The Government Museum, Chennai has a rich collection of the ancient, mediaeval and modern Indian coins, gold, silver, copper, lead, potin and billion. Besides these there is a representative collection of foreign coinage. The Museum had, up to 1865 AD, only a very small collection of coins in its cabinet. Under the Treasure Trove Act all finds unearthed anywhere in the state are sent to this Museum by the Revenue authorities for examination and if it is decided that they are worth acquiring, they are acquired by the Government for the Museum. Most of the North Indian coins are donated by North Indian Museums and institutions such as the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, the Asiatic Society, Nagpur, the U.P. Coin Committee, Indian Museum, Calcutta and so on.