The moneychanger’s table in our coins and medals collection has secret mechanisms that gave the changer a certain degree of security. A sliding top plate created a distance between changer and customer, thus making theft less likely: the weighing and actual exchange of the coins happened in view of the customer but out of his reach; money was handed over on the table top once the table had been closed. In addition, the table has many hidden drawers and a solid lock.

Moneychangers were an essential element of the multi-currency economic system that prevailed in the Middle Ages. Their shops were located near the gates of towns to attract travellers and foreign traders who wanted to exchange their money into local currency. Although they were their own masters, changers were strictly supervised by the public authorities. It was their task to remove from circulation any counterfeit coins or damaged coins that had lost their value.

Starting in the 13th century, most of the moneychangers who came to settle in our region came from the Lombard provinces of Italy, where the term banco – from which we get the word “bank” – was used to refer to this table. The expression “bankruptcy” comes from banco rotto, which in Italian means “broken bench”. Indeed, creditors literally destroyed a moneychanger’s table if he could no longer guarantee the loans that had been granted.