Here's some Iberian coins I saw in a Catalunyan museum . I wonder if any of you have the same type and can identify them? As you can see, there's one missing. I have to say that the museums in the Catalunyan provinces of Spain were amazing, full of all sorts of ancient artifacts, but when it came to coins they were huge disappointment. Lots of rooms full of Roman, Celtic, and Greek artifacts of all kinds (and really high end stuff too), but there was one area where they were sorely lacking...there was a huge dearth of ancient numismatics. It's sad to see museums put so much effort into statues, sarcophagi, tablets, pots, mosaic floors, etc., yet not a single coin to be found anywhere on display. And it's not because Spain has a lack of ancient coins. There's plenty of articles about Roman and Greek/Celtic coins being found in Iberia. But it seems like museums just don't care about coins when they have so much other stuff to display.
I feel like I have seen that display.. Which city and museum? I visited Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in 2008 in Barcelona
There are actually some museums that do a great job of showing their collections. Even some of the smaller ones. In my experience it is very hit or miss. It’s unfortunate that the ones you visited in Spain were lacking. Still seems like an amazing place to visit. I am afraid I will be useless at attributing the Spanish coins. I only have one in my collection courtesy of my fantastic Secret Saturnalia 2018. Spain, Obulco AE28, Obulco mint, struck mid II century BC Dia.: 28 mm Wt.: 16.83 g Obv.: OBVLCO; female head right Rev.: Celtic-Iberian legend: Magistrates names "Urkailtu" and "Neseltuko" between plow and grain ear. Ref.: CNH 17, page 344 Here is a thread I posted a while back about a museum I was hugely impressed with in terms of coins. Probably the best I’ve ever been to in that regard. A Museum That Values its Ancient Coin Collection
Coin marked number 2 is an : AS - Ampurias (Emporion) Obv : Head of the goddess Pallas Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet with the visor raised and a large plume. Rev : Winged horse Pegasus with a modified head First cent. BC These bronze coins are the missing link between the Greek and the civic coins with Latin legends which date from the creation of the Roman town during the reign of Augustus. Coin marked 4 is a : Drachma - Ampurias (Emporion) Obv: Head of Persephone. Rev: Pegasus Third cent. BC Coin marked number 3: It is a CeltIberian AS also possibly from Ampurias (Emporion) around the 2nd century BC.
Thanks. Believe it or not there was no description for the coins in the exhibit. You'd think there would be as they were numbered, but nope.
Technically I wasn't in Spain, I was in Catalunya. There's a huge separatist movement over there, so there was graffiti all over the walls with messages such as F Spain, death to the King, Free Catalunya, etc. Here you see Catalunyan flags and messages calling for the release of the political prisoners. That stuff was everywhere I went. I was told ahead of time that it was best not to mention anything pro-Spanish or even any mention of being in Spain in general, as that is a sore subject in the region. The people were very nice though everywhere I went, though when asked by locals how I liked my visit I always made sure to reply..."I love Catalunya, it is much nicer than Spain." That always got a smile out of the locals and on one occasion even a free drink at a bar. It is kind of conflicting for me as my Spanish ancestry is 1/4th Catalunyan, so I guess 1/4 of me loves a free Catalunya.
@Sallent.....Glad you had a nice time! I've been living in Catalunya for 15 years now, a beautiful part of Spain with lovely people...If your ever out here again I'd really recommend a visit to Tarragona its about 40 mins up the road from me with with a Roman Amphitheatre looking over the Med...Roman ruins and a super museum...Maybe we could grab a beer
I didn't know about the stone, but yes, I went to Montjuic twice. Once was for the castle/fort at the top... And the other was to visit the Olympic Park, as the 1992 Barcelona Olympics were the first Olympics I remember watching as a kid. I really wanted a photo with the iconic Telefonica tower in the background.
"Technically I wasn't in Spain, I was in Catalunya" - that's like saying "Technically I wasn't in the USA, I was in Texas". But Cataluña has never been an independent state, it was part of the Crown of Aragon that united with the Kingdom of Castile & Leon in the 15th Century to form the Kingdom of Spain - and in 1978, afer the death of Franco, over 90% of Cataluña voted in favor of the new democratic constitution. I have had kids here saying to me, "I didn't vote for the constitution so I am not bound by it!" - to which I reply, "I'll accept that when you show me an American citizen who voted for their constitution". Coming back to coins, if you want to see the best collection of Aragonese coins produced in Cataluña when it was a principality of Aragon and Spanish coins minted in Barcelona under the Spanish crown, one the best museums happens to be in France, in Perpignan, the capital of the old county of Rousillon, which was Aragonese and then Spanish until it was lost to the French under the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. Obviously, it specialises in medieval hammered coins produced in Perpignan, but it does include all other coins found in the area - Roman, Gallic, Greek etc. Musée Numismatique Joseph Puig, Avenue de Grande-Bretagne 42, 66000 PERPIGNAN
True but it is at least partly because they are almost always so badly displayed. The best coin display I ever saw was of a part of the amazing so-called Tyrants Collection at the Long Beach Coin Show in September: coins displayed in about 80 degrees vertical cases so you could see them very close and without breaking your back; very strong lighting; enlarged photos of both sides of every coin; and detailed descriptions.
