Sea Adventures
Winter Holidays at the Museum of the BCRA!
For the first time, the Museum of the BCRA is displaying an outstanding coin collection belonging to the 16th through 19th centuries, which represents the booming and expansion of vice royal coins through sea commercial routes.
Visitors to the Sea Adventures exhibition will get to know the coins found in different shipwrecks, other coins minted in American mints, objects for trading and also ship elements. In addition, they will have the chance to hold a replica of the goldbricks which were carried by Spanish galleons from America, to see how much they weigh. Kids will be able to take pictures of themselves with sea monsters.
The objective of this exhibition is to highlight the importance of coins minted in American silver and gold and their impact on worldwide trade.
Spanish American colonial coins were accepted as the first global currency in international trade. Huge quantities of gold and silver were shipped both to Europe and to different parts of the world.
The Museum also stages objects representing customs of life at sea, maps, pictures of ships, ports, the wind rose, and sea mythological creatures, among others. Naval transport was the key tool to transport American wealth and also for the exploration of new ocean routes, which were crucial for commercial development.
The collection displayed is composed of pieces from the museum and objects lent by Mariano Lovardo, researcher and diver specialized in underwater rescue, and Jorge Madonna, numismatics researcher and president of the Federation of Numismatics and Medal Institutions (Federación de Entidades Numismáticas y Medallísticas).
Sea Adventures at the Museum of the BCRA, Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 4 pm, San Martín 216. Admission is free.
