The Numismatic Museum of Athens fills Heinrich Schliemann’s lavish mansion, the Iliou Melathron, with a collection of 600,000 coins amid a stunning Pompeii-inspired interior, mosaics and a peaceful garden. See it alongside the city’s headline sights with skip-the-line tickets and tours from My Greece Tours for a hidden cultural gem.
This jewel of a museum is a rewarding stop in the Athens travel guide. The sections below cover what it is, Schliemann’s mansion, the interior, the coin collection, the garden, practical details and how to get there.
What is the Numismatic Museum of Athens?
One of the world’s leading coin museums, it occupies the grand former home of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann on Panepistimiou Street near Syntagma, and holds a collection of around 600,000 objects, predominantly coins along with medals, weights, dies and seals, spanning from the 14th century BC to modern times, in a magnificent neoclassical building.
Among the most charming and underrated museums in central Athens, the Numismatic Museum offers a double delight: a world-class collection housed in a truly spectacular building. Dedicated to coins and money, it is one of the oldest and most important numismatic museums in the world, and it occupies the lavish former residence of Heinrich Schliemann, the famous nineteenth-century archaeologist who excavated Troy and Mycenae, on the grand boulevard of Panepistimiou Street close to Syntagma Square. The museum’s collection is vast, numbering around six hundred thousand objects, consisting principally of coins from across the ancient and modern worlds but also including medals, standard weights, dies, stamps, seals and other items related to money and exchange, ranging in date from as early as the fourteenth century BC right up to modern times. Yet for many visitors the building itself is as much the attraction as the coins, a dazzling neoclassical mansion of astonishing decorative richness. Together, the superb collection and the breathtaking setting make this an unexpectedly captivating museum, well worth seeking out even for those who think coins might not interest them. The building’s story begins with a legendary archaeologist. It links to the world he excavated, told in the Mycenae day trip guide. Schliemann’s mansion is a marvel in itself.
What is Schliemann’s mansion, the Iliou Melathron?
The Iliou Melathron, meaning “Palace of Ilion” (Troy), was the Athens mansion of Heinrich Schliemann, built between 1878 and 1880 by the architect Ernst Ziller. Blending Renaissance Revival and neoclassical styles with a Pompeii-inspired interior, it was considered the most magnificent private residence in Athens. Schliemann’s widow sold it to the state; it later became the Numismatic Museum.
The building that houses the museum is a monument in its own right, conceived as a palace fit for the great excavator of Troy. Heinrich Schliemann named his Athens mansion the Iliou Melathron, meaning the “Palace of Ilion”, after Ilion, the ancient name for Troy, the city whose discovery made him famous. It was built between 1878 and 1880 to designs by the celebrated architect Ernst Ziller, who shaped so much of neoclassical Athens, and when it was finished it ranked as the most magnificent private residence in the whole city. Its architecture blends the Renaissance Revival movement with neoclassicism on the outside, while the interior takes its inspiration from the houses of ancient Pompeii, creating a sumptuous and theatrical effect throughout. After Schliemann’s death, his widow Sophia handed the building to the Greek state, after which it served for decades as offices for the Council of State and afterwards the Court of Cassation, before being ceded to the Ministry of Culture and, following careful restoration, reopening as the home of the Numismatic Museum. To visit is to step inside the home of one of archaeology’s most famous figures. The mansion is unforgettable. Its interior is the real showstopper.
What is the interior of the Iliou Melathron like?
The interior of the Iliou Melathron is breathtaking, decorated in Pompeian style with colourful murals, mosaic floors made by Italian artisans, and rooms named after mythological themes. Wall paintings depict scenes from the Trojan War and Greek mottos, while the mosaics reproduce Schliemann’s archaeological finds. The grand reception rooms, salons and library make the building a work of art.
If the exterior of the Iliou Melathron impresses, the interior astonishes, and for many visitors it is the highlight of the entire museum. Inspired by the lavishly decorated houses of ancient Pompeii, the rooms are a riot of colour and ornament, their walls covered in elaborate murals and frescoes and their floors laid with intricate mosaics, creating an atmosphere of refined classical luxury throughout the building. The wall paintings depict scenes drawn from the Trojan War, the subject of Schliemann’s life’s work, alongside ancient Greek mottos and inscriptions, while the magnificent mosaic floors, crafted by skilled Italian artisans at considerable expense, reproduce or evoke the very finds that Schliemann unearthed at Troy and Mycenae, turning his archaeological triumphs into decoration. The grand first floor was designed for social life, with a reception room, a salon for literary evenings, guest rooms and a dining room arranged around a central space, while the upper floor held the bedrooms, offices and library. Wandering these opulent, story-filled rooms, you appreciate the museum as much for its setting as for its coins. The interior alone justifies a visit. The coins it shelters span millennia. The collection is world-class.
What is in the coin collection?
The Numismatic Museum’s collection of around 600,000 objects is mainly coins, spanning from the 14th century BC to modern times, including ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, medieval and modern coinage, as well as medals, weights, dies, seals and hoards. Beautifully displayed in the mansion’s rooms, the coins trace the history of money, trade, art and power across the Greek and wider world.
Set within these splendid surroundings is the museum’s true purpose: one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of coins and money in the world. Numbering around six hundred thousand objects in total, the holdings are overwhelmingly coins, but also embrace related items such as commemorative medals, standard weights used in trade, the dies and stamps used to strike coins, lead seals, and hoards of buried treasure, together telling the long story of money. The collection spans an extraordinary sweep of time, from some of the earliest forms of value in the fourteenth century BC, through the magnificent coinage of the ancient Greek city-states, the silver and gold of Athens, the coins of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic kingdoms, Roman and Byzantine issues, medieval and Frankish coinage, and on to the money of the Ottoman period and the modern Greek state. Beyond their monetary function, the coins are miniature works of art and historical documents, bearing the images of gods, heroes, rulers and cities, and revealing trade routes, political power and artistic styles across the centuries. The selections on display are beautifully presented in the mansion’s rooms. For history and art lovers alike, the collection is fascinating. The garden offers a final pleasure.
What is the museum’s garden like?
Gardens surround the Iliou Melathron on three sides, adorned with terracotta copies of ancient Greek statues and shaded by trees. The lovely back garden, with a café, offers a peaceful escape from the bustle of central Athens, a tranquil spot to relax after viewing the coins. It is one of the most charming and unexpected green corners in the city centre.
One of the most delightful and unexpected features of the Numismatic Museum is its garden, a tranquil green oasis tucked right in the heart of the busy city centre. The Iliou Melathron is wrapped by gardens on three of its sides, planted with trees and dotted with terracotta and clay copies of ancient Greek statues, echoing the classical theme of the mansion and lending the grounds an elegant, antique air. The real treasure, however, is the lovely back garden, a shaded, peaceful retreat that feels wonderfully removed from the noise and traffic of Panepistimiou Street just beyond the railings. Here a pleasant café allows visitors to pause over a coffee or a snack amid the greenery and the statues, making it an ideal spot to relax before or after exploring the coins and the opulent interior. In a central district short on quiet green spaces, this hidden garden is a genuine find, beloved by those in the know as one of the most charming corners of central Athens. Combining the garden, the magnificent house and the collection makes for a thoroughly enjoyable visit. The garden is a perfect place to end. Planning a visit is simple.
How do you visit the Numismatic Museum?
The Numismatic Museum is at 12 Panepistimiou Street in central Athens, about a 10-minute walk from Syntagma metro station, the nearest stop. It generally opens Tuesday to Sunday with modest admission and reductions, and closes on Mondays. Allow around one to one and a half hours for the coins, the interior and the garden, and combine it with the nearby Trilogy and Syntagma.
Visiting the Numismatic Museum is easy and fits neatly into a day exploring central Athens. The museum is located at 12 Panepistimiou Street, on the grand avenue running between Syntagma and Omonia squares, and it is very accessible: the nearest metro station is Syntagma, served by lines 2 and 3 and the airport line, about a ten-minute walk away, with many buses passing nearby. The museum generally opens from Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays, though it is wise to check the current hours before visiting, as schedules vary by season. Admission is modest, with the usual reduced rates for students, seniors and the young, and free-entry days at certain times of year, making it excellent value given how much there is to enjoy. To take in the coin displays, the spectacular Pompeian interior and the peaceful garden café at a relaxed pace, allow around one to one and a half hours. Because of its central position, the museum combines beautifully with a stroll to Syntagma Square, the neoclassical Athenian Trilogy a short way along Panepistimiou, and the shops of the centre. For a cultural gem off the usual tourist trail, it is highly recommended. The nearby Trilogy is covered in the Academy of Athens guide. The questions below cover the points visitors ask most.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Numismatic Museum of Athens known for?
This museum is known for its world-class collection of around 600,000 coins and related objects, and above all for its setting in the Iliou Melathron, the lavish former mansion of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, with its stunning Pompeii-inspired interior, mosaics, murals and a peaceful garden.
Whose house is the Numismatic Museum in?
The Numismatic Museum is housed in the Iliou Melathron, the magnificent Athens mansion built for Heinrich Schliemann between 1878 and 1880, the archaeologist who excavated Troy and Mycenae. Designed by Ernst Ziller, it was considered the most splendid private residence in Athens, and its opulent interior is a highlight of the visit.
Where is the Numismatic Museum in Athens?
The Numismatic Museum is at 12 Panepistimiou Street in central Athens, between Syntagma and Omonia squares. The nearest metro station is Syntagma, about a 10-minute walk away. It is close to the neoclassical Athenian Trilogy and easily combined with sightseeing around Syntagma and the city centre.