Exhibition “Messages on Metal. A Timeless Dialogue with Cyprus”

Coins as an embodiment of history and culture

The exhibition “Messages on Metal. A Timeless Dialogue with Cyprus” creates a constructive dialogue between select coins from the Alpha Bank Numismatic Collection and representative coins from the Numismatic Collection of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia, along with 3 select coins from the A.G. Leventis Gallery Collection.

This dialogue aims at showcasing coins as an embodiment of history, culture and collective memory.

Coinage is among the richest in meaning forms of tangible evidence left by human civilisation. Their small metal surface captures stories of power, faith, identity and communication.

These imprints offer valuable testimonies for the societies that created and used them.

The approach of the exhibition

The exhibition explores the power of coinage to communicate ideas, values and messages beyond its economic role.

Persons, deities, symbols and inscriptions compose tales that uncover the political aspirations, religious beliefs and cultural identities of different eras and societies.

The goal of the exhibition is to present coins as multifaceted historical evidence, highlighting their different aspects and functions over time.

Through select exhibits and interpretative materials, visitors are invited to discover the multiple functions that coins serve as a means of transactions, communication and projection of power, shaping collective memory.

A journey through the history of coins

The exhibition sets out on a journey, familiarising visitors with the history and multiple dimensions of coinage.

The tour starts from the pre-coin period and the first forms of transactions, and continues on to the appearance and expansion of coinage in the ancient world. The importance of coins in the development of trade and commerce is highlighted at this point.

Then, the exhibition splits into 3 sections:

• Transactions
• Stories
• Symbolism

These sections showcase the way coins conveyed information, recorded historical events, and promoted persons, ideas and political pursuits.

In the end, the experience is complemented by specially designed visual materials, as well as the educational corner of the exhibition, with activities for all ages.

An introduction to the Cypriot audience

The exhibition marks the 1st presentation of select coins from the Alpha Bank Numismatic Collection in Cyprus.

The presentation of the 2 collections offers a multifaceted view of the history, symbolism and different uses of coinage in different areas and times. Moreover, it gives the audience the opportunity to discover its multiple dimensions.

A land with a long-standing numismatic tradition

Cyprus holds a major role in the exhibition, as a land with a numismatic tradition that goes back many centuries and an age-old crossroads of civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The strategic location of the island made it a hub for commercial, political and cultural networks, a fact that is clearly captured in its coinage.

Through representative Cypriot coins, visitors watch the historical course of the island from the ancient Cypriot kingdoms and their first coins, to modern times and the adoption of the euro.

Curators and contributors

Dr Tzeni Lymperopoulou-Savvidou, Director of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia, and Dr Dimitra Tsangari, Curator of the Alpha Bank Numismatic Collection, are the general coordinators of the exhibition.

Dr Dimitra Tsangari was also responsible for the museological study and has curated the exhibition.

The exhibition is accompanied by the publication Messages on Metal. A Timeless Dialogue with Cyprus in Greek and English. The publication features all the exhibits in one elegant guide.

Through a wealth of illustrations and brief captions, it provides a closer connection to the coins and the stories they tell, while keeping alive the experience of the exhibition, beyond the limits of the exhibition venue.

You can buy the publication Messages on Metal. A Timeless Dialogue with Cyprus on the Alpha Bank e-shop.