The history of the formation of the Russian numismatic collection of the state historical museum (1883-1917)

The study is aimed at determining the main characteristics of the collection of Russian coins of the Numismatics Department of the State Historical Museum in Moscow and highlighting the features of the formation of this collection at the stage of the development of the museum in 1883-1917. The main sources of the study are the museum’s accounting documentation (the Main Inventory Book, the Registration Book of the Numismatics Department, acts of acceptance and transfer for permanent use), as well as indexes, catalogs, and the report of the Historical Museum for 1883-1908. In the study, methods of historical research (descriptive, diachronic, historical comparative and historical typological) were used. The author identifies and analyzes the totality of the first numismatic accessions to the museum’s funds; establishes the main sources of these accessions; and assesses the possibility of having certain principles of forming the collection. The author learns that the numismatic collection has been an integral part of the museum collection since the founding of the State Historical Museum, and was formed in the 1880s-1890s due to numerous gifts. Scientific societies of that time (the Imperial Moscow Archaeological Commission and the Moscow Numismatic Society) were important sources of accessions. In 1895, the museum began to receive copies of modern money of each denomination from the Mint. At the beginning of the 20th century, the museum began to receive collections from individuals’ wills. Various non-scientific institutions assisted the museum in the formation of the collection. The forming of the collection at the initial stage of the State Historical Museum’s development was characterized by a certain chaotic nature, the absence of clear principles for the acquisition of funds. The author concludes that the main characteristics of the collection itself and its formation were: (1) a wide chronology of the presented numismatic monuments (from ancient Russian coins to modern money), (2) the prevalence of gifts as the main form of collecting funds against the background of the relative rarity of purchases, (3) a fairly wide range of donors (individuals, public organizations, officials and government agencies), (4) development of professional ties between museum staff and individual numismatists and numismatic scientific societies.