Roman silver coins found by a metal detector user near Mansfield Woodhouse in 2007 have gone on public view for the first time at Mansfield Museum.
After being unearthed, the hoard of 22 coins were declared as treasure and purchased by the museum in 2009.
Now they are the centrepiece of the museum’s historic collection of coins and banknotes which has been put on display after decades in storage.
The small but interesting set of coins and banknotes, representing the last 2,000 years of money, is on show in an exhibition called Money Talks: Stories from the Coins until Saturday 28 June.
The exhibition has been devised and curated by Mansfield District Council’s Collections Officer Dr Anja Thompson-Rohde, as part of the museum’s mission to unlock its historic collections and make them more visible and more accessible.
She said: “Coins are my favourite type of artefact – I find them beautiful and fascinating, and I even wrote my PhD on the English coins of William the Conqueror. There are so many brilliant stories hidden in our small change and I love revealing them to people.
“The museum’s collection has mostly been in storage for a long time, and I really wanted to get them out and show them to people.”
“The exhibition includes coins, banknotes, and other money-related items from the museum collection, including portrait paintings, to help visitors to understand the messages hidden in pictures of people.
Other highlights are:
- A printing plate used by Mansfield Bank to print banknotes between 1816 and 1825
- A steel coining die, used to make medals for Mansfield Musical Festival, together with one of the medals struck from the die
- A collection of weird and unusual almost-coins – tokens and gaming money, including tokens made in the 17th century by Mansfield businesses
Various activities are running in tandem with the exhibition including two curator talks, and three chances to handle items in the collection.
A Hands-on History of Coins
Get hands-on with history at a rare chance to examine, investigate, and even handle real coins from the Roman era all the way to modern times. The sessions are free and there is no need to book.
Thursday 24 April, 1.30pm to 2.30pm
Thursday 22 May, 11.30am to 12.30pm
Thursday 26 June, 1.30pm to 2.30pm
A Brief History of Money in England
Join Anja Thompson-Rohde on Tuesday 6 May, from 1.30pm to 2.30pm for a tour through 2,000 years of coins and banknotes from the pre-Roman celtic tribes up to the new money of King Charles III.
Coins as the First Mass Media
For thousands of years money has been spreading messages through the portraits, symbols and inscriptions on the coins. Join Anja Thompson-Rohde on Thursday 12 June, from 7pm to 8pm, to learn how to read coins and decipher their news and propaganda. Tickets for this are £1 and can be booked on the museum website (link opens in new window)
See the museum website for more details of what’s on (link opens in new window).