Coin Cabinet at the Basel Historical Museum

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Golden Basel gift medal from 1691 in the coin cabinet of the Basel Historical Museum

The coin cabinet in the Basel History Museum is located in the Barfüsserkirche of the Basel History Museum . The Münzkabinett developed into the museum's own collection in the 20th century. It is based on centuries-old collections and now contains around 66,000 objects. The focus is on Roman coins and local numismatics , among other things .

history

The museum on Augustinergasse was opened in 1849. Until then, the coins were kept in the public library, as was the case until the 20th century. Collections were combined in the new building: library, art and natural history collection, antiques and coins. In 1892 the coin collection moved to the newly founded Basel Historical Museum . Numismatics emerged as a separate collection department of the museum in the 20th century.

The Münzkabinett has had its own curator since 1972 , who was employed part-time. The first head of the Münzkabinett was Beatrice Schärli from 1972, who held the position for over 32 years. From 2006 to 2020 Michael Matzke worked as a curator for the Münzkabinett at the Basel Historical Museum.

In 2012, it was decided by the government council that the finds that have been made since the Archaeological Soil Research Basel-Stadt was founded in 1962 must be handed over to the specialist archaeological authority. As a result, a unit of the coin find archive in the coin cabinet and continuous maintenance of new finds is no longer guaranteed.

Collections

For centuries, coins and medals came into public possession in Basel, which later became part of the collection of the Münzkabinett. The following collections should be highlighted:

In 1536 the estate of Erasmus von Rotterdam went to Bonifacius Amerbach . The coin collection and Holbein paintings established the Amerbach cabinet, on which the museum's current coin collection is based. In 1576 Basilius Amerbach acquired bronzes in the style of ancient Roman sesterces . These so-called Paduans were created by the Paduan medalist Giovanni Cavino and his circle. As early as 1583, Amerbach had a collection of almost 1,000 ancient coins, not counting post-ancient coins and medals. His expertise lay in the coins of the Roman Empire, which make up the bulk of the coins in the Amerbach cabinet, but his numismatic interest extended beyond ancient coins. The cabinet was acquired by the city for the university in 1661 or 1662 and made public in 1671.

Remigius Faesch collected coins and medals. By 1648 he had acquired 2,590 pieces. These included rare pieces such as Siege Cliffs or unique pieces. In 1800 the Faesch Museum, Basel's longest-lived private collection, owned 8,322 coins and medals. The museum administrator and coin expert Sebastian Faesch (1647–1712) is probably responsible for the focus on Roman and ancient coins.

The Schorndorff Medal Cabinet was started by Johann Schorndorff (1705–1769) on the initiative of the medalist Johann Karl von Hedlinger . Schorndorff's descendants expanded the holdings into a universal collection, including, for example, drafts for medals. In 1911 u. a. 322 Hedlinger medals to the Basel Historical Museum. In 1943 the universal collection, which had grown to almost 3,000 copies and focused more on the history of people and money, followed.

The large collection of Louis Ewig (1814–1870) concentrated exclusively on coins and medals from Basel or those related to Basel. For a long time it served as a reference work for Basel numismatics. His collection largely completed the museum's collection.

Also worth mentioning are the collections of (year of ownership transfer in brackets): Andreas Ryff , who collected contemporary coins and international portrait medals; Hieronymus Falkeisen (1815), Auguste Quiquerez (1880), Rudolf Brüderlin (1917), Johann Jakob Bachofen (1921), Friedrich August Lichtensteiger (1957), Andreas Alföldi (1982), Leon Der Grigorian (1989), regionally oriented collections such as the the archaeologist and ancient historian Daniel Bruckner (1778), Johann Jakob Schmid (1857), Wilhelm Vischer (1864)

Duration

The rapporteur has been responsible for the holdings since 2006.

The coin cabinet contains around 66,000 objects, from the 7th century to the present. These include around 11,000 ancient and around 21,000 medieval and modern coins. Coins from Basel, the Romans, the Renaissance and bracteates from the Swabian-Alemannic region are predominant . In the topographical department there are around 13,000 found coins and numismatic objects with proven locations. In addition, the collection contains around 13,000 medals , from the Renaissance and Baroque to the 20th century. It also includes over 1,000 coin and medal stamps , 900 stamps from the 19th and 20th centuries, 60 coin scales from the 16th to 19th centuries and several dactyliotheques . The Basel medalist Hans Frei (1868–1948) is also represented . Also implied are over 600 gems and cameos , antique and modern, as well as casts of famous antique and modern gems made in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are also around 1,000 banknotes and assignats . The oldest coins in the museum were found in Augst at the time of Daniel Bruckner (1707–1781) .

Gifts

Acquisitions and donations enrich the holdings of the Münzkabinett again and again.

On the occasion of Jacob Burckhardt's 200th birthday in 2018, the museum received a collection of 50 Roman coins from Burckhardt's possession from a descendant. The coins are in the original paper bags, which Burckhardt wrote personally. It is unlikely that this was part of his private coin collection, rather it was teaching material for his courses.

Selected exhibits

Augusta Raurica

The coins from Augusta Raurica are of particular archaeological importance. Most of them are a gift from the Historical and Antiquarian Society of Basel . A collaboration between the curator Matzke and Markus Peter, Head of Numismatics at the Roman Museum in Augst , came about . The oldest coin found from Augusta Raurica is an Ace from 146 BC. BC, long before the settlement was built in 15 BC. Was coined. This coin is a so-called “cross-country runner”, that is, a coinage that was in circulation for a very long time and was only lost in the Augustan era or later.

Roman Republic

Coin from the Roman Republic, ca.48 BC. Long-haired Gaul, silver embossed

This denarius from the Roman Republic dates from 48 BC. The mint master was L. Hostilius Sasera. The coin shows the head of a long-haired Gaul and a carnyx . This picture refers to Caesar's Gaul campaigns and symbolizes respect for Caesar's party. It is embossed from silver and has a weight of 3.874 g, the diameter is 19.7 mm. This coin comes from the Schorndorff collection.

Allegorical medal on luck

The unsigned silver medal dates from 1554. It shows Fortuna on a dolphin, she holds the reins in her left hand and a cloth as a sail in her right. A siren swims on the left , another dolphin and a ship on the right. A city rises on the horizon. The eight-line text on the back warns to cherish the happiness given, but ultimately God's power will decide our journey. It was created in the workshop of Hans Jacob I. Stampfer (Zurich, 1505 - 1579). The medal is cast in silver, has a weight of 19.833 g and a diameter of 47.3 mm.

Coin scales of Johann Friedrich Mayer

The coin scale of the Nuremberg master Johann Friedrich Mayer was created at the end of the 18th century. The car body is made of walnut , the scales and weights are made of brass . There are 15 coin weights, a 9-part insert weight and 10 counterweights. The object is approx. 20 cm long and 12 cm wide.

gallery

  • Gold coin from the Duchy of Milan

  • Allegorical medal on luck

  • Pfennig (half bracteate or thin penny) in silver

  • Coin scales by the Nuremberg master Johann Friedrich Mayer

research

Curator Matzke was honored in 2018 for his publication on the medieval monetary history of Northern Italy (2016) in the Séance solennelle of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in Paris.

In 2018, the numismatics department began to process the previously largely unexplored history of Basel's coins under the reign of Henry II .

All'antica medals

The Münzkabinett has a unique collection of all'antica medals, most of which can be traced back to the Amerbach cabinet. Over the course of several years, a reference work on the museum's own so-called Paduans was created, which operates under the title All'antica . These are renaissance works based on ancient models. The publication was included in the program of the Battenberg Gietl Verlag .

Web links

Commons : Münzkabinett Historisches Museum Basel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. P. 1 , accessed August 15, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. P. 10 , accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  3. ^ History. Timeline. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, accessed on August 13, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b Information text of the museum, not available in print or online
  5. ↑ a b Alwin Seiler: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Voluntary work in the Münzkabinett. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 83 , accessed on August 13, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. P. 10 , accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Dr. Michale Matzke. Biography. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, accessed on August 13, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Collection depots . In: Archaeological Soil Research of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Canton of Basel-Stadt, accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. P. 11 , accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  10. ^ Bonifacius Amerbach. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland HLS. Historical Lexicon of Switzerland, July 17, 2001, accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. Pp. 2–4 , accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  12. ^ Michael Matzke: The Faesch Museum. In: Christoph Merian Verlag. Christoph Merian Foundation, accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. P. 6 , accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. P. 7 , accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. P. 9 , accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. P. 5 , accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Michael Matzke: Histoire des collections numismatiques et des institutions vouées à la numismatique. (PDF) The coin cabinet of the Historisches Museum Basel. Pp. 2–9 , accessed August 15, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Alwin Seiler: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Voluntary work in the Münzkabinett. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 85 , accessed on August 13, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Alwin Seiler: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Voluntary work in the Münzkabinett. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 99 , accessed on August 13, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Marc Fehlmann: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Review. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 9 , accessed on August 14, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Michael Matzke: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) An ensemble of Roman coins owned by Jacob Burckhardt. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 29 , accessed on August 14, 2019 .
  22. ^ Paul Pachlatko: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) The scientific documentation of the coins found by Augusta Raurica. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 97 , accessed on August 14, 2019 .
  23. ^ Paul Pachlatko: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) The scientific documentation of the coins found by Augusta Raurica. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 101 , accessed on August 14, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Roman Republic. Coins and medals. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Allegorical Medal on Luck. Coins and medals. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, accessed on August 16, 2019 .
  26. ^ Coin scales by the Nuremberg master Johann Friedrich Mayer. Coins and medals. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, accessed on August 15, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Marc Fehlmann: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Research at the Historisches Museum Basel. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 95 , accessed on August 16, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Marc Fehlmann: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Research at the Historisches Museum Basel. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 93 , accessed on August 14, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Marc Fehlmann: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Review. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 10 , accessed on August 16, 2019 .
  30. ↑ a b Marc Fehlmann: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Research at the Historisches Museum Basel. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, pp. 94, 95 , accessed on August 14, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Alwin Seiler: Historisches Museum Basel - Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Voluntary work in the Münzkabinett. In: Website Historisches Museum Basel. Historisches Museum Basel, 2019, p. 85 , accessed on August 14, 2019 .