This subsection includes not only the coins of all European states apart from Russia, but also those of America and Australia.
The Western European collection is the most numerous. It comprises some 360,000 items -coins, hoards and duplicates, and also a fairly small amount of paper banknotes.
Merovingian and Carolingian coins form a relatively modest part of the collection. There are, however, 150 gold Merovingian oins including such rare pieces as two tremisses bearing the name of St Eligius (or Eloi). The gold coinage of the Carolingians that was sparse in the first place is represented by a few examples including the rarest type - a gold solidus minted in Dorestad.
The Hermitage possesses both examples known today of the coins minted by Count Floris of Holland (1049-1061).
The period from the late 12th century up to the 15th is not so richly represented in the collection as the 10th-12th centuries. There are, however, some fairly rare pieces among the coins from that period. Among them is a denarius of Ferry III of Lorraine (1251-1303) that was probably minted in 1298. The museum possesses a splendid stock of early gold florins and ducats, especially those from Italy, Hungary and the German Rhineland. Of interest among the German coins of later date are a Magdeburg groschen of 1668, a gold guilder of 1552 and four ducats of 1670 that were minted in Brandenburg, a thaler struck in gold in honour of the Prussian minister Hoym, a Paderborn ducat of 1653, a ducat issued by the Abbey of Thorn in Westphalia in 1563 and silver groschens of Dietrich Dinslaken. Rare examples include a 1528 thaler minted by Simon V of Lippe (1511-1536) and a Corvey thaler of Reinhard II (1555-1585) 1556. Outstanding for their completeness are the collections of coins from Bamberg, Wurzburg, Eichstatt and Nuremberg. The selection of gold coins from this last city is remarkable - ducats and fractions of them in the form of round coins and klippes Among the gold coins from Regensburg there are rare denominations - three- and ten-ducat pieces.
Gold coins are very well represented in the collections of coins from the Netherlands, England and France. The collection of English coins is supplemented by a collection of tokens. The Austrian collection (including coins from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia) is exceptionally rich in thalers, including rare two- and four-thaler pieces, and also in gold, including many large-denomination pieces worth ten and four ducats.
The museum has significant collections of Italian coins from the late 15th to the 18th century and Poalish coins of the 10th-18th centuries. The Polish collection includes such rare items as a denarius of Mieszko I and another of Boleslaw I, the Brave with a Slavonic inscription. Interesting among the gold pieces are the ducats of Sigismund I, while the heavy 18th-century donativs are well represented, including some exceptionally rare pieces. There are many rarities too among the collections of Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese and Scandinavian coins.

If you enjoyed this collection, you might want to also visit the other collections at the State Hermitage Museum.

Western European Art

20-Ducat Piece of Leopold I of Austria
1668
Larger view

12-Ducat Piece of Laslo VI (II) of Hungary
1506
Larger view

10-Ducat Presentation Piece of Sigismund III of Poland
1614
Larger view