Design models for the Münchhausen Medal of the University of Göttingen
One of the tasks of the Numismatic Collection is to collect medals relating to university history - both those created for Göttingen University and gifts from other universities. For the 250th anniversary of the Georgia Augusta in 1987, a medal was commissioned in honour of its founder Gerlach Adolph von Münchhausen (1688-1770). The creator of this work, Harry M. Buchberger (1923-2013), donated the large-format designs in plaster and bronze to the Numismatic Collection.
Harry M. Buchberger / 1987 / Bronze, plaster
Coin Box from the Schlözer Family
In 1940, Göttingen University acquired numerous heirlooms from the family of the famous Göttingen historian August Ludwig von Schlözer (1735-1809), including a small collection of coins, which were kept in this sumptuously decorated box. The holdings of the Göttingen Coin Cabinet largely come from private professorial collections. Most of them were laid out according to strictly scientific principles. Schlözer's, however, is more of an enthusiast's collection.
ca. 1800 / wood, brass, granite
Galvanoplastic replicas of Greek coins
As a typical teaching collection, the Göttingen Numismatic Collection contains mainly everyday money from all epochs and regions. The purchase of expensive top pieces, on the other hand, would correspond neither to the institution's objectives nor to its financial possibilities. In order to nevertheless be able to include famous masterpieces of the art of coinage in the teaching, deceptively genuine replicas were acquired. Under a wafer-thin gold or silver coating, they are made of base metal.
ca. 1900 / lead
Swedish plate money worth 4 silver thalers
Money did not always take the form of handy coins or banknotes. In the Baroque period, copper plate coins were produced in Sweden, which was rich in copper but poor in precious metals. The coin shown here weighs three kilograms. The equivalent value of four silver thalers and the year of origin, 1732, are confirmed by stamps in the centre and in the corners of the plate. These bulky means of payment were still in use until 1777.
1732 / Copper
Numismatic Collection
With over 40,000 coins and medals, the Georgia Augusta is in possession of the third largest academic coin cabinet in Germany (after those of Leipzig and Tübingen Universities). The collection was founded in 1773, when the natural and "art objects", including numerous coins of Göttingen professor Christian Wilhelm Büttner (1716 - 1801), were acquired for the Georg August University. Under the direction of Christian Gottlob Heyne (1729 - 1812), this became the "Royal Academic Museum". As a classical philologist, Heyne was primarily interested in the coins of the Roman Republic, but the collection also contained post-ancient coins from the beginning.
