Database of Byzantine Coins in Turkish Museums

This paper presents a national project entitled “Digital Numismatic Museum: A Scientific Database and Virtual Exhibition Platform for Byzantine Coin Collections.” The project aims to establish an accessible Digital Numismatic Museum by digitising Byzantine-period coin collections for the purposes of scholarly research and the preservation of cultural heritage. Within the scope of the project, the relevant collections will be transferred into a digital environment using a standardised scientific database format and will be supported by high-resolution images, typological and iconographic classifications, qualitative data (including metallurgical analysis, iconographic interpretation, and mint distribution), as well as geographical data through GIS integration. In the long term, the project seeks to enhance the visibility of Turkey’s Byzantine numismatic heritage, strengthen data sharing among researchers, and ensure the digital documentation of museum collections in accordance with international academic standards. The project envisages, for the first time in Turkey, a comprehensive digital numismatic platform that brings together regional museum collections within a bilingual (Turkish–English) digital museum portal. The museums planned to be included are those located in Eskişehir, Kütahya, Malatya, Bilecik, Bolu, Sakarya, Yalvaç, Isparta, and İzmir. The decision to focus initially on nine museums is based on the fact that the author has previously conducted authorised research in these institutions. Studies on the Eskişehir and Sakarya museum collections have been completed and are currently in the publication stage. The Byzantine coin collection of the Isparta Museum constituted the subject of the author’s doctoral dissertation completed in 2007 and has not yet been published. In the case of the Bolu Museum, only the gold and bronze anonymous Byzantine coins have been published to date. Furthermore, catalogues of Byzantine coins from the Kütahya, Malatya, Bilecik, and Yalvaç museums have already been published. Scholarly research on the Byzantine coin collection of the İzmir Museum, however, is scheduled to commence in 2026.