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Collection of Polish and Foreign Medals

For enthusiasts of the art of medal-making, the Department of Coins and Medals offersSecond-largest in terms of size, though equally diverse, is the Collection of Foreign Coins. Numbering about 50,000 items from countries throughout Europe, the majority of the collection was also obtained by way of so-called compensatory campaigns after the Second World War. The collection covers a vast geographical and chronological expanse – from coins dating back to the 7 th –11 th centuries up to modern times. Visitors can find a Longobardian half-siliqua of King Perctarit, French deniers of Emperor Louis the Pious, German Otto-Adelheid pfennigs, Anglo-Saxon pennies of King Aethelerd II and coins of other rulers of early Medieval Europe. These antique coins minted in various corners of Europe are not only featured in the Department of Coins and Medals collection but are also featured as part of rich exhibits of Central European hoards. Particularly noteworthy is a collection of German bracteates, lacking inscription, issued by the prioresses of Quedlinburg and Margraves of Meissen.

Additionally, a magnificent set of cross-pennies is sure to excite every coin lover visiting the exhibition. To demonstrate the emergence of gold as a coinage material in the 14 th century, the collection offers fine examples of florins and guldens from Italy, Hungary and Germany, as well as French écu d’or and English nobles. Following the collection through to Early Modern times, visitors can trace nearly every issue of thalers, from the earliest so called Joachimsthalers minted in the early 16 th century through to an assortment of imperial, municipal, ducal, and bishops’ issues. An interesting angle is added to the collection with a series of siege coins, unique on account of their atypical materials and the circumstances under which they were minted. Also greatly interesting from an iconographical perspective are commemorative coins such as Saxon award clips, thaler impressions in gold, or silver medallic thalers minted in the early 17 th century in the duchy of Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel, unique on account of their diameter and weight.

A collection of 19 th and 20th century coins rounds off and completes this delightful exhibit of European coinage.  a wonderful Collection of Polish and Foreign Medals numbering over 16,000 items. The core of the pre-war holdings was a collection belonging to Count Kazimierz Sobański, which included royal medals (most of them gold) that were later lost during the Second World War, presumably stolen by the Germans. In 1924, the museum made a significant purchase of 1,460 medals from the period of Poland’s partitions from Henryk Phull and another 179 royal medals from a known collector by the name of Henryk Mańkowski. The Department expanded its collection once again in 1938 when it acquired 1000 medals from the State Art Collections. That year also brought a bequest from the Polish Museum in Rapperswil, which included not only medals but also medallions and religious pendants. Despite serious losses incurred during Poland’s occupation, the Collection of Polish Medals boasts a wide range of items, from its earliest pieces dating back to the 16 th century to very contemporary ones.
 
Among these are items attributed to the very best of medal makers – Giovanni Maria Padovano, Sebastian Dadler, Jan Höhn, Jan Buchheim and Jan Filip Holzhaeusser (with the works of the latter including all the medals from the reign of King August Poniatowski and his court as well as the gold medal commemorating the opening of the Warsaw Mint). Polish medal-making of the 19 th and early 20 th centuries is marked by a strong patriotic sentiment, as can be seen in the works of Władysław Leszczyński, Kazimierz Chodziński, Jan Wysocki, Jan Raszka, Stanisław Lewandowski and Konstanty Laszczka.