Why Museums Hate Ancient Coins

An enjoyable article I thought.

http://www.coinweek.com/commentary/museums-hate-ancient-coins/

 

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Nice article. Thanks for the link!

Whenever I have been to a museum that has even a couple of coins the display truly is frustrating because you cannot see all of the details of the coin. I know the museum in Winnipeg has fair amount of Roman artefacts, including a couple coins and a large number of lamps, but will most likely never go on display unless an actual exhibit comes through.

 

Very interesting article, and a side of numismatics to which I never really gave much thought. The fact that museums (especially ones struggling to pay the bills) are selling off their coins was especially eye-opening. I guess the future is in the hands of private collectors (maybe it always has been).

Thanks for the post.

 

This just highlights why ancient collectors should be doing more public displays.

 

I liked it too, thanks.

 

It has been my experience that public displays of coins not for sale and coins that do not have a market value attached draw small crowds. Sometimes there are displays or programs at coin shows. I once gave a program at a Virginia Numismatic Association show that drew five people but that was more than the US program before it in the same hall drew. When I go to a show, I want to buy coins, not see yours. In a museum, the general public wants to see spectacular stuff like the leather jacket Fonzie wore on Happy Days TV show or maybe a coin that sold for $10 million that most of them could not pick out of a box with similar coins that sell for $10,000. Museums pay their bills by people coming through the doors. I once looked at the coins in the Smithsonian collection but I was in the minority so they took most of them off display and left what a normal person could see in 5 minutes before going on to see the First Ladies' dresses and TV memorabilia. Encourage museums to sell their coins (perhaps you will get one). Having a warehouse full (think the final scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark) that no one wants to see except weird guys like us does them little good. Spending a million dollars to create an exhibit for a hundred people a year to enjoy is not even a consideration.

How much time in the last month did you spend looking at coins online or in museums that were not for sale? Home much time did you spend looking at ones that were?

 

Everything dougsmit says makes sense to me. Do you ancient guys think that if museums started dumping their collections in the market, values would go down, stay the same, or do you think they would get them slabbed and have their name added to the label like famous U.S. collector's names have been?

 

I enjoy looking at others coins, why do you think I post here? Same on forvm. Im on the gallery many times a day viewing other peoples new additions, its enjoyable.

But from a mainstream standpoint, I am sure people prefer seeing spears or clothing then a hunk of metal with a tiny picture.

 

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing!
Still baffling to me how ancient coins can be viewed with such nonchalance. But, each to there own I guess.

 

No different then like my dad who loves classic cars and such and to me a car, no matter how old, is a tool to go from point to point. Could care less about the tires, how much chrome it has and such, it just a CAR!!

 

Excellent points, I agree Doug. I am much more interested in hunting for coins within the scope of my interest and what I can afford that are FOR SALE.
Not sure I would pay to go to a museum to look at coins behind 1" thick glass 3 feet away behind velvet ropes. I exaggerate, but you get my meaning.

Maybe I will call the local museums and see if they would entertain offers on their coin collections... anyone wanna go halfsies with me?

 

I know I must be in the minority, but I enjoy going to museums and coin shows just to look at their collections, most of which I will never afford. When in Rome last year, I was like a kid at a candy shop drooling all over the glass. Same in Spain the year prior and Arles the year before that. If I ever get the opportunity to visit the BM, you and "bet yer bippy" I'll pay to see their collection.

I'm in awe when I see coins like those posted by Ancient Joe. I'll never afford them, but I love to look.

 

That is the point. You are the minority. Most of us are also in that minority. However, when I go to a museum and see nice coins glued to a board and poorly labeled, I am offended. It took a year for my local museum to correct the spelling error I reported that they had on a coin label but they did correct it. That makes them a better than average museum.

 

Getty Villa museum keeps them in prong like that photo too.

 

we are pretty weird... aren't we?

I can't remember seeing a ancient coin in a museum...if I did it was before I was weird and I forgot about them.

On a side note, have any of you guys been to this place? They have a dedicated byzantine coin and seal collection, some of which is on display. It looks like a very cool spot for weird people. The seal collecting is neat as can be.

http://www.doaks.org/visit

 

Never heard of it. Im lucky to have the getty museums. Other museums dont even have coins of any kind.

I'd visit to see byzantine stuff too.

Has anyone been to the Museum of Fine Arts Bostom coin section? Fairly new.

http://www.mfa.org/collections/featured-galleries/michael-c-ruettgers-gallery-ancient-coins

They have an Ipad app too but I dont have an ipad.

 

I have been to Dumbarton Oaks in Washington D.C. and recall seeing coins included in their displays of Byzantine period materials. They have respected books on their collections of coins but these are not on public display. When I was there, I had little interest in Byzantine and did not pursue any possibilities of seeing their coins not on display. It was an enjoyable museum overall and worth dropping in if you are in D.C.

 

Thanks for the links, Mat (and chrsmat) ... very interesting (very alluring)

Hopefully when I retire, I'll find the time to check-out a few of these world-class exhibits? (I hope that my sweet wife can tolerate my coin-obsession ... I guess I'll have to mix-in a few of her antique book shops and/or world-class libraries to keep her in the ol' game) ... it sounds kinda fun.

 

This brings up the question of how much such a visit is worth. To me, Dumbarton Oaks is a nice place to visit if you are in town and have already seen the standard museums but not someplace I would travel great distances to visit. The same can be said for most local museums I have seen. I'm not a traveler by avocation so expect more. I would enjoy seeing the exhibit in Boston but, IMHO, the greatest good they could do for the education and entertainment of the world would be having their entire collection online to the degree we see in the small sample at the bottom of the page Mat linked.

We have a problem. How is the museum to make a profit from this? When we visit in person, there is the expectation that we will spend money but online pay sites suffer from the free competition. Boston wants you to buy photos:
http://www.mfa.org/collections/mfa-images/study-and-personal-use
but the rules as stated allow you no use of the images making the 'low res digital image' something of a $25 postcard.

I question whether Steve is close enough to retirement that he will be able to find world class exhibits of coins to visit or if the technologies will have changed the definitions of museums as much as they have in the time since I first visited these places 50 years ago. The first two Smithsonian Museum buildings are now Museums showing what museums once were rather than places you go to see things. When my grandson goes to museums, he is attracted to the interactive exhibits rather than the drawers of stuffed birds (how protected by plexiglass covers). As long as their respective governments keep places like the British Museum and the Smithsonian open to tourists, Steve will have a place to go. Whether he chooses to look at the coins there or prefers to see coins on what has developed from the online museum beginnings like the British Museum Roman Republican facilities remains to be seen.
http://www.britishmuseum.org/resear...an Republican Coinage (1974)&sortBy=catNumber

They currently have 12772 Republican coins available for viewing. I won't live to see the Septimius Severus section posted. Will Vlaha see their Alexandrians?

 

=> well, I am eligible to retire in 4 years, but will receive max-pension in 7 years (ummm, I'll have to check the ol' savings account to see whether 4 years is possible)

NOTE => I would never plan a vacation around a coin museum, but it would certainly be an added bonus, so it may be a factor that would tip-the-scale towards choosing it over another vacation destination ...

example => San Diego and Boston are both potential vacation destinations of ours ... we are pro-sports fans, so both cities have lots of potential for catching a game (the Bruins are my wife's favourite hockey team, so Boston is already quite high on list) ... but the fact that you dudes are saying that Boston also has an interesting coin attraction is merely another factor that may lead to Boston being the successful vacation target ....... ummm, but San Diego may also have interesting coin attractions? (plus, I'm pretty sure that my wife would find coin-attractions a bit of a detriment, rather than an asset!!) ... *sigh*

... but I do see your point, Doug => perhaps it is more interesting and certainly more efficient to merely view coins via the internet rather than going to an actual physical museum/attraction (are they a thing of the past?)

=> either way, thanks for the links (very interesting)