The discovered coins which were once being used for business and trade purposes on the path of the Silk Road will go in public display in Iran and China.

Tehran, 20 July 2006 (CHN Foreign Desk) -- Historical coins which were used on the path of Silk Road for trade purposes will be displayed in an exhibition in Iran and later in China.

Last week, a Chinese team consisting of seven experts came to Iran by the invitation of the Organization of Bonyad Museums to have some negotiations in order to launch some joint cooperation including holding of an exhibition of the historical Persian and Chinese coins as the first step.

“Persian and Chinese coins which were used for trading transactions will be the main objects displayed in this exhibition. Alongside these coins, some other Chinese historical relics which exist in Iran and those of Iran in China will be displayed in these exhibitions. This exhibition is expected to be held in Tehran toward the beginning of the year 2007 and then the objects will be transferred to Beijing to be displayed,” said Parisa Andami, director of Tamashagaheh Pool (coin and paper money museum) in Tehran.

Regarding the existence of a valuable collection of Chinese historical coins in Tamashagaheh Pool Museum, Andami explained: “We have some Chinese historical coins some of which were purchased during the Conference of Banking and Coin Museums which was held in China in 2002. These coins have not yet been displayed in the Tamashagaheh Pool Museum for some reasons such as shortage of place and some existing priorities. However, they will go on display in this exhibition in less than a year.

Four members of the Chinese team were the representatives of Beijing Coin Museum and three of them were members of Chinese Coin Association. The Chinese team had some negotiations with the authorities of Bonyad Museums Organization during its stay in Tehran. One of the members of the Chinese Coin Association is determined to write a book about Persian coins in use during the Sassanid dynasty (226-651 AD). During his visit to Iran, he was able to reach an agreement with the experts of Tamashagahe Pool Museum to cooperating with him in decoding some of these coins which have been found along the path of the famous Silk Road.

The Silk Road was created many centuries ago for the trading of silk and other goods between the East and the West and became an important channel for the transfer of ideas, languages, literature, as well as science and technology. As a result, the road to Persia became a symbol of humanity’s desire to travel, to explore, and to learn from the diversity of the human experience.