Description of the attraction
The Schliemann House of Numismatics is one of the most famous museums in Greece. The collection of rare ancient and modern coins, medals and precious stones gathered in the museum is rightfully considered one of the best in the world.
The museum is located in the Iliou Melatron (Ilion Palace) mansion on Panepistimiou street, in the house of the famous German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, famous for his excavations in Troy, Mycenae, Ithaca and other interesting places in Greece. Schliemann was a very successful archaeologist, his excavations shocked the entire scientific world.
The palace building was built in 1870-1880 by Ernst Zieler and is a monument of neoclassical architecture and one of his best works. Especially impressive is the mosaic floor made by Italian craftsmen. In addition to geometric ornaments, the floor depicts objects found by Schliemann during the excavations of Troy and Mycenae.
The museum was founded back in 1834, but was not widely known, did not even have its own building. At various times, the unique collection has been exhibited at the University of Athens, the Academy of Athens and the National Archaeological Museum. It was only in 1998 that the museum opened its own doors to visitors.
The collection of the museum includes 600 thousand items. Most of the exhibits are, of course, coins, there are also rare molybdenum alloys. The museum also displays medals, stamps, seals, tools for making coins and other exhibits. The collection of the museum covers an impressive period of time, starting from the 14th century BC. and up to the present time. A huge contribution to the collection was made by private amateurs of numismatics, donating their considerable and rarest collections to the state.
In the numismatics museum, you can not only admire the rarest artifacts, but also listen to a short course on Greek coinage and even get some practical lessons right in the museum hall. An interesting lecture on the history of the development of coinage and on the ancient methods of counterfeiting coins.
The museum library contains 12 thousand books on the study of coinage. The museum also has its own conservation laboratory.
