Medal commemorating the proclamation of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector of England Simon Thomas (circa 1623-1665) Full size image
		Medal in honour of Peter I and Catherine I Christian Wermuth (1661-1739) Full size image
		The Order of St Januarius Badge with ribbon and star Kingdom of Naples (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) Full size image

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By July 1858 a new permanent display of the Münzkabinet (coin and medal collection) had been formed. Forty-four display-cases, each of the height of a man with two sloping sides, contained two numismatic collections arranged in chronological order: the old Hermitage collection (with white labels under the items) and the Reichel collection. In 1851-57 the magnificent numismatic collection of Jakob Reichel (who was descended from a family of medallists), comprising some 50,000 coins and medals, with its own printed catalogue, enhanced the Hermitage collection with, first and foremost, Western European material, and also a carefully selected range of Russian coins from the first half of the 19th century and a host of rarities.
In 1861 a group of Western European insignia purchased in Berlin and Paris laid foundations for the Hermitage's phaleristic collection. The following year a complete collection of the insignia belonging to all degrees of functioning orders was transferred from the Board of Russian Orders that was in charge of the awards system.