Department of Coins and Medals
After almost one hundred years from the establishment of its Department of Coins and Medals, the National Museum in Warsaw is preparing its first permanent exhibition. The numismatic collection will be made available to the public thanks to the patronage of Count Feliks Sobański Foundation. The new exhibition is scheduled to open in the first half of 2020.
The new permanent exhibition departs from the typical cross-cutting view of the global history of minting and does not aim to encompass the entire collection. Instead of showing a multitude of coins and medals in the correct sequence, the narrative will be divided into individual subjects. Visitors will be able to learn about various aspects of the history of money. The exhibition will be supplemented by additional artefacts illustrating the subjects at hand as well as infographics and multimedia. It will be accompanied by a detailed analysis of Count Kazimierz Sobański’s collection, paying particular attention to the wartime fate of numismatic collections.
The exhibition design is being prepared by KiPP Projekt – an architectural firm with a number of important projects under its belt, including the Money Centre of the National Bank of Poland. The exhibition concept involves presenting selected numismatic phenomena, such as falsifying money and non-economic use of coins, not only in the chronological and geographical perspective, but also in terms of their cultural and historical aspects. Thanks to the use of innovative solutions in the scope of exhibition space and presentation, the new gallery will combine traditional and narrative approaches, allowing visitors to discover the history of money, our Department and its most important donators.