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Show me the money
By Pan Zheng |
May 12, 2009, Tuesday
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HANGZHOU'S money museum features everything from ancient to modern coins and unusual items such as a banknote that can be cut up into smaller denominations. Pan Zheng reports.
Since the global economic crisis started, many enterprises have lost a lot of money. However, in Hangzhou, there's a "rich" museum where money is everywhere.
Established in June 1999, Hangzhou World Numismatic Museum, commonly known as the Coin Museum, can be found on Hefang Street near West Lake. It claims to be the only museum in China that collects and exhibits world coins and banknotes.
As early as the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) there were stores displaying and exchanging coins. Now the Coin Museum exhibits the coins of more than 200 countries and regions, including hammered gold and silver coins of ancient Rome and Greece, historical currencies, gold, silver and copper nickel commemorative coins, Chinese currencies of past dynasties and commemorative and circulated coins issued by the People's Bank of China.
In addition, it also collects some "Tops in the World" coins. For example, there is a German coin with a face value of 1 billion Deutschemarks. The coin has the highest face value in the world and was circulated in the 1920s during a period of hyperinflation after World War I.
Although it's known as the Coin Museum, the banknote, which is regarded as one of the greatest developments in financial history, is given a prominent role.
During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Marco Polo (1254-1324), the famous Italian explorer, referred to Hangzhou as the "world's most beautiful and luxurious city" and the circulation of its paper money as a "golden touch."
The museum collects and displays various banknotes of more than 200 countries and regions.
One of the highlights is a Yugoslavian bill with a face value of 500 billion dinars. Other peculiar notes can be seen. Some of the older bills were made of materials such as cotton, ox hide, wood, ivory sheets and gold foil.
"We have a lot of priceless treasures," says Chu Jianguo, director of the Coin Museum, with a proud smile. "Look at this. It was one of the currencies of Belarus after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The face value is 300 rubles. The most special feature is that it can be cut into pieces according to its squares and number. Each piece was valued at its printed number. It may be the only banknote in the world that can be cut."
China was one of the earliest countries to use money as a means to facilitate trade. So the museum naturally has an impressive collection of Chinese coins and bills.
"We have most ancient Chinese coins. From various coins, we can figure out the social and cultural status of different periods in history." Chu says.
The museum is like a Chinese currency textbook. During the Shang (c.16th century-11th century BC) and Zhou dynasties (c.11th century-221 BC), several types of coins were used. Wenbi money was made of bronze and looked like a mollusk's shell. Dao money was shaped like a knife.
Yuanbao (shoe-shaped gold or silver ingots), which was used in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, is another precious treasure in the museum.
"We opened this museum in hopes of connecting the past and present, and to open a window to the outside world, as well as to bring our foreign friends into the glamorous Chinese culture," Chu says. "To those who're interested in Chinese and world history, I want to say that there is a lot of history right here."
Address: 178 Hefang Street, Hangzhou
Open Hours: 8:30am-5pm
Tel: (0571) 8780-9600
Admission: Free
Buses: K8, K13, K12, K30, 38, 48, 151, Y1, Y2, K4, K35
Since the global economic crisis started, many enterprises have lost a lot of money. However, in Hangzhou, there's a "rich" museum where money is everywhere.
Established in June 1999, Hangzhou World Numismatic Museum, commonly known as the Coin Museum, can be found on Hefang Street near West Lake. It claims to be the only museum in China that collects and exhibits world coins and banknotes.
As early as the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) there were stores displaying and exchanging coins. Now the Coin Museum exhibits the coins of more than 200 countries and regions, including hammered gold and silver coins of ancient Rome and Greece, historical currencies, gold, silver and copper nickel commemorative coins, Chinese currencies of past dynasties and commemorative and circulated coins issued by the People's Bank of China.
In addition, it also collects some "Tops in the World" coins. For example, there is a German coin with a face value of 1 billion Deutschemarks. The coin has the highest face value in the world and was circulated in the 1920s during a period of hyperinflation after World War I.
Although it's known as the Coin Museum, the banknote, which is regarded as one of the greatest developments in financial history, is given a prominent role.
During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Marco Polo (1254-1324), the famous Italian explorer, referred to Hangzhou as the "world's most beautiful and luxurious city" and the circulation of its paper money as a "golden touch."
The museum collects and displays various banknotes of more than 200 countries and regions.
One of the highlights is a Yugoslavian bill with a face value of 500 billion dinars. Other peculiar notes can be seen. Some of the older bills were made of materials such as cotton, ox hide, wood, ivory sheets and gold foil.
"We have a lot of priceless treasures," says Chu Jianguo, director of the Coin Museum, with a proud smile. "Look at this. It was one of the currencies of Belarus after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The face value is 300 rubles. The most special feature is that it can be cut into pieces according to its squares and number. Each piece was valued at its printed number. It may be the only banknote in the world that can be cut."
China was one of the earliest countries to use money as a means to facilitate trade. So the museum naturally has an impressive collection of Chinese coins and bills.
"We have most ancient Chinese coins. From various coins, we can figure out the social and cultural status of different periods in history." Chu says.
The museum is like a Chinese currency textbook. During the Shang (c.16th century-11th century BC) and Zhou dynasties (c.11th century-221 BC), several types of coins were used. Wenbi money was made of bronze and looked like a mollusk's shell. Dao money was shaped like a knife.
Yuanbao (shoe-shaped gold or silver ingots), which was used in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, is another precious treasure in the museum.
"We opened this museum in hopes of connecting the past and present, and to open a window to the outside world, as well as to bring our foreign friends into the glamorous Chinese culture," Chu says. "To those who're interested in Chinese and world history, I want to say that there is a lot of history right here."
Address: 178 Hefang Street, Hangzhou
Open Hours: 8:30am-5pm
Tel: (0571) 8780-9600
Admission: Free
Buses: K8, K13, K12, K30, 38, 48, 151, Y1, Y2, K4, K35
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