30 July 2017
This is the Coin Museum, my simplified version for Royal Coin Cabinet. It is situated right opposite the Royal Palace. There were not many visitors here though.
The Coin Cabinet is an institution with a national responsibility for the conservation and the historical studies of coins, medals, and finance in general. Through expositions, the institution offers insights in the economical history of the world; by lending objects from its collection to researchers and expositions all over the world, it helps develop the knowledge within its scope; and by maintaining a national register of coin hoards, it is of great importance to scholars in Sweden. Over the portal is a piece of art by Elisabeth Ekstrand from 1996 called Vattenporfyrlek ("Water Porphyry Game") made of porphyry and marble. The museum includes exhibitions of coins, banknotes (the first in the world was issued in 1661 by Stockholms Banco), treasure hoards and piggy banks. Source from Wikipedia.
I got to see the world's biggest coin - the rai stone. It is almost as tall as me. I am 166cm.
Rai, or stone money, are more than 6,000 large, circular stone disks carved out of limestone formed from aragonite and calcite crystals. Rai stones were quarried on several of the Micronesian islands, mainly Palau, but briefly on Guam as well, and transported for use as money to the island of Yap. They have been used in trade by the Yapese as a form of currency. Rai stones were, and still are, used in rare important social transactions, such as marriage, inheritance, political deals, sign of an alliance, ransom of the battle dead, or, rarely, in exchange for food. Many of them are placed in front of meetinghouses or along pathways. The physical location of the stone is often not significant. Although the ownership of a particular stone might change, the stone itself is rarely moved due to its weight and risk of damage. Source from Wikipedia.
I love this exhibition! Look at all the monies!
And the world's heaviest coin. It is too heavy, or I am too weak.
Just a short 1 hour walk around the museum. It is interesting but I won't put it in the must-go list unless you really have nowhere else to go.
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