The coin collection
The deepest part of the museum: Spanish and foreign series arranged chronologically, with pieces from the ancient world.
Martinevans123 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ángel M. Felicísimo from Mérida, España — CC BY 2.0 · Ángel M. Felicísimo from Mérida, España — CC BY 2.0 · Martinevans123 — CC BY-SA 4.0
No, not ahead of the Prado, the Thyssen and the National Archaeological Museum. It is a second-tier specialist museum, better suited to a second visit to the city, to coin collectors and people interested in economic history, or to families with teenagers. Since it is free, you lose little by looking in briefly and leaving.
The nearest Metro is O'Donnell on line 6, a few minutes' walk away, with Goya (lines 2 and 4) as a second option and a slightly longer walk. The museum sits inside the mint building on Calle del Doctor Esquerdo, east of the Retiro, so it combines easily with the park or with the Salamanca district on the same day.
Yes, admission is normally free, no advance booking is required and there is rarely any queue. Closing days and opening times do change, though, so check the official site before you set off, especially around public holidays.
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The museum belongs to Spain's national mint and stamp works, the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, and its subject is money itself: coins, banknotes, medals, dies and engraving tools. The collection is large, running from the coinage of the ancient world through to the peseta and the euro, with machinery showing how money is actually made. Entry is free and the rooms are usually near empty, which is the real appeal: no booking, no queue, unlike the Prado or the Reina Sofia. The presentation is traditional, cases and wall panels, with labelling mostly Spanish-first. Honestly, it is not worth a day of a short trip. On a first visit with three days in Madrid, the Prado, the National Archaeological Museum and the Royal Palace come first. It earns an hour if coins or economic history interest you, if you are in Madrid a second time, or if you want a free, quiet stop near Salamanca and the Retiro. The nearest Metro is O'Donnell on line 6. The museum has its own entrance at Doctor Esquerdo 36, inside the mint complex, and the official site is worth a check before you go.
The deepest part of the museum: Spanish and foreign series arranged chronologically, with pieces from the ancient world.
Dies, machinery and engraving tools set out the stages of production and anti-counterfeiting, which is what really sets the place apart.
A section on stamps, stamped paper and lottery tickets, the Timbre half of the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre.
Calle del Doctor Esquerdo 36, 28009 Madrid