The collection developed already directly after the founding of the museum in 1833 and consists on the one hand of large bequests from the 19^th century (Kinsky, Hampel, Kolb, etc.) and numerous smaller donations, and on the other hand of systematic purchases, particularly of objects with reference to the province of Upper Austria.

The last important bequest so far was the Kastner coin collection (donated in 1994 with 288 selected antique coins).

Some important personalities have worked as curators on the collection, above all the two members of the Viennese Missong circle, Josef Sosthenes von Kolb and Andreas Markl.

Total: approximately 40,000 objects.

The collection consists on the one hand of the general collection with general objects without special reference to Upper Austria and on the other hand of the most characteristic collecting subject of the museum, the Obderennsia, which is systematically documented in the whole range of the material and collected - so far as possible - in the original. 

Areas covered

Coins, paper money, currency marks, money substitutes, emergency money, bonds, medals, badges, pins, awards, coining dies, coin scales

The numismatics department represents the “contact point” for all interests of the province. It is responsible for scientifically recording the ongoing coin finds as well as consulting other museum installations of the province in regard to numismatics.

1. Numismata Obderennsia: Creation of a corpus work of the numismatic objects of Upper Austria as a foundation of materials for further research. Staff: Fritz Hippmann, Bernhard Prokisch. Published so far: Vol. I: Münzen und Geldersatzmittel (Coins and money substitutes); Vol. III: Medaillen und verwandte Objekte 2: Oberösterreich allgemein (Medals and related objects 2: Austria in general). Vol. V: Medaillen und verwandte Objekte 4: Wels (Medals and related objects 4: Wels). In preparation: Vol. II: Medaillen und verwandte Objekte 1: Personenmedaillen (Medals and related objects 1: Personal medals). Medaillen und verwandte Objekte 3: Linz (Medals and related objects 3: Linz). In preparation: Vol. VI: Steyr, Vol. VII: Gemeinden (Communities). 

2. Coin finds of Upper Austria: Recording the Upper Austrian coin finds in the form of an IT database with the aim of publication (staff: Bernhard Prokisch).

3. The treasure find of Fuchsenhof: The treasure find of Fuchsenhof (district of Freistadt) discovered in 1997 was processed as an extensive, interdisciplinary research project by an international team of scientists.

The following institutions took part in the research work: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna and Krems; University of Vienna; Art History Museum of Vienna; Technical University of Clausthal; Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna; Upper Austrian Provincial Museum, Linz. The project was substantially co-financed by the Commemorative Fund of the Austrian Central Bank and the Fund for the Promotion of Scientific Research. Project conclusion and presentation of the publication (see literature) took place in autumn 2004.

4. The coin collection of the City Museum of Wels: In co-operation with the City Museum of Wels and the University of Vienna the coin and medal collection of the City Museum of Wels were subjected to scientific treatment and cataloguing starting in October 2000.

5. Ongoing smaller investigations in the run-up to points 1 to 4, particularly as regards coin finds.

6. Arnold Hartig inheritance: The artistic inheritance of this important Austrian 20^th century medal maker, which is in the Lauriacum museum in Enns, is being subjected to scientific treatment at present. 

Publications

F. Hippmann, Numismata Obderennsia I: Münzen und Geldersatzmittel (Coins and money substitutes) (Studies of the Cultural History of Upper Austria, no. 5), Linz, 1997.

B. Prokisch, Die römischen Münzen des Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseums in Linz (Generalsammlung) (The Roman coins of the Upper Austrian Provincial Museum in Linz (general collection)), Thesaurus Nummorum Romanorum et Byzantinorum, Vol. 10, Vienna, 1998.

B. Prokisch, Die Sammlung Kastner. Teil 4: Münzen (The Kastner collection, part 4: Coins), Catalogues of the Upper Austrian Provincial Museum, new series no. 109, Linz, 1997.

F. Hippmann, Numismata Obderennsia III: Medaillen und verwandte Objekte Teil 2: Oberösterreich allgemein (Medals and related objects, part 2, Upper Austria in general), Studies of the Cultural History of Upper Austria, no. 8, Linz, 1999.

B. Prokisch, Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum (Upper Austrian Provincial Museum). Münzkabinett, Ried, 2001.

F. Hippmann, Numismata Obderennsia V: Medaillen und verwandte Objekte Teil 4: Wels (Medals and related objects, part 4: Wels), Studies of the Cultural History of Upper Austria, no. 14. Linz, 2004.

B. Prokisch and T. Kühtreiber (ed.), Der Schatzfund von Fuchsenhof (The Fuchsenhof Hoard; Poklad z Fuchsenhofu), Studies of the Cultural History of Upper Austria, no. 15. Linz, 2004.

Collection management:

(prior appointment requested)

Dr. Bernhard Prokisch

Upper Austrian Provincial Museum

Castle Museum of Linz

Schlossberg 2

4010 Linz

Tel: +43 732 774419-22 or -31

Fax: +43 732 774419-29

E-mail: b.prokisch@landesmuseum.at