Journey Along the Silk Road

Linking civilizations of East and West, the Silk Road is a simple term that represents a complicated and vast web on interconnected routes stretching across Eurasia. Beginning around 100 BC, the world’s first large-scale system of globalization—the Silk Roads—fostered the exchange of people, goods and ideas for more than 1500 years. Along the way, traders, diplomats and travelers exchanged far more than silk. Spices, animals, religions, technologies and disease traveled the various routes, permanently changing diverse cultures along the way.

As tangible historical records, coins reveal the intricate web of trade routes and political ties between empires. Issued as both currency and propaganda, coins spread messages of imperial power, divine legitimacy and cultural prominence. Follow the trail of coins, piece together trade networks, and discover the complex relationships that developed along the Silk Road.

Visit the Money Museum to view this extraordinary exhibit, on display beginning June 26, and embark on a dramatic journey of discovery and conquest, bravery and determination, hardship and tragedy. Along the way, you will meet the people, discover the places, and investigate the ideas that defined this legendary network. Coins—the enduring artifacts left behind—reveal an interconnected world not unlike ours today.