COLLECTIONS

Numismatic Collection

The AMI Numismatic Collection is an important source in the study of the monetary and economic history of the Istrian peninsula, comprising over 7,000 specimens of currency from the pre-Roman to modern period.

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Information:

Erika Trbojević

Department:

Archaeology Department

Roman denarius of Gaius Julius Caesar

Unknown findspot, 49-48 BCE

Roman denarius of Octavian (Augustus)

Unknown findspot, 29-27 BCE

Roman republican as (aes grave)

Unknown findspot, 225-217 BCE

Roman nummus of Constantine I, Centur

307-310 CE

Ostrogothic ½ siliqua of King Vitiges

Modrušani, 536-540 CE

Ostrogothic tremissis of King Vitiges

Pula, 536-540 CE

Byzantine follis of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus

Unknown findspot, 920-944 CE

Bronze coin of Carthage

Valalta, 264-241 BCE

Denarius of the Aquileian Patriarchate, Antonio II Panciera

Sveti Petar u Šumi, 1402-1411

Salzburg pfennig, Johann II von Reisberg

Dvigrad, 1429-1441

Byzantine coin hoard

Senj near Buzet, 1118-1203

Part of Roman bronze coin hoard

Čentur, late 3rd century and first decade of the 4th century CE

Roman imperial sestertii with depictions of emperors

1st-3rd century CE

Roman imperial sestertii with depictions of empresses

2nd-3rd century CE

Selected coins from the Radić Collection

The AMI Numismatic Collection is a reference resource for the study of the economic and monetary history of the Istrian peninsula. Now numbering over seven thousand specimens of money—paper notes and metal coins—the collection has grown out of archaeological investigation, donations, and purchases. As the collection continues to grow, so does its significance, both to academic study and as a museum collection.

Chronologically, the collection covers a broad span from pre-Roman to modern times. The oldest coins are from the Greco-Hellenistic and, to a lesser extent, the Celtic period. Roman coins are the most numerous and well represented, dating from the Republic to late antiquity and the collapse of the Empire. The collection also includes Byzantine, medieval, Venetian, and modern period coins

The work associated with this collection includes collecting specimens of, analysing, protecting, and presenting monetary issuance that circulated in Istria over the centuries. Special emphasis is placed on the context of finds, i.e., provenance, which opens the window to a more complete understanding of economic and political processes on the peninsula.

Čentur near Koper is among the most important sites, where a hoard of about 26,000 late antiquity period coins was found. Although most of the hoard has been dispersed, more than 2,000 specimens are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Istria. This is the largest known hoard of its kind in the region, important because it is a clear reflection of the complex social and economic circumstances of late antiquity. Analysis of this hoard provides valuable insights into the economic history of the northern Adriatic.