The Louvre's Numismatic Collection

CoinMike

Hi all,
I've been out of the game for some time now, but between college I fall down the numismatic rabbit hole. Due to the pandemic, the Louvre has been digitizing their entire collection. And yes, that includes coins. Therefore, I thought it could be an interesting first post in a long time. The French have recorded everything from the crusty:
https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010295289

to the not so crusty:
https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010437716 .

In particular, I had no idea sestertius' were made with silver inlayed:
https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010437443 . Was inlaying silver a financial tactic under Hadrian to increase the value of the coinage?

If you have time to look through 232 pages of their coins, could be an interesting prospect.

SmEagle1795

I'm looking forward to spending more time going through their images - I've visited the Louvre a couple times and they had a nice array of ancients on display.

That inlay is a collector's mark from the Gonzaga collection. It was used by Leonello d'Este, and shows it was part of the collection formed in the fifteenth century (born 1407, died 1450), subsequently finding itself in the Gonzaga collection and a number of other prominent collections in the intervening half-millennium.

Most of the collection was sold to pay off family debts in the early 1600s and the remaining coins were looted in 1630 during the sack of Mantua, causing the coins to be distributed all throughout Europe into various collections and museums.

It's one of the oldest pedigrees that can be owned and a case where I don't mind a coin that should technically have a "Details" grade for a punch:

CoinMike

@SmEagle1795 said:
I'm looking forward to spending more time going through their images - I've visited the Louvre a couple times and they had a nice array of ancients on display.

That inlay is a collector's mark from the Gonzaga collection. It was used by Leonello d'Este, and shows it was part of the collection formed in the fifteenth century (born 1407, died 1450), subsequently finding itself in the Gonzaga collection and a number of other prominent collections in the intervening half-millennium.

Most of the collection was sold to pay off family debts in the early 1600s and the remaining coins were looted in 1630 during the sack of Mantua, causing the coins to be distributed all throughout Europe into various collections and museums.

It's one of the oldest pedigrees that can be owned and a case where I don't mind a coin that should technically have a "Details" grade for a punch:

Wow, not sure how I've gone all this time without reading or hearing about that fascinating pedigree. To think the mark of their collection has survived all this time and all of the moving from collection to collection.

I would be curious to see those that have multiples from the Gonzaga collection. Thanks for sharing the history and your own Gonzaga sestertius!

CoinMike

Also, here is a time-saving link that filters everything but coins:
https://collections.louvre.fr/en/recherche?q=monnaie

bronzemat

@CoinMike said:
Also, here is a time-saving link that filters everything but coins:
https://collections.louvre.fr/en/recherche?q=monnaie

Thank you, Mike.

Namvet69

Thanks for sharing this interesting type. What a gift to be able to digitally do the Louvre. Peace Roy