Tag: numismatic

A numismatist? What’s a numismatist?/2

Maria Clua In the previous article, we saw that one of the jobs of a numismatist is to record, classify and study, but what else is done at the Gabinet Numismàtic de Catalunya (Numismatic Cabinet of Catalonia – GNC) once we have the main data and the identifying details of the piece inside the collection…

Read more »
Author: Maria Clua

A numismatist? What’s a numismatist?

Maria Clua As a general rule, whenever I am asked what I do, my reply causes a certain amount of expectation. Let me explain: – If I say, “I work in a museum,” the other person usually says, “Oh, how interesting! Which one?” – If I say, “I’m an archaeologist,” the following comment is, “How…

Read more »
Author: Maria Clua

300 years after the death of the Sun King. Art and Power in European Medals

Albert Estrada-Rius We are approaching the conclusion of the exhibition Stories in Metal: Art and Power in European medals. Today we shall be talking about the 300th anniversary of the death of the Sun King, remembered through medals. This autumn France has carried out several initiatives to commemorate, with all pomp and splendour, the 300th…

Read more »
Author: Albert Estrada-Rius

Industrial heritage uncovered: the archaeological excavation at La Seca (The Royal Mint of Barcelona) II

In a previous article we looked at the Mint and its location in the most commercial neighbourhood of Barcelona, its implantation in the urban layout of the area and some of the coins that were made there. In this second part, we now have to imagine a steam-powered factory in the middle of the nineteenth…

Read more »
Author: Albert Estrada-Rius

An industrial heritage uncovered: the archaeological intervention at la Seca (The Mint) I

Coins minted at la Seca throughout the 19th century: 20 pesetas of the Napoleonic occupation of 1812, back; 20 Reales of Fernando VII of 1822, face; 6 provincial quarters of 1846, back; 100 Reales of Isabel II of 1861, face, and 10 cents of Alfonso XII of 1877, face. Photos: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya…

Read more »
Author: Albert Estrada-Rius