Coins, medals, tokens, seals, paper money, weights, balances and ledgers: the Cantonal Money Museum is one of the largest numismatics museums in the country. Its collections contain more than 80,000 monetary objects and 1200 new items are added each year. It is also the legal depositary for all coins found in Vaud territory (to date, more than 150 hoards and 10,000 scattered coins). The Money Museum has a numismatics library with more than 20,000 volumes, making it the biggest in Switzerland.

These treasures that sleep under our feet

The Greeks created the first coins, first with the effigy of their gods, then their kings. The Romans then did the same: first their gods, then the generals and emperors. In Vaud, the Merovingians began to mint gold “tiers de sou”. Then the diocese of Lausanne created “oboles” and “deniers”. Since business involved lots of different coins – and counterfeiters! – it was necessary to test the real value using a touchstone and a balance. This is what led to the appearance of money changers and bankers. It wasn’t until 1848 that the first federal Constitution reserved the right to mint coins for the Confederation only. Cantonal banks still issued bank notes until 1907.