BIRMINGHAM COLLECTION DONATED TO MUSEUM Public Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 8, Number 36, August 21, 2005, Article 19
BIRMINGHAM COLLECTION DONATED TO MUSEUM
An August 15th article in a Birmingham, England newspaper
describes a collection of coins recently donated to a museum
by a company called IMI:"A collection of coins, minted at the time when Birmingham
was the world's money-making machine, has been given to the
city as a gift.For almost a century coins made by IMI jangled in pockets
of people in scores of countries around the world, from Algeria
and Angola to Zambia and Zimbabwe.Now the Birmingham-based global engineering business has
donated its collection, worth a "considerable five figure sum",
to the city's Museum & Art Gallery.IMI spokesman Graham Truscott said: "It is an incredible
collection, from the time when Birmingham supplied the
currency for almost half of the world.""It seemed wrong to keep such an interesting collection,
which shows just how big a role Birmingham played in the
world's financial system, hidden away. We decided the best
home for it was the museum, where future generations will
be able to see it."The collection covers the period from before the Great War
to the 1990s and includes pieces minted at Witton and King's
Norton.A few copies of each coin were kept as records, and locked
in a strong room at IMI. However the company sold its interests
in the currency business a few years ago to concentrate on more
advanced technologies and sectors.Some of the coins are very rare: for example the collection has
a Greek 50 lepta piece, of which there are fewer than ten left
anywhere in the world."To read the complete story, see: Full Story
Assuming I've located the right "IMI", the following links are
to company's web site and capsule history:
IMI Web Site
IMI History- 2005-08-21
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