After Hours with David the Builder’s Coin
By Mariam Chanishvili
Friday, December 20
From December 13 to December 15, the visitors of Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia had an exclusive opportunity to see the unique David the Builder’s Coin on loan from the British Museum collection. This is the only remaining coin with his image that was minted during his reign (1089-1125).
The David the Builder’s Coin exhibition closed on Sunday, December 15. The attendance at the event was free of charge. This special after-hours experience with the unique coin was enriched with educational programs for kids and young actors bringing the historic era of David the Builder to live.
The copper coin, preserved at the British Museum, is the most important among the coins, minted by King David IV of Georgia. The coin is of immense importance for the history of Georgia. It represents a priceless historical record. The inscription on the coin reflects the major line of Georgia’s foreign policy at the time.
The accompanying writing in Georgian refers to him simply as King David. On the reverse is an invocation in Georgian and lists the extent of David’s kingdom: ‘Lord, aid David, king of Abkhazians, Kartvelians, Rans, Kakhs, Armenians.’
“In 1958, the head of the numismatic department of State Museum of Georgia, David Kapanadze received the journal Numismatic Chronicle, sent to him by the famous Kartvelologist, David Marshall Lang. The magazine introduced an article about the unique copper coin of King David IV.
The British Museum purchased the coin from William Willoughby Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen in 1857, but it then remained in obscurity for a century. Nothing is known of the coin before it reached the collection of the Earl of Enniskillen,” reads the information on the British Council’s website.
The closing of the legendary coin’s exhibition was also the completion of the first-ever UK/Georgia Season.
The UK Season in Georgia is a carefully curated program of 60+ events over three months. The UK/Georgia 2019 is funded by the British Embassy and the British Council, working closely with a small group of sponsors including Georgia Capital, Bank of Georgia, BP, Adjara Group and Wissol.
The British Council, in partnership with the Georgian National Museum and the British Museum, presented the coin with the image of King David the Builder of Georgia. King David the Builder's Coin Exhibition has been available online since then.
