NUMISMATOURIST VISITS CZECH MUNICIPAL MUSEUM

The day after I arrived in Dresden, I took a day trip by train to the Czech town of Ústí nad Labem, which is about 40 miles north of Prague and close to the Czech-German border. Located in the western region of Bohemia, Ústí nad Labem was formerly known by the German name of Aussig prior to Czechoslovak independence.

 

1. A selection of Theresienstadt "Moses Korun" receipts (1943) along with information about its designer, Petr Kien, a Jewish artist at the Theresienstadt concentration camp and who died in 1944 at Auschwitz.

One interest for visiting the town is that some of my wife's relatives, following liberation from concentration camps, lived here after World War II before immigrating to Delaware. Another was the numismatic collection at the city's Municipal Museum.

 

2. Dr. Jana Hubková, curator of the numismatic collection of the Ústí nad Labem Municipal Museum, explains to The Numismatourist, Howard Berlin, the history of items from the museum's archive.

Upon arriving at the train station, I was met by Dr. Jana Hubková, curator of the numismatics collection at the Municipal Museum, and who admits to being a better historian than a numismatist. Since she doesn't speak much English and I don't speak Czech and I haven't spoken Russian in more than 65 years, we agreed on speaking German. I had written to Dr. Hubková two months ago and she graciously agreed to spend some time telling me about the museum's numismatic collection. I wore my "I ? Berlin" T-shirt so she would be able to easily recognize me at the train station.

The museum was founded in 1876 and the first exposition was opened in a hotel which is today a restaurant. However, a few weeks later the museum had to be moved elsewhere, and then again. During the first ten years, it was moved eight times. The collection is caught in sort of a tug of war between the museum's Archeological Department and the History Department, the latter of which Dr. Hubková is part of. With the exception of a very few items that are on display as three- to four- month temporary exhibits, there is no permanent exhibition of numismatic items and virtually everything is archived.

 

3. Meissen shield groschen from around 1424, minted by Margrave Friedrich, Landgrave Wilhelm II and Friedrich of Thuringia. The Latin inscription: DEI GRATIA THURINGIAE LANDGRAVI (By the Grace of God, Landgrave of Thuringia). On the reverse is the Meissen lion and the Latin inscription: GROSSUS MARCHIONNIS MISNENISIS (Groschen of the March of Meissen).

 

4. A medal for the Agricultural and Forestry District Association Aussig-Karbitz. The Reverse reads "To the Merit for Agriculture."

Although the Municipal Museum acquired numismatic material as early as the 1870s, the independent numismatic collection was not created until 1971. The coins discovered during archaeological excavations, however, are part of the large archaeological collections. For the museum's numismatic collection, more than a hundred coins and medals were acquired in the founding era when the museum was under the management of the Chamber of Commerce until 1901. Today, Dr. Hubková manages a collection of coins, medals, paper currency and securities of European and non-European issuers from Late Antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on currency issued on the territory of the Habsburg Monarchy (1527–1918) and successor states (Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Czech Republic) from Middle Ages to the present. Currency, commemorative medals, tokens and badges related to the city of Aussig/Ústí nad Labem and the local region occupy an important place in the collection. Among the most interesting are the coins and medals discovered in 1978 during the restoration of the Russian monument to the Battle of Kulm/Chlumec (1813). The largest part of the museum's collection is that of German and Austrian Notgeld – emergency paper currency or "script" from the years 1918–1922.

Despite the museum not having any permanent exhibit, Dr. Hubková had prepared a small selection of items for me in the museum's library. As she was explaining the materials to me, the museum's photographer was taking pictures of us, as I was considered an honored celebrity. I was informed that these photos would be included in her article about my visit in the museum's magazine. I presented Dr. Hubková with a signed copy of my "The Numismatourist" book which covers more than 150 museums worldwide that have numismatic exhibitions.

 

5. A medal commemorating the 1893 commercial, industrial and agricultural exhibition in Aussig.

 

6. The back of a 1922 2 marks emergency money (Notgeld) from the Chamber of Commerce of the Memel Region.

The Municipal Museum is open 9am-6pm Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday). Admission is 50 Kc (approximately $2.15; €2.00).

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web