So I was going through some photos from Jan 2016 and ran across some pix I took in the National Archaeological Museum of Venice, right on the Piazza San Marco. I don't think this museum gets much traffic since most tourists are there to see the Basilica, the Doge's Palace, etc., though entrance to the museum is often included in the price of tickets to other sights. The museum has a nice display of ancient coins and medals. Their display of contorniates especially caught my eye; I don't think I've ever seen a bunch of contorniates gathered in one place. It was interesting to see coin styles I recognized (such as the Constantinopolis commemorative LRB) rendered in large medal form. There's no real point to this thread other than "here's some eye candy." Enjoy.
Beautiful pieces. I was there a few years back. You are correct. Not very crowded and no lines like the other sites.
Some coins from the Capitoline Museum in Rome. Apologies for the glare; I can't imagine why they wouldn't let me remove the glass. I promised I'd be really really careful.
Very nice! I do recall seeing this in Venice when I visited, but that was many years ago... I had forgotten until seeing your post, and I'm fairly certain I have no pictures. Only Venetian coin I have would be my Avatar: Italian States, Venice Pietro Zani, r. 1205-1229 AR Grosso, 19.79 mm, 1.9 grams Obv.: [·+·]P·ZIANI· ·S·M.VENETI outside (Z retrograde), D/U/X down banner held between doge and St. Mark facing Rev.: [I¯C] X¯C across field, Christ enthroned facing Ref.: Similar to De Witt 3626
I am fairly certain you don't either. I remember visiting that museum around 2010, and they did not allow photos in the museum at that time. But I've noticed that many sites that used to prohibit tourist photography now allow it or turn a blind eye to it. I guess they got tired of fighting the ubiquitous cell phone camera and gave up.
If you're into "numismatic tourism" in Italy, in addition to the Capitoline Museum collection, the underrated Palazzo Massimo branch of the National Museum of Rome is not to be missed. I have an extraordinarily high tolerance for museums. I spent so long in that museum that I was exhausted and dizzy from hunger. I was getting ready to exit the museum and then noticed that it had a basement. And what was in the basement? A breathtaking display of Roman coins. I gathered enough strength to last 15 more minutes, then I had to go get something to eat. I really wish I had done that floor first rather than last. The museum is just across the street up a block and to the left once you exit the Termini train / bus station, in the midst of the budget hotels that I typically stay at. It could not be better located. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/...zo-massimo-alle-terme/a/poi-sig/389441/359975
Here are a few pix from that Palazzo Massimo lower floor. Lots of YouTube videos of the museum don’t even include this floor. I suspect most just skip it. The mediocre pix illustrate why, allegedly, museums don’t particularly like to handle coins. Coins are small, have two sides, and are hard to make accessible for viewing without also making them accessible to theft. Here’s a video I found that shows some features of the lower floor, albeit quickly. (Sorry for the (ahem) anatomically correct preview image.) The coin "tour" starts at 43:30 of the video. I think it’s narrated in modern Greek (?) There’s also a cool wall relief showing the processes of a roman mint, but the relief looks modern, though imitating an ancient style.
I've been to a lot of museums of art and archaeology, but going through my digital photos this is the only group of coins I could find: an exhibit of ancient coins from India, in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco: ...Yeah, it's hard to get good photos of most coin exhibits...
