6 museomag   02 ‘ 2019 
Regularly, some objects are removed temporarily from their showcases in the permanent collection for study and for taking pictures, of 
course. 
© 
éric 
chenal 
The MNHA is constantly trying to make its collections 
most accessible thanks to a myriad of initiatives. 
Digitizing collections and displaying them online are 
at the heart of several ongoing projects. The Coin 
Cabinet, in close collaboration with the Digital Section 
of MNHA, is running one of them, called Moneta 
luxemburgensis. It aims to make available a large part 
of the coins struck in Luxembourg from the Middle 
Ages to the introduction of Euro in 1999. The coins 
can soon be consulted on MNHA Collections, a new 
digital gateway to all the numeric contents of the 
Museum. 
PICTURES, COINS AND METADATA 
The first step of the project involves the production 
of photographs of 300 coins extracted from the 
Luxembourg coin collection. However, the beautiful 
specimens from a collection of nearly 1.500 coins 
need selecting. Regularly, some objects exhibited 
in the permanent collection are removed from 
their showcases for study and for taking pictures, of 
course. Once this delicate operation is carried out, 
the coins are described and we feed information into 
a database. This can take some time… not only by 
checking and captioning pictures but also by carrying 
out the necessary research in order to bring all the 
knowledge on the object together: description, weight, 
dimensions, and provenance. 
Research is often intense, as the numismatic 
collection of the museum has come down to us from 
the Archaeological Society (Société Archéologique), 
the MNHA’s precursor, founded in 1845. This was the 
venerable first heritage institution of the Grand Duchy 
of Luxembourg, to be precise. In 1839, government 
advisor Jean Ulveling (1796-1878) donated 99 coins 
to the numismatic collection of the “Athénée de 
Luxembourg”, which was later taken over by the 
Archaeological Society. It grew rapidly from very 
modest beginnings thanks to numerous donations 
and dazzling discoveries made on the country’s 
territory. In 1927, the Archaeological Society deposited 
its collection in the Museum. A Grand-Ducal decree 
consecrates their inalienable nature. 
Today, the Coin Cabinet keeps more than 200.000 
objects, thus being one of the largest of the MNHA’s 
collections. 
«MONETA LUXEMBURGENSIS»: 
IMPROVING AN OLD COLLECTION 
NEW LIGHT ON THE LUXEMBURG COINS THANKS TO DIGITIZATION