History and culture: Permanent expositions of the Numismatics Department were opened at the State Hermitage Museum

April 22, 2016 at the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg) took place the permanent exhibition of the Numismatics Department - "Money in the history of world culture" and "Medal art of Russia of the 18th - early 20th centuries", which presents more than six thousand exhibits. 

"The opening of the permanent exhibition - a huge victory and achievement of the Numismatics Department, which reminded us that it was the oldest department, that the museum department begins with numismatics, that all the glorious names of the Hermitage are largely names of numismatists and custodians of numismatic collections", - said Director General of the State Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky.

The exposition "Money in the history of world culture" presents the overall picture of money circulation - from primitive to modern money of euro and plastic bank cards. Occurring on the coins of images and inscriptions, names and dates reflect the whole range of ideas and concepts that make them grateful for the versatile material of studying the economic and political history of different peoples, material and spiritual culture of antiquity.

The collection of Russian medals, stored in the Hermitage, has more than fifteen thousand copies. The basis of the permanent exhibition "Medal art of Russia of the XVIII - XX centuries" - exceptional in its completeness collection of medals at the events of Russian history - a variety of awards, memorials allow us to trace the stages of development of the national medal art, the birth of which was associated with the monetary reform of Peter I in the beginning of the XVIII century.