Kasimov Museum of Money “BABOSIKI”

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of my coin collecting experience. Currently, my collection includes over 6,000 coins and banknotes from all over the world. Only 15 years ago, I settled on the theme of “Butterflies and Dragonflies on Coins of the World.” Over the years, I have collected over 1,000 coins, medals, and tokens with images of these insects. The idea of creating a museum has been on my mind for a long time. It was only in 2020 that I successfully acquired a building in the historic center of Kasimov. In two months, we renovated it and applied for a project implementation grant from the Presidential Grants Fund. This year, we won the competition and opened the museum on January 30, 2021. On September 18, 2021, we welcomed our 3,500th visitor. The Museum of Money project is being implemented using funds from the grant of the President of the Russian Federation provided by the Presidential Grants Fund.

At present, the main exposition of the Museum of Money is a private collection of I.A. Skripay, consisting of more than 2,500 exhibits related to the history and organization of monetary circulation. The museum will feature coins from the Roman Empire to modern times and banknotes from the first tsarist to modern plastic ones. The highlight of the museum will be the world’s largest collection of coins and banknotes with images of butterflies. Among the exhibits are the largest (weighing 1000 g) silver coin of the Republic of Cuba and the smallest (weighing 0.5 g) gold coin of the Republic of Palau, as well as one of the first silver coins of the Roman Empire with an image of a butterfly (denarius from 79 BC). Currently, the collection includes more than 1,000 specimens, and preparations are underway to publish the world’s first catalog-reference book on coins and banknotes with images of butterflies and dragonflies.