Coins (Numismatics)

The Museum possesses a large collection of ancient coins. Several Roman coin hoards are represented. A 14th to 15th century collection of Spanish gold coins from Praa Sands is likely to have come from Le Kateryn Van Arnude which sank in Mount’s Bay in 1478.

The collection comprises a good representative collection of Cornish tokens. However, there are rare types, mainly of 1660s period, which are not represented and the collection is poor in trade tokens of the late 19th or 20th centuries.

The Museum’s holdings of British tokens derive from the Henderson collection, and are good but not comprehensive.

At the Royal Institution of Cornwall's Annual General Meeting in 2009, Curator of Archaeology and World Cultures, Jane Marley, launched the soon to be published coin corpus Ancient and Early Medieval Coins from Cornwall & Scilly by the late Roger Penhallurick. For the full address to the AGM please click here

Coins (Numismatics)

We endeavour to ensure that as much as possible from our collection is on view. However, there will always be times when a specific item you wish to see is not on display. Please contact us in advance and we will make sure that it is available to view