In the 1960s, the Bank of Cyprus started building a collection of ancient coins through purchases from European Houses, which it bequeathed to the Cultural Foundation in 1984. The initial collection comprised a bronze coin of the Roman period bearing the inscription KOINON KYPRION [confederation of Cypriot cities] which, as a symbol of the oldest Pan-Cypriot union, became the official emblem of the Bank of Cyprus. The illustrated folio Cyprus: 2500 Years of Coinage traces the development of Cypriot coinage through the centuries.