About Us

On 20 May 2021, in close proximity to the International Museum Day (16 May), we have inaugurated ikmk.net, a new web portal of public numismatic collections (Interaktive Kataloge der Münzkabinette in German).

In a first step those public coin collections, which are using the documentation software of the Münzkabinett Berlin (ikmk.smb.museum), are joining this group. This portal was founded by 29 partner institutions. From this moment the numismatic holdings of Münzkabinett of the State Museums in Berlin (more than 40,000 objects), the Münzkabinett of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (plus 15,000 objects), the coin collection of the Herzog- Anton-Ulrich-Museum (plus 2,500 objects), and those of the members of the NUMiD-Verbund (Network of German University Coin Collections) with more than 30,000 objects can be browsed in a shared portal, currently more than 90,000 individual object entries.

More coin collections in Austria, Switzerland, and Greece, who either already do have their own online catalogue as in the case of the Institut für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte of Vienna University (currently about 1,700 objects online) or will have their dedicated online database online soon, join ikmk.net on its foundation day.

All object entries share a common standard in their description using identifiers and Linked Open Data. Search results in ikmk.net will point to the individual online database using each object's persistent identifier.

The use of ikmk.net is for free. Data and images may be used and shared for private study and academic research in accordance with the individual Creative Commons License of each partner.

On the history of IKMK

Starting with May 2007 the Interaktiver Katalog des Münzkabinetts (IKMK) of the State Museums in Berlin is online. From the very beginning the software used was shared with other public museums institutions and collections. In 2014 the Münzkabinett of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna decided to publish its holdings via IKMK (ikmk.at).

In the very same year the Vienna and Berlin coin cabinets and the partners of the soon to be formed NUMiD-Verbund began plans for a shared portal bringing together several public collections in the field of numismatics in German speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). A funding scheme by the German Ministry for Education and Research BMBF offered the opportunity to realize in a first step such a portal based on numismatic collections of German Universities (NUMiD 'Netzwerk universitärer Münzsammlungen in Deutschland', funding period 2017–2021). In its current form, NUMiD combines c. 42 collections at c. 34 Universities in Germany.

The numismatic holdings of all IKMK users are being digitized using a common standard and are being published in individual online databases (IKMKs). These individual IKMKs are under the sole responsibility of each partner institution. The data structure though is a uniform one and uses the authorative data and identifiers provided for the public by the Münzkabinett Berlin via ikmk.smb.museum/ndp. The use of such shared identifiers and Linked Open Data allows our partners to provide their data to international portals in the field such as e.g. those of the American Numismatic Society (e.g. OCRE, CRRO, PELLA), projects of Oxford University (RPC and CHRE), and national portals such as DDB and museum-digital

Hence this new portal finally makes those plans a reality: Enlarging our base to all public collections in the field based primarily, but not exclusively in the German speaking countries.

Ikmk.net allows for a detailed search of digital coin collections both in Germany and abroad. Our users will potentially have acces to more than 1,380,000 entries once all original objects have been published, and several hundred thousands more of copies and casts, which represent scientifically relevant material in their own right. In addition the relationship and collaboration of both university and museum collections is made visibile.

List of partner institutions of ikmk.net (33)

  1. Athens, numismatic Collection of the KIKPE-Foundation (ikmk in preparation)
  2. Augsburg
  3. Berlin, SMB
  4. Bochum
  5. Braunschweig (University)
  6. Braunschweig (HAUM, Museum Wolfenbüttel, Braunschweigische Landessparkasse)
  7. Düsseldorf (including permament loans from various owners)
  8. Eichstätt
  9. Erlangen/Nürnberg (Classical Archaeology & University Library)
  10. Frankfurt am Main (Archaeology Dept. I and II)
  11. Freiberg in Saxony
  12. Freiburg im Breisgau (Ancient History & Christian Archaeology, and Byzantine Art History)
  13. Greifswald (Academic coin Cabinet  & Collection Gustaf Dalman & Collection Victor Schultze)
  14. Halle an der Saale
  15. Heidelberg
  16. Kiel (Collection of Antiquities  & Ancient History)
  17. Köln (University, from 20 May 2022)
  18. Konstanz
  19. Mainz
  20. Mannheim
  21. Marburg
  22. Münster
  23. Passau
  24. Regensburg (University & Museum, from 6 Febr 2024)
  25. Rostock
  26. Stuttgart (University, from 29 Sep 2021)
  27. Trier (University, from 20 May 2023)
  28. Tübingen (Classical Archaeology)
  29. Tübingen (FINT)
  30. Wien, KHM
  31. Wien, Universität
  32. Winterthur (from 25 Aug 2021)
  33. Würzburg

The term digital transformation does not necessarily describe the full meaning of the holistic enterprise of scientific identification, attribution, and documentation of objects kept in museum collections. We shall not forget the expertise, training and time needed to identify and define these digital concepts which are elementary to any digital documentation, the creation of vocabularies and adding of related Linked Open Data (LOD). This process indeed is a continous one, and important steps on this way are given below: 

2013 creation of a standardized set of descriptive data
2015 adding of internally useable export filters for individual entries
2015 beacon-file added in ikmk.smb.museum (gnd/viaf/nomisma)
2016 first export of internal descriptive data
2016 eNumis
2017 eMuseum
2017 responsive design, adjustable photos
2018 first import of core data (weight, owner, axis etc.) via digital photos taken using qpix-system
2018 export of IKMK-authorative data to VZG, who mirror these data sets via Dante-Server and use by KENOM
2018 locked version of IKMK for use on public computers within museum exhibitons, e.g. in Würzburg
2018 visualize.numid.online and Coins - A journey through a rich cultural collection.
2018 patronage for NUMiD-Verbund by the International Numismatic Council
2019 new export program into Nomisma
2019 the Normdatenportal (NDP) goes life, beacons for individuals and corporations.
2020 shared portal of the NUMiD-Verbundnumid.online
2021 bilingual (German/English) concepts in IKMK und NDP
2021, 20th May: shared portal for users of IKMK launched
2021, 26th Nov.: new feature basic entries

2022, 28th March: French, English, and modern Greek language labels for descriptions
2022, 1st Nov.: image copyright changed to public domain (except modern medals) 

2022, 28th Jan.: IKMK.net reaches 100,000 entries
2022, 4th Aug.: more than 110,000 objects
2022, 5th Sept.: 112,000 objects published so far
2022, 28th Nov.: 115,000 objects are online
2022, 31st Dec.: 116,005 objects published

2023, 13th Feb.: more than 117,000 objects
2023, 4th May: 120,031 entries
2023, 31st July: 125,008 objects
2023, 10th Oct.: 128,449 entries
2023, 29th Dec.: 129,052 objects

2024. 22th Jan.: News feature is now active
p>2024, 8 Febr.: 130,302 entries


Any future developments of IKMK will be centrally managed and provided for free to all partners. The use of such shared concepts and identifiers will advance the exchance of data both internally and with other research networks and portals.

We are extremely grateful to both institutional and individual support and donors. Without their continous assistance the successes of past years would not have been possible. The digital transformation of our numismatic cultural heritage is an enterprise fit for generations. The last 14 years - since the inauguration of the first ikmk - can only represent the very beginning.