Presenting the Euro to the Museum Public

Marianne Danneel Presenting the euro to the museum public Proceedings of the ICOMON meetings, held in conjunction with the ICOM Conference, Melbourne (Australia, 10-16 October, 1998), ed. by Peter Lane and John Sharples. Melbourne, Numismatic Association of Australia, Inc, 2000. 117 p. (NAA Special publication, 2). (English). pp. 106-109 Downloaded from: www.icomon.org PRESENTING THE EURO TO THE MUSEUM PUBLIC By Marianne Danneel Museum of the National Bank of Belgium Introduction the 1st January 2002, the date set Museums are part of a changing for the launch of the euro banknotes society. In order to remain relevant, and coins. From a numismatic point of it's generally felt that they should view, this is the crucial date. bear witness to these changes and that they should try to meet the There is one strong argument for the public's need for understanding and European money and banking interpretation. Of course, this museums not to wait until 2002 to applies also to money and banking insert the topic into their museum museums. In Europe, the main context: for some time already monetary and financial issue today is there has been an overwhelming the monetary union and introduction demand for information from of the single currency or Euro. This museum visitors. Museum staff in paper deals with the opportunities general, and the guides in particular, and risks involved in presenting this have to cope with a growing number very contemporary issue to the of questions and enquiries from their museum visitor and the way in audience about the single currency. which the euro can be put on This is very understandable: looking display. at the national banknotes and coins of past and present times, provokes Opportunities and risks quite naturally questions about the In May 1998, the European Council future. Of course, museum staff can made public the names of the respond to this call by referring the eleven member states of the public to the existing information European Union going ahead with and documentation centres, set up the single currency: Belgium, by both the European and national Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, authorities or by private initiatives, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, such as the media, consumer Austria, Portugal and Finland. In organisations or commercial banks. doing so, a halt was called to These information centres issue speculation by believers and leaflets, brochures, videos and non-believers as to whether the gadgets. Although these can be very introduction of the euro by the useful, there are two major reasons Economic and Monetary Union or why this way of responding is EMU would start on schedule or be unsatisfying for the museum. postponed. Since then, the counting-off has begun. On the 1st First, in simply referring to other January 1999, the rates of instances, the museum is missing an conversion between the euro and opportunity to communicate with its the participating national currencies public. Furthermore, it is striking have been irrevocably fixed. The that these very same information euro has been operating since as a suppliers are turning themselves recognised currency on the world more and more to the museum. They markets and has been used, are searching for objects illustrating especially by commercial banks and the European unification process, other companies, in non-cash but more importantly, they are payment transactions. It will, searching for its historical context. however, remain immaterial until This can be the very history of EMU 106 itself or the monetary history of message - and from their point of Europe in general. Two examples view this is a legitimate message - illustrate this very well. In January the Code of Professional Ethics of 1996, the European Commission in ICOM, the International Council of Brussels set up the exhibition "Time Museums, stipulates that the journey through monetary Europe" museum should seek above all to in collaboration with several ensure that information in displays European members of ICOMON, the and exhibitions is objective. In other International Committee of words, the museum has to make Monetary and Banking Museums. A sure that it keeps its integrity, whole series of European mint however obvious it is that it can museums, central bank museums never present a perfectly objective and national coin cabinets took part view of contemporary history, nor in this exhibition by lending indeed of the past. sometimes very precious items out of their collections and by sharing On display their numismatic as well as practical The specific functions of a museum know how with the exhibition are traditionally defined as organisers. collecting, preserving, investigating and of course, also transmitting. In Another example is the demand contrast to e.g. archives or libraries, received in 1998 by the Museum of museums concentrate primarily on the National Bank of Belgium from objects which, regardless of the the Belgian Ministry of Foreign context they are put in, often Affairs. In order to put a travelling generate a narrative of their own. exhibition on the history of EMU at the disposal of the Belgian As already mentioned above, the diplomats abroad, the Ministry euro banknotes and coins will not asked for the help of the museum of be available before January 2002. the Belgian central bank. But, of course a lot of preparations have been made since 1992, since These two examples show a clear the Treaty of Maastricht, in order to interest by European and national decide about the name of the policy makers for the museum. currency, the denominations, the Although this interest is in itself technical aspects and the gratifying, the underlying message iconography. These preparations of these initiatives should not be are well worth looking into. From the forgotten. As the Daily Telegraph numismatic as well as the historical wrote the day after the opening of point of view, the whole appraisal the Brussels exhibition, "Yesterday's and selection process is interesting exhibition on the history of money to deal with. From the museological tried to ‘sell’ the euro by showing that point of view, this can be illustrated common currencies were far from by showing the final selected new." As for the exhibition, planned designs for the coins and banknotes by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign as they already have been made Affairs, one of its aims is to provide public by the European and national Belgian diplomats with an authorities. For around 56 billion instrument to explain EMU to their euro coins to be ready for circulation contacts abroad, but also to stress the on 1st January 2002, production had important role Belgium has played in to begin in May 1998. As for the the unifying process. So, while banknotes, the origination phase - others often want to pass a this is the process of converting the 107 designs into proof-prints - and the Belgium where the portrait of the so-called zero-production run have king was chosen to be shown on all now been concluded so mass euro coins. Other countries like production by the eleven banknote France or Germany have chosen printing works can begin. After three different designs to figure on choosing the name ‘euro’ for the each coin group. And finally there single currency instead of ‘ECU’ are countries such as Austria and (European Currency Unit) as a lot Italy where eight different designs of people expected, it was decided were made. that one euro will be divided into one hundred cents. The European For the coins, as well as for the notes, Council adopted a regulation that the European authorities have provides for eight coins in the organised a competition. First, two range from 1 cent to 2 euros. The advisory groups of experts have three smallest coins, the coins of 1, selected a number of themes. For the 2 and 5 cents will be in coins, three themes were chosen: copper-covered steel and therefore architectural styles in Europe, will be red. The three following European personalities and an denominations, the coins of 10, 20 abstract theme. For the banknotes and 50 cents, will have a yellow only two themes were kept: a appearance, due to the so-called theme called "Ages and Styles of nordic gold they will be made of, this Europe" and an abstract, modern is an alloy of several metals (copper, design. For the Ages and Styles theme, aluminium, zinc and tin). Finally, the the features to be depicted on each of two largest denominations, the coins the seven notes had to represent a specific period of European cultural of 1 and 2 euros, will consist of a history: classical, romanesque, different internal and external part. gothic, renaissance, baroque and The external part of the coin of 2 rococo, the age of iron and glass and euros will be white, due to an alloy of 20th-century architecture. The copper and nickel, while the middle abstract theme had to be of the coin will be yellow due to a represented by a modern design nickel-brass alloy. For the coin of 1 depicting abstract or figurative euro, it is the reverse: a yellow border elements. and a white center. International juries consisting of As for the banknotes, there will be experts in marketing, design and art seven banknote denominations history made a pre-selection, ranging from 5 to 500 euros. The followed by a public consultation notes will be different in colour and exercise in order to gauge public in size. It was decided that the opinion. Finally, the coin design by banknotes will not have any national the Belgian artist Luc Luyckx and the differentiation and that therefore a banknote designs, made by the completely uniform series of notes Austrian artist Robert Kalina won will be put in circulation in the the first prizes.

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