Edmundo Kulikausko kolekcija Nacionalinio muziejaus Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valdovų rūmų numizmatikos rinkinyje

LTStraipsnyje pristatoma Edmundo Kulikausko kolekcija Nacionalinio muziejaus Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valdovų rūmų numizmatikos rinkinyje. Skaitytojas supažindinamas su kolekcininko biografijos faktais. Straipsnyje aptariamos kolekcijos susiformavimo ir patekimo į Valdovų rūmų muziejaus numizmatikos rinkinį aplinkybės, pristatoma, kaip ši kolekcija atsispindi muziejaus ekspozicijose, naudojama parodose, leidyboje, edukacinėje veikloje. Reikšminiai žodžiai Nacionalinis muziejus Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valdovų rūmai, Edmundas Kulikauskas, numizmatikos rinkinys, kolekcija, dovanotojas.

ENIn 2017, an exceptional gift was included in the collections of the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. As far back as June 2016, Edmundas Kulikauskas handed over to the museum a large collection of his coins, medals and banknotes. After spending many years in the United States, E. Kulikauskas, the co-founder and the head of the Palace of the Grand Dukes Support Fund and the former Vydūnas Foundation Commissioner in Lithuania, has been collecting coins, banknotes and medals related to Lithuania’s history for over fifty years. While still being a young man, he began collecting stamps, the collection of which inspired him to collect coins of the Republic of Lithuania. The first numismatic value of the collection is 1562 Sigismund Augustus silver three-mite coin of 1562 year, purchased in 1965 in the Numismatic section of Robinson’s Los Angeles (USA) department store. This amazing and unexpected finding fascinated the collector. E. Kulikauskas’ father-in-law Bronius Kviklys, the collector of Lithuanian writings and numismatist, the famous cultural figure of Lithuanian emigrants, the author of “Mūsų Lietuva/Our Lithuania” published in four volumes and “Lietuvos bažnyčios/Churches of Lithuania” published in seven volumes, one of the publishers of daily newspaper “Draugas/Friend” published in Chicago encouraged him to collect and he donated some values to E. Kulikauskas’ collection.The donated collection consists of as many as 382 values, which inspired the Museum of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania to form and start a numismatic collection. These values not only enrich the possibilities of historians to investigate the history of numismatic in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but also reveal the issues of interest to Lithuanians living in emigration and the way how Lithuanian identity was preserved. The museum is very grateful to E. Kulikauskas for the donated unique collection. The museum maintains a friendly relationship with E.Kulikauskas, the history of the collection development is documented. The values of the donated collection have become the exhibits of permanent exhibitions organized by the museum. The donated collection is presented to the general public in a catalogue. It is also digitized and further promoted.