LEGACIES TO THE COLLECTION OF COINS AND MEDALS OF THE BELGRADE CITY MUSEUM

Text topic: Culture and Heritage

Text author: Jelena Vasić Derimanović

Two of the twenty-eight legacies to the Belgrade City Museum are found in the “Collection of Money and Medals”: the bequests of Đorđe Novaković and Svetozar St. Dušanić. These collections were donated to the Museum in the 1970s. After a brief review of the concept and the legal status of legacies in view of the Serbian cultural milieu and policies, the paper demonstrates a study of two bequests – the paper banknotes and the Roman coins from the “Collection for Money and Medals”. In addition to the short history of each legacy, the manner in which they were formed, including their contents, an attempt was made to search available documentation in the museum archives to demonstrate how the collections were donated to the Museum and “established” as legacies. The work also considers to what extent and with what success the Museum activities have been carried out in practice, namely: preservation, conservation, restoration and documentation filing, as well as communication activities which include exhibitions and education.