Silver 8-reales, or 'Pillar Dollar', Mexico, 1741.

While the Museum's numismatic (coin) collections contain mostly coins from Britain, it also includes representative groups of overseas coins, which helps put the evolution of British coinage in its international context.

The dollar, today one of the world's dominant currencies, has its origins late in the 15th century. New discoveries of silver and developments in mining technology increased European output of the metal dramatically and central European states started producing large coins in silver which were equal in value to the gold coins of the day.

The name 'dollar' derives from the St Joachimsthaler Guldengroschen struck by the counts of Slik in Central Europe around 1520. As 'Thaler' became the generic name for crown-sized silver coins of the German states, the English term 'dollar' had started to appear by the early 17th century.

The enormous numbers of Spanish dollars produced in their colonies of Mexico and South America ('pieces of eight') came to be traded all over the world, and they set the standard for the silver currencies of many emerging nations in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The medal collections of Amgueddfa Cymru

Silver 'Forlorn Hope' badge 1643 — this would have been sewn onto a sash or tunic.

South Africa Medal 1877-79: '1428 Pte E. Jones 2.24th Foot'.

Sergeant Evan Jones, c.1917. He was born in Ebbw Vale in 1859 and enlisted in the Monmouth Militia in 1874, joining the 24th Foot in 1877. He served in South Africa, where on 23 January 1879 he was one of the tiny garrison that held Rorke's Drift against a massive Zulu attack. He later served in the Mediterranean, India and Burma, and remained in uniform with various units until 1920. He died in Welshpool in 1931.

The British medal collections of Amgueddfa Cymru were formed back in the 1920s thanks to gifts from two men.

In 1922, Colonel Sir William Watts donated his collection of 105 British naval and military medals, and in 1923 W. Lisle Bowles made generous gifts of similar medals.

From these, the Museum gained a representative collection of British military campaign medals, from the battle of Waterloo (1815), the first engagement for which all who took part received a medal, to the Great War of 1914–18 and beyond. However, only a small number of these military and gallantry medals had any Welsh associations.

In more recent years, therefore, occasional purchases and donations have concentrated on these two categories, our stated policy being to collect medals 'relating to the deeds of Welsh people'.

'Forlorn hope'

The earliest military award in the collection is a badge for the 'Forlorn Hope', dating from the English Civil War and awarded to selected troops who acted as vanguards. This was a Royalist award introduced in 1643 by Thomas Bushell, a mining engineer and master of the mint at Aberystwyth.

Civilian Heroes

The Albert Medal was introduced in 1866, at first awarded for gallantry at sea, but extended to the saving of life on land in 1877 to reward the heroes of Tynewydd Colliery, Rhondda, for the successful rescue of five colleagues trapped by flooding for nine days deep underground. Several Albert Medals relating to this incident are in the Museum's collection. When the Edward Medal was created in 1907 for gallantry in mines and quarries, one of the first two awards went to a Welshman, Henry Everson, of Penallta Colliery; the medal was donated to the Museum by his son in 1978.

From Albert to Edward to George

In December 1971, the Albert and Edward Medals were withdrawn, to be replaced by the George Cross. Of those who elected to exchange awards, seven chose that their previous medals be donated to the Museum. Two of these, Gordon Bastian and Eynon Hawkins, held the Albert Medal for gallantry at sea, having rescued fellow crewmen in torpedoed ships in 1943. Three 'land' Albert Medals are those of Walter Cleall; Cardiff policeman Kenneth Farrow, who attempted to save a small boy from drowning; and Margaret Vaughan, who as a schoolgirl saved a boy caught by the rising tide at Sully Island, near Barry, from drowning. Edward Medals were given to Bert Craig (Mountain Ash, 1922) and Thomas Thomas (Brynamman, 1933).

Heroism and Great Gallantry

In 1990, the Museum acquired three George Medals with Welsh connections.

The George Cross and George Medal were created in 1940, primarily as a response to the increased exposure of civilians to great danger during the Blitz. On 19 August 1940, the Royal Naval fuel depot at Llanreath, Pembrokeshire, was bombed and burned for seventeen days, destroying over thirty million gallons of oil. This was the biggest fire ever known in Britain. Norman Groom was one of 650 firemen who fought the blaze and one of three Cardiff men to receive the George Medal. Thomas Keenan, a nightwatchman, removed an incendiary bomb from the top of a tank containing 300,000 gallons of petrol at a depot in Ferry Road, Cardiff, on 2 January 1941.

The awards highlighted here form just the tip of a historical iceberg. Unlike those of any other country, Britain's campaign medals and most of its gallantry awards have, since the early 19th century, been impressed with the name (and for military awards the number, rank and unit) of their recipients. Even the millions of campaign stars and medals of the Great War of 1914–18 were individually named, though those of the Second World War were issued unnamed, presumably to save costs. Most medals are, therefore, starting points for historical research into the lives of individuals.

Caerwent: the south wall and towers

The small village of Caerwent, near Chepstow in south Wales, was once the administrative capital of the Silures, the Celtic tribe occupying south-east Wales. Only two Roman towns are known to have existed in Wales: Carmarthen (Maridunum) and Caerwent (Venta Silurum).

Between 1984 and 1995 Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales undertook a programme of research excavations to improve knowledge of the early development of Caerwent. Earlier excavations had only revealed the tops of the buildings, therefore only providing a view of the late Roman town.

The Forum-basilica

Like every Roman town, at the centre was the forum (market-place) and adjoining basilica (assembly hall).Even before excavation some of the walls stood as much as 2m above ground-level, having been incorporated into 19th century farm-buildings. The forum-basilica was first explored in 1907 and 1909. Almost the whole plan of the building was recovered, but there was no firm indication as to when it was first erected. The more recent excavations uncovered parts of this impressive building for display and unravelled its structural history.

The forum, a rectangular open market-place surrounded on three sides by rooms, was entered from the main street through an archway. A paved piazza provided space for temporary stalls to be set-up on market days. The ranges of rooms, which were set behind a covered colonnade, served as shops, taverns and offices. Above these, there would probably have been a second storey, perhaps with a terrace and more rooms.

The basilica comprises a great hall and a rear range of rooms. The great hall would have been used for large public meetings and ceremonies.

Excavations of the east end of the great hall of the basilica, with the drain in the foreground

As is generally the case, the great hall consisted of a nave and two aisles divided by colonnades supporting a clerestory, like that of a great church. The walls carrying the columns had foundations almost 2m deep. The great stone columns, all carved from local sandstone, reached a height of 9m. It has been calculated that the basilica must have been over 20m high.

In the centre of the rear range of rooms was the aedes, or shrine, where statues of the Emperor and civic deities would have stood. The floor was raised above those of the rest of the basilica, giving it some prominence.

The room to the west of the aedes served as the curia or council chamber. Its south wall survives to a height of some 2m and carries painted plaster with an architectural design. In its later history, mosaic panels adorned the floor of this room. On either side of the mosaics were channels, with corresponding grooves in the plaster on the south wall. These carried the timber framework of the benches on which the councillors of the tribal assembly would have sat. Stone bases of a stepped wooden dais occupied the east end of the room from which the local magistrates would have presided over meetings of the council.

Beneath the floor of the basilica, was a box-drain which carried rainwater collected in the gutters surrounding the forum piazza. Massive blocks of local sandstone, some weighing more than a ton, were used for the sides and capping of the drain, while the base was paved in roofing tiles. A semi-circular inspection hole, cut in one of the capstones, gave access to the drain to clean it out.

Reconstruction of the forum-basilica. (Cadw, Crown Copyright)

This great building was erected in the earlier part of the 2nd century A.D. The work must have placed a severe strain on resources and finance as the forum-basilica were among the largest buildings constructed in Britain before the great cathedrals of the Middle Ages.

In the late 3rd century, the basilica appears largely to have been rebuilt. The roof of the great hall was stripped and the columns dismantled. As part of this reconstruction, the walls were strengthened and the floors were raised, probably as a result of subsidence. Structural problems may have existed from the outset, for two very large pits had been dug through the earliest floors to inspect the foundations.

Buckle and plate of a late fourth century belt found on the site of the basilica. The buckle is adorned with confronting dolphins and outward facing horses heads.

The basilica continued to function as the administrative centre until the 330s, but at that time the nature of the occupation changed. Numerous hearths were found in the nave, indicating that the great hall was being used for small-scale industrial activity. Some twenty or thirty years later the basilica was demolished, however coins struck in the 390s show continued activity on the site. The nature of this late occupation, when the rest of the town was slipping into decay and ruin, is uncertain.

The excavations at Caerwent have unravelled much of the history of this massive building, and the features described have been observed nowhere else in Britain.

Background reading

Caerwent Roman Town by R.J. Brewer. Published by Cadw (2006)

Enjoy a journey through five hundred years of Welsh history. This gallery introduces you to the most fascinating ‘faces of Wales’, including faces from the world of politics, the theatre, sports and literature — all men and women who in their time changed the face of Wales. Click on the thumbnails below to discover an astonishing range of artists, some as world-famous as Augustus John and Hogarth, others who will be a revelation to you.

The portrait collection at Amgueddfa Cymru illustrates a variety of diverse faces that have contributed over the centuries to the cultural, political and economic life of Wales. Many of the sitters are established Welsh figures, while others have strong Welsh associations. Some are internationally famous people whose Welsh ancestry is little known.

Early portrait painting

Adriaen van Cronenburgh (c.1520/25-c.1604)
Katheryn of Berain, 'The Mother of Wales' (1534-1591)
1568 - oil on panel

Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787)
Sir Watkin Williams Wynn (1749-1789), Thomas Apperley (1734-1819) and Captain Edward Hamilton
1768-72 - oil on canvas

Up until the 18th century, it was only the country's powerful landowners and merchants who could afford to have portraits painted. Wales, unlike Scotland or Ireland, had no large towns or a capital city before the mid-18th century, so the Welsh elite often had their portraits painted abroad or in London. For example, the earliest portraits represented in the Museum's collection are the 1st Earl of Pembroke (painted in 1565) and Katheryn of Berain (painted in 1568), both of which were painted abroad.

In the 18th century, some of the major landowning families, such as Williams Wynn and Pennant, regularly used successful English portrait painters in London. Therefore, no native Welsh portrait school developed during this period, as it did in Scotland. Although the great Welsh 18th century artist Richard Wilson began his career as a portrait painter, he later turned to landscape, which he found more profitable, as did his pupil, Thomas Jones.

The Industrial Revolution

By the end of the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution in Wales allowed a new group of wealthy industrialists such as Thomas Williams, the 'King of Copper', to have their likenesses painted by leading London artists.

The increasing distribution of wealth among the middle classes in Wales in the 19th century meant that more people could now have their faces recorded for posterity.

Photography transformed the nature of portraiture in Wales. Painted portraits continued however, with the production of some iconic images such as Augustus John's famous portrait of the poet Dylan Thomas. The rich industrial history of Wales also inspired some heroic representations of workers, as well as of the mine owners themselves. For example, Evan Walters' A Welsh Collier of 1936, in which the sitter has only recently been identified.

The earliest bronze sculpture in Britain

Portrait sculpture has always been popular in Wales. Examples range from Le Sueur's bronze bust of Lord Herbert, commissioned during the reign of Charles I and one of the earliest bronze busts in Britain, to Peter Lambda's bust of Aneurin Bevan in 1945.

The Welsh sculptor Sir William Goscombe John, who died in 1952, was a key cultural figure in Wales, playing a major role in the formation of the Welsh national collection of art. Born in Cardiff, he was an invaluable member of the Museum's Council, regularly making generous donations. He produced public statues, memorials and portrait busts, including one of Wales's most important politicians of the 20th century, David, 1st Earl Lloyd George.

The portraits here are from the Museum's collection; further examples and an archive of Welsh portraiture can be seen at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, which has collected portraiture since its foundation, and in the National Portrait Gallery, London.