The Numismatic Museum Library holds an important collection of numismatic books dated from the 16th to the 18th century. A number of these were displayed in the second floor of the Iliou Melathron from November 2007 to November 2008.



Admiration in Greek and Roman civilizations which rose in the West since the 15th century on increased interest in coins of earlier periods. The collection and study of coins is associated with their artistic value, their function as historical evidence and their direct connection to the past.



In the 16th century, the formation of coin collections by kings, rulers and wealthy individuals progressed alongside the scholarly approach with regards to the material. The compilation of catalogs, accompanied by descriptions and often by illustrations of coins, functioned as a way to guarantee the integrity of the collections. It also constituted the beginning of the attempt to systematize numismatic research aiming thus, predominantly at the classification, identification and chronology of coins.



Books by scholars, as Hubert Goltz (1526-1583), Jean Vaillant (1632-1706), Joseph Pellerin (1684-1782), Joseph Eckhel (1739-1798) and Domenico Sestini (1750-1823), in addition to the significance of their content for Numismatics, bear a special interest as mere objects. These valuable and rare editions -real achievements of the art of printing- were produced in well-known printing houses in Western Europe.