Numismatic Museum of Athens

The Numismatic Museum of Athens is one of the most important museums in Athens, if not Greece, and should be on most people’s list of things to do in Athens. The museum was established in 1834, the same year the National Archaeological Museum was built.

It houses an absolutely fantastic collection of over 500,000 coins, medals, gems, stamps, and other related artefacts from 1400 BC to the present day.

The collection at the Numismatic Museum of Athens constitutes one of the richest in the world, and compares with those of the British Museum in London, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, and the American Numismatic Society in New York.

The numismatic museum is located at one of Greece’s most historically significant buildings, Iliou Melathron. Built between 1878- 1880 by architect Ernst Ziller in honour of Heinrich Schliemann, who had purchased it for his wife Sophia after their divorce from bankrupt funds left behind when he died.

After the building was chosen to house the Numismatic Museum, it underwent a significant renovation under which the floor mosaics and the murals were restored. Finally, the numismatic collection was inaugurated in the partly restored building in 1998, while the whole collection became viewable in 2007.

The wealthiest collections are those of ancient coins dating from the 6th century BC to the 5th century AD. These are the coins of the city-states, the kings and rulers of the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world, the Roman Republic, the Roman emperors and the Roman Imperial provinces.

The collections of Byzantine and Medieval coins are equally important, dating from the 6th century to the 15th century. There are many coins of the Byzantine empire and representative issues of all the emperors and mints, states and monarchs of the Medieval West and East, and issues of the Frankish kingdoms created in Greece since the 13th century.

The period from the 15th to the 20th c. is covered through the coins of most modern and contemporary era states. An emphasis is shown to coins circulated in Greece, such as issues of the Ottoman Empire, coins of European states and empires and coins and banknotes of the Modern Greek state.

​The remaining artefacts of miniature sculpture and art comprise exceptional collections. The ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Medieval weights for various products and coins are an essential source of information on the weight standards and the trade transactions in different periods. Gems were used as symbols of power, jewellery and as means of defining identity, authenticity or value. The rich collection of Byzantine leads bullae is a valuable tool for Byzantine Sigillography and Sphragistics.

• The museum’s oldest and most valuable exhibits are the gold coins from the 7th century BC until the Roman period.
• On display are also rare coins from Athens’ allies and opponents during the Peloponnesian War and a collection of over 1,000 ancient and medieval Greek coins.
• The “Nile Collection” is a special exhibit of Egyptian coins, assembled by George Sotiropoulos in the early 20th century.
• The “Macedonian Hoard” is a collection of over 6,000 silver and Macedonian gold coins dating from the 4th to the 1st centuries BC.
• Finally, the “Roman Imperial Coins” exhibit includes a selection of over 2,000 coins from the Roman Empire.

• The museum’s oldest and most valuable exhibits are the gold coins from the 7th century BC until the Roman period.
• On display are also rare coins from Athens’ allies and opponents during the Peloponnesian War and a collection of over 1,000 ancient and medieval Greek coins.
• The “Nile Collection” is a special exhibit of Egyptian coins, assembled by George Sotiropoulos in the early 20th century.
• The “Macedonian Hoard” is a collection of over 6,000 silver and Macedonian gold coins dating from the 4th to the 1st centuries BC.
• Finally, the “Roman Imperial Coins” exhibit includes a selection of over 2,000 coins from the Roman Empire.

Monday 8:30am to 3:30pm
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 8:30am to 3:30pm
Thursday 9am to 7pm
Friday to Sunday 8:30am to 3:30pm

Closed
January 1st, January 6th, Clean Monday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, March 25th, August 15th, October 28th, December 25th

There is wheelchair accessible ramp on the north side of the building on Herakleios Emperor Road. This will bring you to the 1st (main) floor.

There is a nearby lift down to the disabled-accessible toilet and the café.

There is step-free access throughout the museum.