An exhibition about money featuring, amongst other things, a hoard of Roman coins that have gone on public display for the first time and date back to the BC era...
How often do you think about money? If you’re like most of the rest of the western world any truthful answer will probably be somewhere between ‘quite often’ to ‘very often’. However, the new exhibition Money Talks: Stories from the Coins at Mansfield Museum could make you look at it all in a different way.
The exhibition has been devised and curated by 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.
Its centrepiece is a wonderful hoard of 22 Roman silver coins found by a metal detector user near Mansfield Woodhouse, which date back as far as 170BC. These were originally found in 2007, purchased by the museum in 2009 and have now gone on public view for the first time. The coins feature images of gods such as Jupiter and Salus, as well as Ancus Marcius the fourth king of Rome who ruled in the 7th Century BC.
The exhibition showcases portraits of monarchs from the archives alongside coins and notes with them on, raising a discussion aimed at getting visitors to understand the messages hidden in pictures of these people. Why were some monarchs pictured in full crown jewels and regalia whilst others decided to forsake the bling in an effort to appeal to the common man? How much does it say about the person in the image and how much does it say about the times they presided over?
The exhibition also discusses the role of banks, from their early days in the 17th and 18th century to the rise of localised banking in the 19th and 20th century. This goes up to the modern-day era of buy-outs and amalgamations that have led to a situation where most banks are owned and run by a small range of international super-companies.
Other highlights from the exhibition include; 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 and a collection of tokens and gaming money. There’s even a Cadbury’s Musical Money box and a whiff of Monopoly for anyone with nostalgia for the 1980s.
Various activities are running in tandem with the exhibition. These include curator talks on Tuesday 6 May (1.30-2.30pm) and Thursday 12 June (7-8pm). There are also chances to handle items in the collection on Thursday 22 May (11.30am-12.30pm) and Thursday 26 June (1.30-2.30pm).
Money Talks: Stories from the Coins runs until Saturday 28 June at Mansfield Museum.
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