#Exhibit of the Month

The hoard was found in 1957 during the agricultural works near the village. At first, the hoard was in the collection of the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History and later was transferred to the National Museum of History (Accession: FB: 12 576 - 12650; N: 12 658 - 12 732). It consists of 75 silver coins from the thaler category issued by the Kingdom of Poland, the United Provinces and the Holy Roman Empire in 1612-1648.

THE KINGDOM OF POLAND
Sigismund II Vasa (1586-1632)
Crown, thaler: 1628 (1).
Gdańsk, orts: 1612 (1), 1613 (1*), 1614 (1), 1615 (7), 1616 (8), 1617 (16), 1618 (4), 1619 (2), 161 (1), 1620 (2), 1621 (8).

THE UNITED PROVINCES OF THE NETHERLANDS
Lion thalers (leeuwendaalder)
Gelderland: 1641 (1), 1647 (2), 1649 (1).
West Frisia: 1648 (1).
Utrecht: 1643 (1), 1646 (1), 1647 (2), 1648 (1).

THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
Kampen: halve leeuwendaalder 1646 (1), 1647 (1); leeuwendaalder 1647 (3), 1649 (1).
Zwolle: leeuwendaalder 1633 (1), 1637 (3), 1644 (1), 1646 (2), 1648 (1).

This hoard by its composition confirms the presence of silver coins from the thaler category in the Principality of Moldavia monetary circulation.

Thalers were first minted in 1486 in Sankt-Joachimsthal, today the Czech Republic, "thaler" being an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", meaning coin issued in Sankt-Joachimsthal. In the 16th and 17th centuries, thalers were issued in very large quantities, especially by state entities that were part of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Empire. Thus, thalers can be considered a quintessentially popular coin; there are thalers of several types, such as Austrian thalers, Polish thalers, Russian thalers, Turkish thalers, Venetian thalers, also called scuzi, "reichsthalers", also called imperials, löwenthalers or lion thalers, and Spanish thalers, also called piastre. In the Romanian principalities, thalers spread widely towards the end of the 16th century, and in the following centuries their circulation became very abundant, the thaler being in circulation until the second half of the 19th century. This money was a huge success, so it is also called: daalder / daler in the Netherlands, talar in Poland, dahlar in Scandinavia, tallaro / tallero in Italy, talari in Ethiopia, dollar in America. A special category is the Dutch thaler, leeuwendaalder, löwenthaler, which means "lion thaler", also called "lion" due to the coat of arms on the reverse, which is a shield with a crown, with a lion inside; it is a silver coin minted in Netherlands, where in 1575 it was decided to mint a new coin based on the scuzi. In the Romanian principalities the lion thaler appears in the last quarter of the 16th century. These lion thaler gave the name to the currency of Romania, the Republic of Moldova (leu), and Bulgaria (leva).

Orts are also silver coins from the thaler category, equal to 1/4 thaler. A quarter thaler was originally called "ortstaler", a name that was later reduced to the form "ort" (in Old German "ort" means "a quarter"). The coin circulated in Europe in the Middle Ages, including the Romanian principalities, being met in the 18th century as Polish, Turkish and German orts. The term "ort" is preserved in the Romanian expression "to give an ort to a priest" (which means "to die"), which dates back to the ancient pagan custom of placing a coin on the little finger of the deceased's right hand so that he could pay for the passage to the afterlife; With the same coin, the priest was paid for the funeral service: the family of the deceased "gave an ort to the priest" to observe church traditions.

National Museum of History of Moldova

Exhibitions

“World Press Photo”

November 18 - December 9, 2020

Chişinău will host for the fourth time the World Press Photo International Exhibition 2020, the most important photographic competition in the world. The event is organized by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) with the support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The annual photography competition awards photographers around the world for the best images that have contributed to the development of visual journalism in the last year. Professional photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers take part in the competition.

For the 2020 competition, the jury of 17 professionals in the field of photography selected the best images and stories that marked last year. The jury established as a key theme of the events of 2019 the protests and the role of young people in promoting changes. The stories regarding environmental issues also stood out, being represented not only in the Environment category, but also in other categories such as Contemporary Issues, Nature or News; all the images emphasize the importance of the subject.

The general public is invited to discover the stories behind the winning photos at the National Museum of History of Moldova, from November 19 to December 9, 2020.

Useful information about the event:

● Opening of the exhibition: November 18, 11:00, National Museum of History of Moldova, entrance by invitations.
● Visiting hours for the general public: from 10:00 to 17:00. Friday - closed.
● Tickets can be purchased at the museum.
● Ticket price: 10 MDL for adults; 5 MDL for students.

The winning photos were selected from a number of 73,996 works by 4,282 photographers from 125 countries. The jury nominated 44 photographers from 24 countries: Algeria, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Peru, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

The annual World Press Photo International Exhibition is travelling around the world. It was held in almost 100 venues in about 45 countries and was visited by over 4 million people at each edition. Before arriving in Chişinău, the exhibition was organized in Amsterdam, Mexico City, Bari, Seville, Saguenay, Turin, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Valencia, and Dortmund.

The first World Press Photo exhibition took place in 1955, when a group of Dutch photographers organized a competition to exhibit their work in front of an international audience. Over the years, it has become one of the most prestigious photography and visual journalism competitions in the world.

The exhibition, which brings together the best photos taken in 2019, was opened on November 18 in the National Museum of History of Moldova. The event was attended by accredited ambassadors to Chişinău, IJC partners, and journalists; all safety measures were followed in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Chişinău, the exhibition was organized for the first time in 2017.

The World Press Photo Exhibition is organized in Chişinău by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) with the support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.