Heidelberg Center for Cultural Heritage (HCCH) Numismatic Collection

The numismatic collection consists of just under 5,000 ancient coins, medals, and other objects, as well as some Byzantine, medieval, and early modern pieces

Most items date from the Roman Republic and, particularly, from the Roman Imperial period. In addition, there are approximately 800 Greek coins, as well as a larger number of Roman provincial issues from the eastern part of the Roman Empire and from Alexandria. Among them are pieces of scholarly interest that have not yet been published, along with other numismatic objects such as plaster casts, historical galvanos, and related materials.

Like the antiquities collection, the collection goes back to Georg Friedrich Creuzer (1771-1858), specifically to the “Antiquarium Creuzerianum” (1835), and has been steadily expanded through later acquisitions and donations. Since 2014, part of the numismatic collection has been accessible online through the Digital Coin Cabinet of Heidelberg University. This way, the Heidelberg holdings are also made available through other national and international numismatic portals. The digitization process is still ongoing. In addition, the numismatic collection is used extensively to teach the history of money on the eLearning platform NumiScience.de of the Numismatic Network in Baden-Württemberg.