There are many museums in the city of Yazd, each of which exhibits the life and culture of the people of this desert city from a different angle. Yazd Museum of Coins and Anthropology, which is located in the Arabzadeh House of this city and is also known as the Heydarzadeh Coin Museum, is a specialized museum for displaying coins from ancient times to modern times.

Where Is the Coin and Anthropology Museum of Yazd Located?

This museum is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods of this city called Fahadan. In the past, this neighborhood, which houses many important historical sites, was considered one of the aristocratic neighborhoods of Yazd City.

Since most of the exhibits of this museum were collected through the efforts of Hossein Heydarzadeh over the years 1956 to 2004, the museum was named as the Heydarzadeh Museum.

Who Was Heydarzadeh?

Hossein Heydarzadeh was born in Yazd in the year 1934 AD and in addition to being the champion of Yazd Province in the field of wrestling, he was also active in the field of teaching exceptional children. Besides being a teacher, he was also engaged in goldsmithing and spent a long part of his life collecting works related to ancient Iranian civilization and is, therefore, also known as the father of Iran’s Museum. Heydarzadeh passed away due to a heart problem in the year 2021 AD.

Features of the Coin and Anthropology Museum of Yazd

Coin and Anthropology Museum is located in Arabzadeh House. The works of the museum are exhibited in 10 saloons and a large hall.

The presence of nearly five thousand old coins of gold, silver, copper, and brass belonging to the pre-Islamic period to the present times makes this museum very special.

In addition to the coins, some anthropological items such as cooking equipment and tools (stone pots, copper pots, and pots), decorative items, and objects used for holding rituals and ceremonies are also displayed in the museum. A thousand objects related to 42 historical periods (from the Achaemenid era until now) can be seen in the museum. There are also some samples of silver, agate, amber, and brass ornaments as well as documents and manuscripts on display in this museum.

The other objects on display in this museum include agate and brass rings, chains, lighting devices (tallow lamps, candle and oil lanterns and train guiding lights), dozens of locks, and war tools.

Arabzadeh House of Yazd

This house, which now houses the Coin and Anthropology Museum of Yazd was built with an infrastructure of about 800 square meters during the Qajar era (19th century). The house was inscribed on the list of Iran’s national heritage in the year 2003 AH and has been serving as the Heydarzadeh Coin Museum since 2004.

Architecture of the House

The main entrance of this house is located in the southeast of the building and opens to a vestibule. There is a staircase on the left side of the vestibule to access the roof. A stable and a corridor leading to the yard have been built under the staircase and on the right side of the vestibule respectively. Plastering is the most important decoration of this part of the house. The presence of a skylight provides lighting for the entrance of the house.

The direction of the courtyard of the Arabzadeh House is south-north, and there is a large pond in the middle of it. The entrance to each of the rooms located around the courtyard is beautifully decorated. This way of decoration has given an exemplary balanced view to the building.

The summer hall of the house, which is located in its northern part, has several five-door and three-door rooms. The five-door rooms have wooden doors with colored window panes.

There is a room called “Balakhaneh” (lit. upper house) in the mansion, which was used to accommodate guests. There is a large kitchen in one corner of the house, and the basement is located under the five-door rooms.

There are many museums in the city of Yazd, each of which exhibits the life and culture of the people of this desert city from a different angle. Yazd Museum of Coins and Anthropology, which is located in the Arabzadeh House of this city and is also known as the Heydarzadeh Coin Museum, is a specialized museum for displaying coins from ancient times to modern times.