Famous Coin Collections

National Numismatic Collection

• The National Numismatic Collection, curated by the Smithsonian Institution and housed in the National Museum of Natural History Berhing Center in Washington, D.C., holds one of the world's largest collections of coins. Over one million pieces of money are in the collection; over 450,000 of those objects are coins. The goal of the National Numismatic Collection is to highlight the growth and development of currency within the United States, and many rare coins minted in the U.S. are on display.

American Numismatic Society

• The American Numismatic Society houses a large collection of coins, paper money, medals and other objects of currency in its New York City headquarters. The American Numismatic Society's collection contains over 600,000 pieces, many of which are coins. This collection spans all time and geographic periods, and coins from every corner of the world. Holdings from the American Numismatic Society are only viewable by appointment; however the society does have extensive online research tools.

Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque Nationale de France

• Bibliotheque Nationale de France, or the French National Library, holds a collection of rare and valuable coins in the Cabinet des Medailles in Paris. It houses 520,000 coins and medals and visitors can see coins from all periods of history. The Cabinet des Medailles contains a research library, and many of the collection's coins have been the subject of scholarly research.

Hermitage Museum Numismatic Collection

• The Hermitage Museum Numismatic collection accounts for over a third of the objects in the Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The numismatic collection includes over 600,000 coins along with medals, gems and paper money. The bulk of the Hermitage Museum's coin collection are pieces from the Western world, though it does have large collections of ancient Eastern and Russian coins.