Exhibitions in the MoneyMuseum

A journey in time through six mints from the 16th century to the present time

A piece of metal pressed with great force between two stamps – and the coin is complete. Is the production of coins really that easy? And how was it done in earlier times? This video looks into questions of this kind on a journey into the various centuries and towns in the Western world. As a result you are given an opportunity to visit five mints and the MoneyMuseum, where you will learn about not only details of diverse minting techniques, but also informative facts about the respective political and economic background of minting coins.

The MoneyMuseum is backed by the Sunflower Foundation, the name of which did not come about by chance. It expresses the philosophy on which the MoneyMuseum as well as the activities of Jürg Conzett generally, who initiated the foundation, are based. The sunflower stands for generosity, balance, harmony and abundance in a positive sense, but also for coincidence and individuality.

An exhibition about the development of money in the West and in the East

No matter whether you are presented with a bill in Switzerland, in the USA or in China, the system is the same: coins and banknotes of no material value are accepted that are only worth anything in the respective country. This has led to a monetary system prevailing in which the state lays claim to a currency monopoly. And yet the way in this direction in West and East was a completely different one, as this journey through history shows.

Every story gives rise to characters who actively intervened in contemporary history and whose activities radiated far into the future, quite regardless of whether they were already successful during their lifetime – and whether they were sympathetic or not. Thus people who "reinvented" the future. They have also left their mark on Zurich's history (of money): for example, such personalities as Pastor Huldrych Zwingli, Mayor Waser or the entrepreneurs Escher and Duttweiler. And last but not least, "unimportant" people also play a part in it. The exhibition Zurich People and Their Money has related this in 20 stages. This DVD takes up some of them in a booklet and video.