coins to illustrate timelines of the country’s history. Most major turning points in a country’s history are usually reflected in their coinage.

Many museums, such as the one in Scotland, display interesting individual coins. They are also the repository of coin hoards that have been found over the centuries in their home country. Some of these exhibits can be astounding. The hoards clearly illustrate the process of a country’s prosperity and eventual conquest.

On another level are the great museums around the world that have established numismatic departments. Some of the greatest coin collections in the world are housed in these institutions.

A very partial list would include the British Museum in London, the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and the Historical Museum in Frankfurt, Germany. These museums have a staff of curators and caretakers devoted to the study and long-term preservation of their National Collections. One of my great honors in life has been my close association with the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian.

Two other great numismatic museums that deserve mention are the American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) Edward C. Rochette Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the American Numismatic Society (ANS) Museum in New York City. Both collections are amazing in scope and size. These collections serve as vital numismatic reference tools for researchers of everything from the birth of coinage through modern issues. Both organizations also house two of the largest lending numismatic libraries in the world.

The above-mentioned museums are all amazing in their own right, but are spread across the globe. My job allows me to travel extensively, so I have been lucky enough to have visited them often. The average coin collector would obviously not have this opportunity. If you only have two weeks’ vacation, it might be hard convincing the family that it should be spent exploring the Roman coins in the British Museum.

For those of you who have selfish families that would rather visit Disney World, you are in luck. EVERY major museum in the United States and the world is on a path to digitizing their collections. They all realize that their potential impact in the world can be greatly leveraged by having collections available online. This is true for every part of the museums, and not just numismatics.

There is a virtual race by these institutions to raise the funds to have collections digitized and available online. The Smithsonian Museum of American History in D.C. has about four to five million visitors each year. Their stated goal is to reach 1 billion people online. Talk about leveraging your resources – wow!

One of the biggest achievements in recent years at the American Numismatic Association has been the radical upgrades and improvements of money.org. This includes the digitization of over 19,000 items in the Museum collection. Recent exhibits, including a 360-degree virtual reality tour of the gallery, are wonderfully done. The Smithsonian website has dozens of some of the most amazing coins on the planet available for viewing in high-resolution clarity. The ANS has invested heavily in recent years to have as much of their collection available online as well.

If you cannot visit these and the many other museums around the world with world-class coin collections, you should spend time exploring them online. The educational material available is well worth the time, and may inspire you to visit them in person when you have the opportunity.

Additional Reading

The Numismatourist – The Only Worldwide Travel Guide to Museums, Mints, and Other Places of Interest for the Numismatist,” by Howard M. Berlin

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Jeff Garrett bio
 

Jeff Garrett
Jeff Garretthttps://rarecoingallery.com/
Jeff Garrett, founder of Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries, is considered one of the nation’s top experts in U.S. coinage — and knowledge lies at the foundation of Jeff’s numismatic career. With more than 35 years of experience, he is one of the top experts in numismatics. The “experts’ expert,” Jeff has personally bought and sold nearly every U.S. coin ever issued. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t call on Jeff Garrett for numismatic advice. This includes many of the nation’s largest coin dealers, publishers, museums, and institutions. In addition to owning and operating Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries, Jeff Garrett is a major shareholder in Sarasota Rare Coin Galleries. His combined annual sales in rare coins and precious metals — between Mid-American in Kentucky and Sarasota Rare Coin Galleries in Florida — total more than $25 million. Jeff Garrett has authored many of today’s most popular numismatic books, including Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins 1795–1933: Circulating, Proof, Commemorative, and Pattern Issues; 100 Greatest U.S. Coins; and United States Coinage: A Study By Type. He is also the price editor for The Official Redbook: A Guide Book of United States Coins. Jeff was also one of the original coin graders for the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). He is today considered one of the country’s best coin graders and was the winner of the 2005 PCGS World Series of Grading. Today, he serves as a consultant to Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), the world’s largest coin grading company. Jeff plays an important role at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Department and serves as a consultant to the museum on funding, exhibits, conservation, and research. Thanks to the efforts of Jeff and many others, rare U.S. coins are once again on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History. Jeff has been a member of the Professional Numismatic Guild (PNG) since 1982 and has recently served as president of the organization. He has also served as the ANA President and as a member of the ANA Board of Governors.

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