Photo: Manuel de Sousa · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Gabinete de Numismática

One of Portugal's largest numismatic collections, linked to the Museu do Porto, with Greek, Roman, Hispanic, Arab and Portuguese coins.

Temporarily closed

Directions

Temporarily closed. The Palacete dos Viscondes de Balsemão closed in 2018 and the collection was last shown in 2023; the cabinet's reopening to the public is not confirmed. Check before visiting.

About the museum

The collection of the Gabinete de Numismática goes back to the collector João Allen (1781–1848), a British merchant in Porto. In 1850 the municipality acquired his holdings, which laid the foundation of the Museu Municipal do Porto, opened to the public in 1852 on Rua da Restauração. Numismatics has remained one of the museum's core collections ever since.

Over time the collection has moved several times: in 1905 to the Biblioteca Municipal, in 1937 to the Palácio dos Carrancas, in December 1988 to the Casa Tait and, in 2008–2009, to the Palacete dos Viscondes de Balsemão, on Praça de Carlos Alberto. The cabinet holds coins, medals, ribbons, bonds, banknotes, tokens, hallmark punches and plates for printing banknotes, with an emphasis on Greek, Roman, Hispanic, Arab and Portuguese numismatics.

The palacete closed for maintenance on 1 February 2018 and, according to the available information, the collection was last shown to the public at the Casa do Infante in 2023. A move to the former Abrigo dos Pequeninos had been planned, where the reserves of the Museu do Porto opened in 2026, but there is no confirmation that the cabinet has reopened to the public.