The collection of the Numismatic Cabinet of Catalonia is the result of a process of acquisitions, donations, bequests or deposits that began during the first half of the nineteenth century and continues still today. It is made up of the main numismatic series, with examples produced from the 6th century BC until the present day, and includes some 100,000 pieces.
The series begins with the issues from ancient times, among which it is worth highlighting the coinage in the Iberian peninsula, with pieces from the Greek colonies of Emporion and Rhode or the treasure of 897 silver coins found in the Neapolis of Emporion. The Visigoth currency that marked the pass from the ancient world to the medieval, with issues from the workshops of Tàrraco and Barcino.
It is worth highlighting, among the series from European kingdoms, that of the Catalan currency and of the Crown of Aragon: thanks to its production we can document, for example, its economic growth, visible in the appearance of the silver crusaders in Barcelona called Peter II the Great. Other significant periods, such as the Guerra dels Segadors (The Catalan revolt), the war of succession and the Napoleonic invasion are also captured by the coinage of the time.
Another strength of the collection are the medals, more than 9,000 pieces that go from the first example produced in Italy in the 15th century, until the present day. Master engravers from the 18th century such as Tomás Francisco Prieto or Gerónimo Antonio Gil are behind the pieces produced in Spain. A hundred years later, the best Modernist sculptors, such as Eusebi Arnau, Antoni Parera, Miquel Blay, Josep Llimona or Pablo Gargallo joined the trade from the Universal Exposition of Barcelona [1] of 1888 onwards - a splendid period in terms of medal art in Catalonia.
The collection of bank notes forms the central nucleus of the collection of valuable paper, with some 14,000 examples. Among these the Spanish series is noteworthy, which contains issues from the bank of Spain from 1874 to the present day and the series of notes issued by the Generalitat de Catalunya during the Civil War. The Cabinet also includes manufacturing tools – moulds, stamps of wax and lead, metrological elements – monetary weights, scales and dies, tokens, cards and stamps, decorations and various documentary collections.
The fathers of Catalan Numismatics such as Josep Salat or Joaquim Botet, authors of leading works about the history of coins in Catalonia, are highly represented thanks to their collections present in the Cabinet.
To read more: see the virtual itinerary A numismatic look… at the Gothic, and Renaissance and Baroque galleries [2], the vitual exhibition The Ausió medals factory of Barcelona, a national heritage industry recovered [3] and Tresures and monetary findings [4] of the Numismatic Cabinet of Catalonia.
Links
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888_Barcelona_Universal_Exposition
[2] https://www.museunacional.cat/en/numismatic-look-gothic-and-renaissance-and-baroque-galleries
[3] https://www.museunacional.cat/en/ausio-medals-factory-barcelona-national-heritage-industry-recovered
[4] https://www.museunacional.cat/en/tresures