Network
MONEY & MEDALS
The Holburne Museum
Great Pulteney Street
Bath
BA2 4DB
tel: +44 (0)1225 388542
website: www.holburne.org
email: c.jones@holburne.org
Contact details: Catrin Jones, Curator of Decorative Arts
Date of visit: 20 August 2013
Nature and extent of collection
10,000, of which 350 are numismatic collections.
We also hold a collection of over 1000 Notgeld (see below)
The Holburne Museum has at its heart the collection of Sir William Holburne, a unique survival of a Victorian townhouse collection. Since it was founded the Holburne’s collections have expanded to include other areas such as eighteenth-century British portraiture and works produced in Bath.
The collection consists of around 7,500 works of art with a library and archive of a further 2,500 items. It includes seventeenth- and eighteenth-century silver and porcelain, Italian maiolica and bronzes, old master and Dutch and Flemish paintings, portrait miniatures, books and furniture and a variety of other smaller items including Roman glass, coins, enamels, seals, gems and snuff boxes. The collection also contains textiles and a small collection of Middle Eastern art.
All numbers below are estimated
Greek coins: 14 Ancient Greek Coins. Coins are of Athens, Ptolemy, Corinth, Syracuse, Alexander the Great, Velia, Tarentum and 2 others.
Roman coins: 31 Roman Coins. Includes silver and gold coins from the time of various emperors.
British coins: 122
British tokens: 29
European coins: 8 (7 Spanish, 1 Portuguese)
Asian coins: 22 (1 Indian, 21 Ceylon)
Modern and paper money: German Interwar Notgeld (1098)
Medals (commemorative or military): 97
Paranumismatica: 29 (including tokens, counters and Sydney Gardens Proprietors’ tickets)
Specific strengths: British coins, German Notgeld
Library: A small collection of numismatic books
Databases
Database used: MuseumIndex+
Proportion of collection on database: 100%
How much detail in database entries? Varied. Primarily taken from historic registers.
Are images incorporated? Almost 90% have images.
Is the database accessible to the public? Information from the database about items on display are available on our Collections Online.
Is the database publicly accessible online? What is the URL if so? Yes: collections.holburne.org
Display
Are there permanent numismatic displays? Yes.
Is numismatic material incorporated into more general displays? Yes.
Is there a facility for temporary exhibitions? Yes.
Have there been numismatic exhibitions in the past? If so, what? No.
Access to the collection
Is there a study facility? No.
Is equipment (balances, magnifying glasses, etc.) provided? N/A
Public engagement with numismatic collection
Is there a handling collection? No.
Are numismatic collections used in Education sessions? No.
Do numismatic collections feature in gallery talks, lectures? No.
Are there other engagement activities based around numismatic collections? No.
ID and public enquiries
Does the museum offer a service for identifying objects and other public enquiries? No.
Curatorial knowledge
Is there any numismatic expertise in-house? If so, who, and in what areas? No.
Is there access to external expertise? If so, who and in what areas? Yes, via the Money and Medals Network.
If there is expertise in-house, is there a willingness/capacity to share that with other museums? N/A