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Description: | The collections of Coins and Medals embraces money in many different forms, from all parts of the world and spanning ancient to modern times, as well as medals since their origin in the Renaissance.
The Department of Coins and Medals was initiated in 1856 when coins accumulated by the University were transferred from the Library to the Museum. The Greek coins, based on the cabinet of some 12,000 coins purchased from Lt Col W M Leake in 1864, and supplemented by the collections of J R McClean and others, are outstanding. The Department has major holdings of Roman and Oriental coins among which the imperial gold portrait pieces which were given by A W Young in 1936 are exceptional. The largest part of the collection outside the ancient series is that of Great Britain, from Celtic times to the present, and thanks to the deposit of Professor Philip Grierson's European coins and the acquisition of Christopher Blunt's British coins, its medieval collection is the most complete in existence. The Department also preserves numerous engraved gems and cameos and fine Italian and foreign medals from Pisanello onwards. The collection of English medals was enriched by the gifts of A W Young in 1936 and by the bequest of Miss M E Grimshaw's school medals in 1989. The department holds on deposit significant collections of both coins and medals which belong to several of the Cambridge Colleges. In all, there are some 160,000 items in its care.
- | Subjects: | Roman period Numismatics Tokens European Medals Asian cultures Coins Greek (cultural identity) | Source: | Cornucopia - Discovering UK Collections | FAX: | 01223 332 923 | Telephone: | 01223 332 900 | Identifier: | oai:www.cornucopia.org.uk:6341 | Go to resource |
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