Theodosia Museum of Money (Feodosiya, Crimea): description, history and interesting facts

This is one of those cities in which you want to come back again and again. Quiet, cozy Feodosiya is a resort province where life flows smoothly and measuredly. Here, you want to stroll along the embankment leisurely, breathing in the scent of history. It was in these places that the inspiration of Aivazovsky was drawn, and it was this azure sea that gave its warmth to millions of tourists. Feodosia is one of the oldest cities on the peninsula, and it is not surprising that there are so many attractions, among which the Theodosia Museum of Antiquities (local history) and the Museum of Money. They all talk about the historical heritage that has survived to this day.

Feodosia Museum of Money (Feodosia, Crimea) is a unique collection of coins and banknotes. The oldest specimen (tatraobol) dates back to the 4th century BC. E. There are a lot of unique bills, which in the world are literally one. To visit the museum means to touch the most interesting pages of Crimean history.

Theodosia Museum of Money (Feodosia): the history of the foundation

During the Ancient Greece, Crimea was an important trade center, which united the entire Black Sea coast. The abundance of traders from different countries led to the fact that the cities of the peninsula had to mint their own coins, and the production center was laid in Feodosia. A fine mint fell in love with the Genoese, who came to replace the Greeks. Nor did the rulers of the Byzantine, and later Ottoman empires began to destroy it. The coinage was preserved even in those times when Crimea was captured by the Russian Empire.

It is believed that the Theodosia Museum of Money was founded in the late 19th century. Then the abundance of unusual banknotes attracted numismatists. And the first who dared to assemble the collection and expose it to the public was G. Galera. The first exhibits were samples of Macedonian currency from the reign of the kings Lysimachus and Philip III. The Feodosia Museum of Money expanded, and in many respects it was helped by the merchants of that time, among which the Jiwarji made a significant contribution.

The follower of Galera was the numismatist Retovskiy (late 19th - early 20th century), under whose guidance the collection expanded considerably, and the museum building became the center for collections of numismatists and collectors from all over Russia.

Unfortunately, during the Soviet era no one needed a museum of money. The sights of Theodosia lost their value, the unique architecture was destroyed, and the city itself from the central resort turned into a quiet provincial. Only in 2003, the well-known entomologist and numismatist AR Oleschuk, who is now the director of the Museum of Money, began to restore the precious collection on his own.

Money of Feodosia

In the very first section of the Museum of Money you can see all the coins that were ever produced in Feodosia. From 4-5 centuries. BC. E. The city was the only one on the Black Sea coast where they were minted. The ingots and the first samples were perfectly preserved. Several stands tell about the specimens occurring during the reign of the Genoese and Tatars.

Further, the historical turn leads us to the emergence of a monetary unit of the Crimean Khanate and coins of one of the rulers - Shahin-Gerai. After the annexation of the Crimea to the Russian Empire, Catherine II ordered the minting of new coins, and all this was done directly in Feodosia, as evidenced by the samples and documents found.

Bospor Kingdom

The Feodosia Museum of Money keeps all samples of coins of the Bosporan kingdom. As you know, the period of its existence is about 4 century BC. E. Then each city had its own unique monetary unit, and many ancient specimens found in the earth are now on the stands of the exhibition hall.

Ukrainian money

A separate room is dedicated to all the money signs that have ever been seen on the territory of Ukraine in the period from the days of Kievan Rus to the present days. There are also samples that were made in the Right-bank Ukraine during the reign of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the money of the Ukrainian People's Republic of 1917 and the period of the supremacy of the Reichskommissariat (1942).

History of money

The Feodosia Museum of Money is not only an exhibition of various samples, but also a method of studying the history of bank notes. After all, coins and banknotes are the privileges of the modern world, and before the first civilizations people exchanged goods or objects equated to them. For example, seashells, as it was in the Crimea. The first exchange offices were located in the cities of Genoa, Evpatoria and, of course, Feodosia.

In the sixth department of the museum, besides historical specimens, there are also quite modern ones, for example, the first plastic cards. Of interest is a collection of fakes. So, here there is a coin with the same obverse and reverse, and a banknote with a face value of one million dollars.

The values of the USSR

Few people know that for some coins born in the USSR, now you can get a large sum. Feodosia Museum of Money knows what the value of a particular specimen is. So, for example, for a 3-ruble coin in 1958, you can now get from 60 to 80 thousand rubles. And for a penny (from 1 to 50) of the same year of release, you can get a lot more. It's all a rarity. Since at that time this money was practically of no value, they simply came out of use and were lost, but now all treasure hunters are interested in their search.

Among kopecks there was such a denomination as 0 rubles. Coins of this dignity were issued after the war and in total in the amount of 50 pieces. Now, for each copy, collectors are ready to pay $ 1,000 each.

Money Signs of the Modern World

In the fifth section of the exhibition hall of the Museum of Money you can see samples of banknotes of modern states. Now here are circulating money of more than 200 countries of the world.

Stands are constantly replenished. So, more recently, here came banknotes from the Yemen Republic with a face value of 250 rials (2009) and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome with a face value of 20,000 good (2010). The modern collection is replenished thanks to travelers and numismatists who appreciate and love their hobbies.

Location

It remains to figure out how to get to Theodosia Museum of Money. It is located in the building located at 12 Kuibyshev Street. In the same building there is another well-known museum devoted to hang gliding. Note that the street has been recently renamed, and so the old maps still have the Green name.

Near the entrance to the museum there is a sculpture of the rosula (popularly referred to as the money tree). It is believed that if you rub the leaves of the tree, then you will definitely have money. From the center you can get here along Galereynaya Street, if you go down towards the sea. At the crossroads with Kuibyshev Street, turn right and go 200 meters.