Museo Casa de la Moneda (Madrid)

The Museum of the Royal Mint (Museo Casa de la Moneda) is a permanent exhibition for the Spanish Royal Mint in Madrid, Spain, begun in 1867.[1]

Museum of the Royal Mint
Museo Casa de la Moneda
Location in Spain
Established1867 (1867)
LocationCalle del Doctor Esquerdo Nº 36
Community of Madrid
 Spain
Coordinates40.422861°N 3.669044°W / 40.422861; -3.669044
Collection sizeCoins, banknotes, medals, lottery tickets, postage stamps
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The museum dates from the eighteenth century and its origins are closely linked with Tomás Francisco Prieto, General Engraver of the Mint of King Carlos III. He was Director of Engraving at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and in 1771 founded a School of Engraving. At this school were the craftsmen who would later to work at the Royal Mint of Spain and its colonies.[1]

The museum's origins can be traced to a collection of drawings, engravings, old books, coins and medals made by Prieto to aid in the teaching of his pupils, which was purchased by King Carlos III. After his death, in 1783, it was successively added to by acquisitions and donations. The original collection was first exhibited to the public in 1867, during the reign of Queen Isabel II, in the former Casa de la Moneda building on Madrid's Plaza de Colón. It remained there until 1964, when it moved to its present location at Calle Doctor Esquerdo Nº 36.[1]

La Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre (FNMT, the National Coin and Stamp Factory) was founded in 1893, with the merger of two separate organizations: the Mint and the Stamp Factory. Since 1861 both institutions shared the same building, at Plaza de Colón, although they were independent and were run separately.[2]

Exhibits
Flywheel coin minting press: copy of an original from Pamplona at the Museum of Navara, 16th-century

The museum is considered one of the most important museums, of its kind in the world.

The numismatic collection includes a history of the coin from its origins, passing through the coinage of Greek and Roman with examples of coins minted in Syracuse, Athens and Aegina. There are some first issues of the Roman Republic. It has a notable collection of Hispanic currency, with items coming mostly from the collection of Gómez Moreno.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Historia del Museo - FNMT". www.museocasadelamoneda.es. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  2. "Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre. Real Casa de la Moneda - FNMT". www.fnmt.es. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
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