🏛️ Kvareli Money Museum: 26 Centuries of Georgian and World Currency

If you are searching for the National Bank of Georgia's Money Museum in Tbilisi, the key thing to know upfront is that the museum has moved. The collection, which was previously housed at the NBG's Tbilisi building, is now in Kvareli, in eastern Kakheti. The relocation was a deliberate choice: Kvareli is the birthplace of Ilia Chavchavadze, whose name is inseparable from the history of Georgian banking.

This is the only museum in Georgia dedicated entirely to money. Other Georgian museums include old coins as a side exhibit alongside something else. Here, money is the subject: from the earliest coins minted on Georgian soil in the 6th century BC to the notes and coins in circulation today.

🏛️ History: From Independence Anniversary to Kakheti

The museum was founded in 2001, the year of the 10th anniversary of Georgian independence, with the support of the National Bank. It opened initially in Tbilisi, at the main NBG building, and from the start assembled a collection of several thousand objects.

The decision to relocate to Kvareli followed a clear rationale: this is where Ilia Chavchavadze was born, the writer and public figure who founded Georgia's first people's bank in the late 19th century and established the tradition of organised financial life in the country. At the opening in Kvareli, NBG Executive Director Giorgi Melashvili said: "Kvareli is where the great Ilia was born. His name is connected with establishing Georgia's banking tradition. It is entirely logical to open a museum here that introduces visitors to the history of money." Today the museum occupies the ground floor of the National Bank building on Rustaveli Street.

What the Collection Contains

2,987 objects covering 26 centuries, from the 6th century BC to the present. The collection is arranged chronologically, and each section tells the story of who passed through this land.

Colchian Tetri, 6th century BC. The earliest coins minted on the territory of present-day Georgia. Small silver squares with a granular surface, nothing like a conventional coin, but these were the first money of Colchis.

Antiquity and Neighbouring Powers. A stater of Alexander the Great, coins of the Roman Republic and Empire, Parthian and Sassanian drachms, Georgian-Sassanian coins with Georgian inscriptions on Persian blanks, Arab-Georgian dirhems. Each coin is a trace of trade or conquest.

Georgian Kings. Coins of Demetre I, Giorgi III, Queen Tamar, Giorgi IV Lasha and Rusudan. The golden age of Georgian statehood in the 12th and 13th centuries is reflected in its currency. Also here: a silver coin minted in Tbilisi (then Tiflis) in 1387, during the era of Timur.

Medieval Europe and the East. Venetian ducats, the Turkish altun, the Iranian abazi, Austrian and Polish thalers, Trabzonian aspers. The Mongol period has its own dedicated section.

Modern Times. Georgian-Russian coins minted in Tbilisi between 1804 and 1834, after Georgia's absorption into the Russian Empire. Paper money from 1917, issued after the revolution. Coins minted in honour of Shota Rustaveli, Akaki Tsereteli and Ilia Chavchavadze.

The Modern World. One hall is entirely given over to contemporary money from every continent: notes and coins arranged geographically. A separate display covers currency designs that never entered circulation.

📚 Educational Programmes

The museum operates as more than an exhibition. For schoolchildren there are two programmes: "Journey into the World of Money" and "What Wealth Tells Us." For students: "Money in Georgia: Past and Present," "Money and Taxation Systems in Georgia," and "Functions and Activities of the National Bank." These are structured guided tours with visual materials, not conventional lectures.

Temporary exhibitions run throughout the year. Recent examples include a 2019 exhibition on Soviet Georgian currency and a 2021 display on coins of the Georgian kingdom. Current exhibitions are listed on the official website moneymuseum.nbg.gov.ge.

📍 Getting There

The museum is in the centre of Kvareli, at 10 Rustaveli Street, in the National Bank building. From any central point in town it is a few minutes on foot.

🚗 By car: approximately 110 km from Tbilisi via Telavi, around 1.5–2 hours. From Telavi to Kvareli is 35 km, about 40 minutes.

🚌 Minibuses to Kvareli depart from Samgori station or Isani metro in Tbilisi. Journey time around 2 hours, fare approximately 10–12 GEL. Check the return schedule in advance.

🗺️ What to See Nearby

Kvareli sits close to several strong Kakheti destinations. The Money Museum pairs well with any of them in a single day.

Gremi Citadel and Church of the Archangels. A 16th-century royal complex about 15 km from Kvareli: a fortress tower, the Church of the Archangels and views across the Alazani Valley. One of the finest architectural monuments of late-medieval Kakheti.

Nekresi Monastery. On a hillside above the Alazani Valley, about 15 km away. Several churches dating from the 4th to the 8th centuries and an open terrace with mountain panoramas. Access is by shared jeep shuttles from the base.

Khareba Wine Tunnel. 7.7 km of underground tunnels carved into the rock for wine storage, with tastings and tours. Located near Kvareli.

Kvareli itself is a quiet, pleasant town with a park and a promenade along the Duruji River. All sights in the area are listed in the Kakheti section on Madloba.

Have you visited the Money Museum in Kvareli? Leave a review on Madloba — share what stood out from the collection, whether you joined a guided tour and how the journey from Tbilisi went. It helps others planning the same trip.

Information current as of June 2026. Opening hours and programme schedules may change — confirm by phone or on the official website before travelling.

Read also

• Ilia Chavchavadze Museum in Kvareli: History and Exhibits