Oriental Coin Cabinet Jena, Numismatic collection at University of Jena, Germany
This numismatic collection at the University of Jena contains about 22,200 coins spanning from North Africa through the Middle East to East Asia. The objects include Islamic mints and East Asian currencies that document monetary systems across multiple centuries.
Professor Johann Gustav Stickel established the collection in 1840 with about 1,500 oriental coins, acquired with support from the ruler of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The cabinet grew over time through additional purchases and donations to reach its present size.
The coins reveal how different societies connected through trade and exchange, from Islamic mints to East Asian currency systems. You can see in these objects the routes people traveled and the economic ties that bound distant regions together.
The cabinet is part of the university library and can be accessed by researchers and students under certain conditions. Visitors should inquire in advance about opening hours and how to arrange a visit.
An important portion came from Heinrich August Zwick, a missionary who lived in Russia from 1816 to 1832 and collected archaeological finds along the Volga River. These coins document less familiar regions and reveal trade and daily life in remote areas.
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