A Very Welcome & Fascinating Discovery in the Desert ...

[Pierre_Henri 97]

My wife and I have just returned from a road-trip through central Namibia. We stayed for 3 days in Swakopmund, a beautiful coastal town in the desert, established by German colonists in 1892. Even to this day, the German language is spoken by a large number of the townspeople.

In an attempt to make Swakopmund more attractive for visitors, a competition was initiated in the early 1950s by the Swakopmund Municipality. This competition was won by the local dentist, Dr. Alfons Weber, and this led to the founding of the Swakopmund Museum in 1951(In 1931 Dr. Weber left his native Munich, Germany, to settle in the then Southwest Africa)

  

I visited the museum on Monday and was greatly and positively surprised by its beautiful and informative displays. Even more surprising was the numismatic collection(s) hosted by the museum. 

The one display shows the coins, tokens & notes that circulated in the old days in South West Africa (present-day Namibia) including Paul Kruger Z.A.R. coins and notes – I did not know that they circulated as far north in Africa as this.  

 

The second display shows medals and medallions – mostly of German origin - a truly stunning collection.

 

The third display shows shipwreck coins and related maritime artifacts: - the Namibian “skeleton coast” is notorious for its abundance of shipwrecks, some dating back to the 1500s when the Portuguese seafarers were travelling around the Cape of Good Hope in their trade-voyages with the East.

 

I would recommend this museum to anyone interested in history and especially numismatics.

[jwither 17]

Nice write-up,  Sounds like you had a good time.