Munzkabinett Berlin

The Münzkabinett (Coin Cabinet) of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums) is the largest collection of its kind in Germany and ranks among the most important institutions for numismatics worldwide. It is housed in the Bode Museum in Berlin's Mitte district. The roots of the collection go back to the Electors of Brandenburg, who began collecting as early as the 16th century. Over the centuries, the collection grew steadily through purchases, donations, and finds, and was studied and cataloged by scholars. After difficult times during World War II, when parts of the collection were taken to the Soviet Union, the holdings returned to Berlin in the 1950s. Today the cabinet holds more than 500,000 original objects of high quality, supplemented by a large number of plaster casts and duplicate banknotes.

In four exhibition rooms, you can view about 5,000 coins and medals on permanent display. The collection spans the entire history of money, from antiquity to modern times. Highlights include around 100,000 Greek and 50,000 Roman coins, among them world-famous pieces such as the Demareteion and the unique decadrachm of Athens. The medieval and post-medieval collection, with coinage from Europe, Byzantium, the Orient, and Asia, is also strongly represented. A special focus is the medal collection, which mainly comprises Renaissance portrait medals. The holdings also include numerous banknotes, securities, emergency money made of metal, as well as minting tools and counterfeits.

In addition to the physical exhibition, the Münzkabinett offers a freely accessible interactive online catalog, in which the holdings are being digitized step by step and made available to researchers and the general public alike. This digital accessibility underscores the modern outlook of the institution, which regards its holdings not only as historical relics but also as scientific resources. The collection is overseen by a team of specialized scholars who focus on different eras and regions to ensure the quality of research and presentation.