My wife visited the Malibu Getty mansion last week and photo'ed these two display cases of superb ancient Greek coins. I was concerned about how they were mounted and asked around. Andy Lustig contacted American Numismatic Society Executive director Dr. Ute Wartenberg Kagan.

The Getty Villa
After three years of work, the galleries of the Villa were reopened with an entirely new arrangement of the collection, offering a new journey through ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art in its cultural and historical context. The ANS is pleased to be part of such an exquisite exposition. Ute Wartenberg, along with with other members of the ANS staff, worked closely with the Getty’s Senior Curator of Antiquities, Dr. Jeffrey Spier, to select ANS coins for display. Thirty-three objects from the Society’s Greek and Roman collections were incorporated into the exhibition.

Thank you so much for spreading the news about this beautiful display at the Getty. All I can say is that the mounting pins are not as tight-fitting as they might appear and therefore do not leave any trace at all. More importantly, they are also specially coated. More “loose” techniques were not recommended in the Getty because of earthquake danger (and in other museums, smash and grab - this technique of three pins prevented the theft of the Standing Caliph, probably the most valuable non-US coin in the world, from being stolen in a major museum some 20 years ago). I can ask the Getty what they exactly used, but I did inspect myself the installation before it opened since I wanted to make sure exactly the issues that Alan highlights in his email.

One more word about the display: some of the most important coins, such as the Roman gold medallion, were on display at the Fed in NYC for a long time. The Roman gold coins are from private collections and really spectacular. For one set, a book has just appeared, and we are working on small exhibit catalogs for the others.