The Numismatic Collection at the Greek School of Bucharest

Two museum kits of the Alpha Bank Numismatic Collection travelled to the Greek School of Bucharest “Athena”, where they remained throughout January and February 2024.
In addition, the Alpha Bank Numismatic Collection donated a series of books on the history of coins to the school.

A Greek school at the heart of Bucharest

The Greek School of Bucharest “Athena” was established in 2008 and is the only certified school in Romania that follows the Greek educational curriculum. Its aim is to instil in students the Greek values, culture and traditions.

A trip down the history of coins through the museum kits

The specially designed educational material offered through the 2 Alpha Bank Numismatic Collection travelling museum kits gave students the chance to:

• Learn about the history of coins from antiquity to the present day and become acquainted with the development of transactions.
• Get to know the main means of transaction, which first appeared in Ancient Greece and changed the course of numismatic history globally.
• Make coins according to the ancient technique using clay dies and modelling clay.
• Become familiar with key day-to-day financial concepts and modern transaction methods.

Guided tour of the exhibition for students and teachers

On 01.03.2024 Dr Dimitra Tsangari, curator of the Numismatic Collection, welcomed to the Museum of the National Bank of Romania 12 teachers and 45 kindergarten and primary school students from the Greek School of Bucharest “Athena”.

The children and the teachers were given a special guided tour of the exhibition “Two sides of the same coin. Means of Transactions – Masterpieces of Art”. During the tour they:

• Got a close-up view of 100 ancient coins of the Numismatic Collection that are considered rare masterpieces of Greek coinage.
• Listened to narrations about mythical and historical figures, and had the chance to ask questions.

The exhibition visitors had a special interest in topics centring on Greek culture and Greek history. That’s why they were keen to delve into the history of coins and the Ancient Greek civilisation.

Guided tour aim

Through an interactive journey into ancient coins, the tour aimed to make the students see the 2 sides of coins as:

• Means of transaction since the 7th century BCE
• Masterpieces of Ancient Greek art