Money
The Citi Money
GalleryRoom
68
From prehistory
to the present day
Supported by Citi
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The history of money can be traced back over 4,000 years. During this time, currency has taken many different forms, from coins to banknotes, shells to mobile phones.
This gallery displays the history of money around the world.
From the earliest evidence, to the latest developments in digital technology, money has been an important part of human societies. Looking at the history of money gives us a way to understand the history of the world.
Chinese Ming banknote
China, AD 1375.
Temporary display
The Beau Street Hoard
In November 2007 archaeologists found a huge hoard of Roman coins dating to about AD 270 in Beau Street, Bath. This new display focuses on the excavation and cleaning of the coins by British Museum conservator Julia Tubman. Some of the tools Julia used are on display alongside three piles of coins which represent the three types found in the hoard.
Blog: read more about the Beau Street Hoard and its
excavation
Timelapse: excavation of the Beau
Street Hoard - about 15,000 coins in seven
weeks
Blog
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Exploring mobile money in Sierra Leone
9 May 2013
Sophie Mew, British Museum
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The Mooghaun Hoard: early ‘currency’ or bands of equality?
20 March 2013
Neil Wilkin, curator, British Museum
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Forgery, Suffragettes and Nirvana: tracking visitors in the Citi Money Gallery
17 December 2012
Benjamin Alsop, curator, British Museum
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Related themes
Related online tours
Channel
Watch British Sign Language videos of objects on display in this gallery.
Suffragette
penny
Silver 50
reales
Chinese Ming
banknote
Gold imitation
dinar
Gold coin of
Croesus
Cowrie shells
Research
Money in Africa: understanding the past and present of a continent
Exploring the modern monetary history and cultures of English-speaking African countries
Parthian coins
Bringing together knowledge about the coins, history and culture of the Parthian Empire
Sassanian coin project
Cataloguing Sasanian coins in the National Museum of Iran and the British Museum
