The Darkhaneh Museum in Istanbul offers its visitors the opportunity to learn about various coins and medals throughout history, starting from ancient times, going through the Middle Ages, and not ending with the Ottoman era.

The museum building located in the Besiktas area, on the European side of Istanbul, is supervised by the General Directorate of Mint and Stamps of the Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance.

Besides coins, the museum also displays historical decorations and medals.

The Museum Displays Historical Decorations and Medals (Anatolia)

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Yasar Çukur, head of the museum's precious holdings department, said that the museum contains about 13,000 artifacts.

He added that the museum's exhibits date back to the ages of ancient Greece, the medieval European centuries, the Ottoman era, as well as the era of the Turkish Republic.

He pointed out that those interested can visit the museum and see its exhibits of coins and other collectibles, after obtaining a prior appointment from the museum's administration.

He stated that besides coins, the museum also includes decorations and medals.

He stated that "we have a lot of valuable coins of historical importance," citing the first coin of the ancient Lydian civilization, the "royal coin" of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, coins dating back to the Artocolic Kingdom, as well as Seljuk coins and pictorial coins.

He explained that the museum also includes copies of all the coins that the mint "Darbkhana" minted throughout history, indicating that according to the law, two copies of all these coins must be kept.

The museum is supervised by the General Directorate of Mint and Postage Stamps (Anatolia).

Mint date

Concerning the history of the Mint, Chowkur said that the date of its establishment dates back to 555 years ago, noting that despite this, the term "Darkhana" has a history of 900 years.

He pointed out that the period between 1453 and 1467 is the stage of the establishment of the Mint, noting that the house has changed its name and method of work 3 times, since its establishment until the present time.

He added that the period between 1467 and 1687 of the age of "Darkhana" was called "the traditional stage", and it was called "Darkhana Al-Amrah".

The period between 1687 and 1844 is called "the machine stage", when, according to Chowkur, reliance became primarily on machines.

The museum consists of 3 sections, the first displays coins and coins, the second decorations, and the third medals (Anatolia).

The official in charge of the Preservation of Precious Collections in the aforementioned museum explained that the period between 1844 and 1922 is called the “modern period,” during which Sultan Abdul Majeed brought steam machines from Britain to mint money.

As for the period from 1922 to the present day, it is called the National Bond House.

In 1984, a decree was issued to make the National Bonds House subordinate to the Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance.

In another context, Chowkur said that the museum houses rare artifacts that are unparalleled elsewhere in the world.

One of the rare artifacts is a 50,000 Turkish lira banknote printed in 1916 and equal to 360 kilograms of gold.

Chugur pointed out that the museum consists of 3 sections: the first displays coins and coins, the second is decorations, and the third is medals.