KÜNKER Exklusiv: Fall Auction Sales 391-394 and further interesting numismatic topics

FROM THE AUCTION AND GOLD MARKET

Dear valued customers,

Dear coin enthusiasts,

The fourth catalog 394 comprises coins and medals from medieval and modern times, including the collection of Trier issues by Prof. Dr. Alois Memmesheimer, silver “multiple portraits” from the Westphalian private collection as well as coins of the German Empire.

You see: our Fall Auction Sales are truly international. This also reflects the European vision that Maître Robert Schuman wanted to express with his collection and which continues to be an important pillar of European integration. Europe keeps getting more united, and this can also be seen in our auction sales. They remind us that, despite our differences, we share a common history and common values.

As usual, our latest Künker Exklusiv is published right before the start of our next auction sale.

On 25 September 2023, our Fall Auction Sales 391-394 will begin, and we would like to cordially invite all of you to attend the event at the Vienna House Remarque in Osnabrück. In a total of four catalogs, we present more than 4,000 lots from medieval and modern times. You can find a detailed auction preview on pages 2 and 3.

The sale will kick off on Monday, 25 September 2023, with gold issues from around the world (auction 391). Among other things, this catalog includes two special collections: the collection of European coins of the Luxembourg notary Maître Robert Schuman as well as the collection of “multiple portraits” from a private collection in Westphalia. You will find more information on both collections in this Künker Exklusiv.

On Tuesday afternoon, it is time for the second part of the Dr. Hans-Jürgen Loos Collection – “Hesse and the Hessian Territory” (auction 392). The about 600 lots include numismatic objects from seven centuries. The collector did not aim to assemble a complete collection but to provide an overview of minted Hessian history.

Moreover, we have the pleasure of offering one of the most extensive and beautiful collections of Dutch coins in collaboration with Laurens Schulman B.V. (auction 393). It is the first part of the Lodewijk S. Beuth Collection – Coins from the Netherlands and the Dutch overseas territories since 1795. The about 1,200 objects will be auctioned of on Wednesday (27 September) and Thursday morning (28 September).

The article “The Batavian Republic” goes into more detail on this collection (pages 8 and 9).

Our Fall Auction Sales, however, are not the last event in our auction year: from 13 to 15 November 2023, we will offer World Coins from the ancient world as well as orders and decorations in Osnabrück. There will be a separate Künker Exklusiv for the November sale that you can look forward to. We still accept consignments for our Berlin Auction Sales in February as well as our Spring Auction Sales in March 2024, just contact our customer service.

Within the framework of our popular lecture series, where Prof. Dr. Johannes Nollé visits numismatic associations throughout Europe to hold lectures on requested numismatic subjects, this Künker Exklusiv issue presents the lecture that was held in Mainz (pages 10 to 12). The Mainz Numismatic Society chose the topic “Dionysus, God of Wine, as a Model for Biblical Traditions About Jesus”. If you are interested in a numismatic lecture evening, please feel free to contact us.

Moreover, this issue marks the start of a small series with articles on numismatic institutions that we would like to introduce. You can find the first part on the numismatic collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. on pages 14 and 15. Last but not least, we will review the important sale of the Salton Collection on page 16, which we held between January 2022 and June 2023 in collaboration with the U.S. auction house Stacks Bowers’ Galleries. Almost USD 20 million was raised as a sign of reconciliation and remembrance to benefit three charitable organizations.

Finally, we hope that you enjoy reading this Künker Exklusiv and look forward to seeing you again in person soon.

Kind regards from Osnabrück,

Dr. Andreas Kaiser Ulrich Künker

Our Fall Auction Sales 391 to 394 from September 25 to 29, 2023 in Osnabrück

Hesse, Trier, France, the Netherlands and Multiple Portraits

From 25 to 29 September 2023, our Fall Auction Sales will be held at Vienna House Remarque in Osnabrück. You can look forward to several special collections. Separate catalogs are dedicated to coins from Hesse and the Netherlands. In addition, there is a large section with European gold coins, a collection of Trier issues and a special collection focusing on “multiple portraits”.

We present an interesting mix of selected individual pieces and extensive special collections Two collections were honored with a separate catalog: catalog 392 contains the second part of the Dr. Hans-Jürgen Loos Collection with coins from Hesse and the Hesse region. Catalog 393 presents the first part of the Lodewijk S. Beuth Collection with coins from the Netherlands and the Dutch overseas territories minted after 1795.

Catalogs 391 and 394 include many outstanding individual pieces and more special collections. At this point, we limit this list to the comprehensive collection of rare European gold coins of excellent quality from the estate of the Luxembourg notary Robert Schuman, the Trier special collection assembled by Prof. Dr. Alois Memmesheimer and – last but not least – an outstanding collection of “Multiple Portraits” from a private collection in Westphalia.

The Maître Robert Schuman Collection

Once again, a coin collection will be auctioned off for a good cause. The Luxembourg notary Robert Schuman (1953-2022) determined in his will, that the proceeds from his collection of rare gold coins of excellent quality will benefit the Luxembourg Red Cross. So, submitting bids for coins from the Schuman Collection is a twofold pleasure: you will not only acquire a magnificent treasure from an exquisite ensemble but also support the Red Cross to fulfill its many humanitarian missions.

Maître Robert Schuman collected for many decades. His main focus was on royal France. His collection of French issues dates from Philippe VI (1328-1350) to Napoleon III and also contains some coins from the following three republics. The last coin was issued in 1986 to honor his name twin. We wrote a separate article on this subject that you can find on page 13.

But the collection also covers other areas. It contains some great rarities, for example the extremely fine and very rare 5-guinea piece from 1692 with the double portrait of the British rulers William III and Mary. By the way, the two pieces from this collection with the highest estimates are not made of gold but of platinum: the extremely rare 12-ruble pieces created for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia in 1830 and 1841.

Lot 264: Great Britain. William III and Mary, 1688-1694. 5 guineas 1692, London. Very rare. Extremely fine.

Estimate: 20,000 euros

Lot 458: Russia. Nicholas I, 1825-1855. 12 rubles, platinum, 1841, St. Petersburg. Only 75 specimens minted. NGC MS61. Extremely fine to FDC (Prooflike).

Estimate: 50,000 euros

“Multiple Portraits” from a Private Collection in Westphalia

When assembling a collection, there are a myriad of subjects to choose from. A Westphalian collector was fascinated by a particular topic: he focused on coins and medals that not only show the portrait of one but of several rulers. This very special collection is distributed among both catalogs 391 and 394 due to the many countries and territories where such coins and medals were created. Keep your eyes open! It is a rare pleasure to discover so many double portraits in one of our catalogs. You can find out more about this topic in the article “A Matter of Diplomacy” on page 6 and 7.

Lot 4705: Sweden. Frederick I, 1720-1751. 2 riksdalers 1727, Stockholm. Very rare. Very fine.

Estimate: 5,000 euros

Lot 961: Westphalia. Hieronymus Napoleon, 1807-1813. Gold medal of 12 ducats, commemorating the visit of the royal couple to the Clausthal mines in 1811, by W. Körner. Very rare. Extremely fine.

Estimate: 7,500 euros

Lot 4825: Holy Roman Empire. Leopold I, 1657-1705. Silver pedigree medallion n.d. (1690), commemorating the coronation of his son Joseph as King of Germany in Augsburg, by M. Brunner. Very rare. Extremely fine.

Estimate: 4,000 euros

Lot 5777: German Empire / Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 1915 pattern of 5 marks. Extremely rare. Proof.

Estimate: 5,000 euros

Hesse and the Hessian Territory: The Dr. Hans-Jürgen Loos Collection

On the afternoon of 26 September 2023, the second part of the extensive collection of Dr. Hans-Jürgen Loos will be on offer. It contains coins from Hesse and the Hessian territory. The Loos Collection includes a total of about 1,400 pieces, the first part of which has already been sold rather successfully last year as auction catalog 374. At the time, a broad double reichstaler from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg fetched a hammer price of 65,000 euros. The reason for this was its great rarity. Only a single other specimen is known of. Since the second part of the collection also contains many extremely rare pieces, we are looking forward to many interested collectors.

Dr. Hans-Jürgen Loos was actually an economist. He was responsible for the accounting of the large business group Metallgesellschaft AG. To wind down in his free time, he studied Hessian history and numismatics. He was so enthusiastic about the topic that he returned to university as a retiree and started studying history. This passion is also evident from his collection. He wanted to document the historical development of the Hessian territories. Therefore, he paid particular attention to expressive pieces with unusual depictions. That is why his collection is so attractive.

Are you interested in Hesse? Then you should look forward to the second and last part of the Loos Collection with issues from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, the County of Erbach, the City of Frankfurt am Main, the Imperial Castle of Friedberg, the County of Isenburg as well as counties and duchies of Nassau and Stolberg.

Lot 2249: Frankfurt. 1620 broad double reichstaler. Extremely rare. Very fine.

Estimate: 7,500 euros

Lot 3002: Netherlands / Batavian Republic. 2 ducats 1802, Dordrecht. Extremely rare. About FDC.

Estimate: 10,000 euros

Lot 2028: Hesse-Darmstadt.

Ernst Ludwig, 1678-1739. Reichstaler 1715, Darmstadt. Extremely rare, likely the only specimen in private hands.

About extremely fine

Estimate: 7,500 euros

Lot 3111: Netherlands.

Louis Napoleon, 1806-1810. 20 guldens 1808, Utrecht. Extremely rare. About FDC.

Estimate: 40,000 euros

Lot 2171: Erbach.

George Louis, 1647-1693. 60 kreuzers (gulden), 1675, Breuberg. Spruchgulden (motto gulden). Extremely rare. Very fine.

Estimate: 4,000 euros

Lot 2484: Friedberg.

Johann Eberhard von Kronberg, 1577-1617. 1593 double reichstaler, Friedberg. Probably unique. Minor traces of mounting. Very fine. Estimate: 20,000 euros

Lot 2519: Isenburg.

Carl Frederick, 1806-1815. 2 ducats 1811, Frankfurt am Main. Very rare. Extremely fine.

Estimate: 7,500 euros

Coins of the Netherlands and the Dutch Overseas Territories since 1795: The Lodewijk S. Beuth Collection, Part 1

Actually, Lodewijk Beuth only wanted to buy a little gold for “emergencies” when he set foot in Jacques Schulman’s coin shop in Amsterdam’s Keizersgracht for the first time in 1950. But Schulman convinced him to also purchase a few coins of historical interest. And this is how Lodewijk Beuth was bitten by the numismatic bug. He aimed to assemble the best collection of Dutch coins, both in terms of coin types and quality. And those who page through Künker’s auction catalog 393 cannot help but confirm that he achieved this. Beuth was successful in obtaining high-quality specimens from all years of many coin types and, moreover, also found the corresponding patterns. To this end, he participated in outstanding auction sales. To mention just one example, he purchased almost 30 rarities from the collection of the Egyptian King Farouk, auctioned off in 1954! The collector, who passed away in 1982, was lucky enough to collect in an era when many collections that are famous to this day entered the market. His son Hein filled some gaps, which is why it is not a stretch to say that Künker, in collaboration with the Laurens Schulman coin shop, presents in catalog 393 the most extensive and most beautiful collection of Dutch coins that has entered the market since 1988.

Part 1 of the Beuth Collection contains issues minted after the founding of the Batavian Republic in 1795. Particularly remarkable about this part of the collection are the many extremely rare patterns, which can hardly ever be found in the market. They are not only from the Farouk Collection but from the estate of J.C.P.E. Menso, whose impressive collection was sold by Jacques Schulman in 1958. This means that many coins that are depicted in this catalog have not been offered for decades. Our author Margret Nollé wrote an article on the Batavian Republic that you can find on page 8 and 9.

Lot 3232: Netherlands.

William I, 1813-1840. 1815 pattern for the silver ducat (reichstaler), Utrecht, minted for the trade with countries on the Baltic Sea. Silver. Only 12 specimens minted.

First strike. About FDC.

Estimate: 30,000 euros

Lot 3395: Netherlands.

William II 1840-1849. 20 guldens 1848, Utrecht “Dubbele Negotiepenning”. Pattern without denomination but with indication of weight and gold content. Only 94 specimens minted. Proof.

Estimate: 25,000 euros

Lot 3465: Netherlands.

William III 1849-1890. 2 ducats 1867, Utrecht. Only 8 specimens are known of. Proof.

Estimate: 40,000 euros

Lot 3524: Netherlands.

William III 1849-1890.

1 gulden (100 cents) 1867, Utrecht, minted for the world’s fair in Paris. Only a few specimens known! Not in the Dutch National Numismatic Collection (NNC). Proof.

Estimate: 50,000 euros

Lot 3696: Netherlands.

Wilhelmina, 1890-1948. 2 ½ guldens 1898, Utrecht.

Silver pattern with altered edge inscription. Unique? Proof, minimally touched.

Estimate: 50,000 euros

Coins and Medals from Trier: The Prof. Alois Matthias Memmesheimer Collection

From the Netherlands we travel to Trier, the old archbishopric on the Moselle River. Prof. Alois Matthias Memmesheimer has also assembled a collection of almost 100 lots on the subject of Trier. After Künker auctioned off the Memmesheimer Collection of Mainz issues in March 2023, now it is Trier’s turn in Künker’s auction 394. The time frame ranges from the 11th to the late 18th centuries. In addition, there are a few ancient coins.

Lot 5227: Trier.

Eberhard, 1047-1066. Pfennig. Very rare. Very fine.

Estimate: 1,000 euros

Lot 5265: Trier.

Richard von Greiffenklau-Vollrads, 1511-1531. 1523 gold medal with the weight of three gold guldens.

Extremely rare (just one gold specimen under “Vienna” in the Habich catalog, Baron L. von Rothschild Coll.). Traces of mounting. Fields chased. Very fine.

Estimate: 5,000 euros

Lot 5270: Trier.

Lothar von Metternich, 1599-1623. 1607 reichstaler, Trier.

Extremely rare. Extremely fine.

Estimate: 15,000 euros

Lot 5307: Trier.

Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, 1768-1794. 1773 conventionstaler, Koblenz. First strike. About FDC.

Estimate: 5,000 euros

Large Series and Individual Pieces

As if this were not enough, experts will discover many spectacular individual pieces and numerous extensive series in auctions 391 and 394. Let us start with a small run of Danish coins, distributed among both catalogs 391 and 394. Lovers of Italian gold coins will also be spoilt for choice: which one of the many rare 100-lire pieces should they add to their collection? The same problem arises for all those interested in US gold coins. About 60 lots are on offer in this section.

Of course, auction 391 will also offer Habsburg tenfold-ducats of the kind that the emperors had produced for diplomatic purposes. Another rarity, however, is only seldomly seen on the market: the portrait denarius of Charlemagne. Only about 40 specimens are known of this historically and numismatically important coin.

What other lots should we mention? There is, for example, the really rare 1707 ruble minted on behalf of Peter the Great at the Moscow Kadashevsky Mint. It is from the Hutten-Czapski Collection, as the conspicuous collector punch proves. Of course, auction catalog 394 also includes numerous coins from the German Empire, including the rarest type among all imperial gold coins: the 20-mark piece from 1872 with the portrait of Ernest II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Lot 890: German states / Münster.

Ferdinand of Bavaria, 1612-1650. 4 ducats n.d., Münster. NGC AU58.

Extremely rare. Extremely fine.

Estimate: 35,000 euros

Lot 29: Denmark.

Christian V, 1670-1699. 1692 ducat, Copenhagen. Very rare, especially in this quality. Extremely fine to FDC.

Estimate: 20,000 euros

Lot 959: German states / Schwarzenberg.

Johann Nepomuk, 1782-1789. 10 ducats 1783, Vienna.

Extremely rare. NGC MS65*.

Minor adjustment marks on the obverse. About FDC.

Estimate: 175,000 euros

Lot 257: Greece / Corfu. Under Venetian administration. Gold medal of 15 ducats commemorating the defense of Corfu from 25 July to 20 August 1716, by P. H. Müller. Extremely rare. Minimally tooled on the edge. Extremely fine.

Estimate: 30,000 euros

Lot 4534: France / Carolingians.

Charlemagne, 768-814. Denarius, 813/4 or a little later, Aachen.

Of the highest rarity and great historical and numismatic importance. Very fine.

Estimate: 40,000 euros

Lot 383: Italy.

Victor Emanuel III, 1900-1946. 100 lire 1903, Rome. Only 966 specimens minted. NGC MS62. Extremely fine to FDC.

Estimate: 7,500 euros

Lot 639: USA. 20 dollars 1907, Philadelphia.

NGC MS62. Very rare.

Extremely fine to FDC.

Estimate: 10,000 euros

Lot 4891. German States / Brandenburg-Prussia.

Joachim I, 1499-1535. 1521 taler, Frankfurt / Oder. Very rare. Very fine.

Estimate: 80,000 euros

Lot 683: Holy Roman Empire. Ferdinand III, 1625-1637-1657. 10 ducats 1640, Prague. Very rare. With small face value

“10” in the field on the obverse.

Very fine to extremely fine.

Estimate: 60,000 euros

Lot 5677: German Empire. Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernest II, 1844-1893. 20 marks 1872.

Very rare. Above-average quality. About extremely fine.

Estimate: 60,000 euros

By the way, our auction year does not end with our Fall Auction Sales! From 13 until 15 November 2023, ancient coins as well as orders and decorations from across the world will be on offer in Osnabrück.

Künker at the World’s Fair of Money

Since the turn of the millennium, Künker auction house have participated in every World’s Fair of Money. The event is organized by the largest coin collectors’ association in the United States. The American Numismatic Association (ANA) – which must not be confused with the American Numismatic Society (ANS) – was brought to life in 1891. Its members can be found in every U.S. state and the organization has focused on U.S. coinage for more than a century. Ever since 2000, however, the ANA has become more and more international. We from the Künker auction house attend the show every year to foster this interest in European numismatics and to get in touch with our customer base in the U.S. After all, the American market is still one of the most active and interesting ones in the world.

Pittsburgh

ANA members can be found throughout the U.S. Therefore, the ANA founding fathers decided that the most important coin show in the numismatic year should not be tied to one place but travel from city to city. In August 2023, it was held in Pittsburgh, the Steel City that became world-famous thanks to Andrew Carnegie. To this day, Pittsburgh’s cityscape includes the many skyscrapers that were created in the style of the turn of the century. It is a pity that most of them are empty now and in need of renovation work. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh was more successful than many other major American cities in completing the shift from a city characterized by heavy industry to a modern city that revolves around the services sector.

The 2023 World’s Fair of Money

The ANA’s coin fair took place within walking distance from downtown Pittsburgh. The David L. Lawrence Convention Center modern and has a huge hall where about 400 dealers met for an entire week. Unlike European coin shows, the World’s Fair of Money does not focus on being a trade fair but on being a place where the annual meetings of the many numismatic associations take place, which have emerged under the umbrella of the ANA. Therefore, two or three days are not

enough to accommodate all the meetings. As a result, business at the fair is much more relaxed than at comparable European events because the public has six days to explore the show.

Künker as an Exhibitor

To us, the World’s Fair of Money is very important as a means to present the material of our upcoming auction sales. Therefore, we took preliminary copies of the catalogs for our Fall Auction Sales with us. The interest was great, as Ulrich Künker describes: “At the World’s Fair of Money, we don’t sell coins but promote our auctions. That’s important because many U.S. collectors are interested in European coins. There was also a lot of interest in our upcoming Fall Auction Sales.” Elena Welzel adds: “All the chats with customers are fascinating and impactful. In personal

conversations, collectors often tell me that they are interested in coins from the areas where their ancestors came from. So, also in the U.S., there is a great interest in World Coins.” Fabian Halbich sees an additional benefit to the World’s Fair of Money: “For me, the ANA’s show is a great opportunity to gather material for our auction sales. Many U.S. dealers consign interesting pieces to us.”

No matter from what angle you look at it: the World’s Fair of Money is an important date in our annual planning process. We have already decided that we will also attend the show next year. Would you also like to come to the event? Then save the date: the next World’s Fair of Money will be held from 6 to 10 August 2023 in Chicago.

More than 400 exhibitors gathered at the 2023 World’s Fair of Money in Pittsburgh.

Photo: UK.

It is always fun to chat with customers on site. Left to right: Fabian Halbich, Elena Welzel and Ulrich Künker.

Photo: UK.

A Matter of Diplomacy

“Multiple Portraits on Coins and Medals – A Private Collection from Westphalia”: this is the title of a special collection that will offered in our Fall Auction Sales. The pieces of this collection can be found in catalogs 391 and 394, where they have been inserted according to the catalogs’ numismatic sorting and can be identified by the remark “Exemplar der westfälischen Privatsammlung ‘Mehrfachportraits auf Münzen und Medaillen’”. The ensemble contains beautiful coins and medals that do not depict – as is usually the case – a single ruler but several at once. In this way, the collection sheds light on the early modern way of thinking: explore with us how issues of ceremonial protocol affected the creation of coin designs.

Auction

on their coins and medals, they claimed the highest rank for themselves.

Another indicator that underlines the importance of a person is, of course, their size. Do you see anyone in the painting who is taller than Emperor Maximilian? Of course not. Everyone else is smaller.

“After you”? No way.

On 30 September 1661, a parade of envoys gathered to escort the new Swedish ambassador to the English king for his inaugural visit. The Problem: both the French and the Spanish ambassador had been given strict orders by their monarchs to lead the procession in their carriage. After all, the position at the head of the parade demonstrated that one’s country was recognized as the leading power of Europe.

The situation escalated. On their way to the royal palace, the French and the Spanish fought for the first place – literally. The Spanish killed both the horses of the French carriage as well as some embassy staff who had tried to stop them, not to mention the onlookers who ended up as collateral damage in this fight. Although the Spanish were the first to arrive at the royal palace, Louis XIV then demanded the Spanish king to apologize, threatening to start a new war. The Spanish king could not afford such a war against France and backed down. In this way, France had asserted its position as Europe’s leading power.

Are you wondering how this episode is related to coins?

The answer is simple: it demonstrates how serious Europe’s monarchs took questions of rank and power. Whenever two people met, these questions had to be considered – also on coins and medals.

The Rules of Appearance

There were strict rules that dictated how members of the nobility were to be portrayed, and these rules even applied to “family portraits”. The place of honor was reserved for the highest-ranking family member in the picture, in the case of this painting (img. 1), Emperor Maximilian. Therefore, he stands on the right.

On the right? Are you confused because you see him on the left? Well, put it to the test: put yourself in the shoes of Emperor Maximilian. You will realize that all others are to his left, i.e., the side for those that are of a lower rank than you. The fact that rulers in the early modern period usually had themselves depicted looking to the right on coins is for this very reason:

Let us take a look at the woman. It is Archduchess Mary of Burgundy, who had already deceased long before this painting was created in 1515, even before her husband had been elected King of the Romans. To respect protocol, she is depicted in a lower position compared to her son, Philip the Handsome, who had also died before this painting was created. After all, he had advanced to become King of Castile, a good reason why he is standing to his mother’s right.

At last, a glance at the children: Besides the position at the right, a raised middle position can also be used to indicate a superior rank. Therefore, the grandchildren of the imperial couple are arranged precisely according to their rank, which is determined by their time of birth: In the middle – taller than the others due to his hat – is Maximilian’s eldest grandson and heir, the future Emperor Charles V. To his right, somewhat smaller, is the second-eldest grandson, Ferdinand I, who was later to become ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands. To Charles’ left, and thus in the lowest position in the painting, is Louis II of Hungary, who married a granddaughter of Maximilian I in 1515. The family portrait was actually created for this very wedding. It is quite interesting that even though Louis II was the most important person at this event, he is depicted in a way that clearly demonstrates his low rank.

The Coronation of Ferdinand I as King of the Romans

Keeping these considerations in mind, you will understand why a coin that was minted on the occasion of the coronation of Ferdinand I as King of the Romans (img. 2) depicts Emperor Charles V, Ferdinand’s brother, in the foreground. The new king is to his left. The circumscription obviously also mentions Charles first and then Ferdinand: the Emperor is naturally of a higher rank than the King.

Was It Possible for Two People to Be of the Same Rank?

Well, matters of protocol can obviously sometimes give room for a little interpretation. Christian Wermuth, for example, created a medal (img. 3) and wanted to make sure that it was to the liking of Augustus the Strong of Saxony. It depicts Ernest and Albert, the founding fathers of the two lines of the House of Wettin: Ernestine and Albertine branch. The problem: at the time of the division of the lines, there could be no doubt that Ernest was superior to his brother since he was the older one and a prince-elector. But Augustus the Strong was from the Albertine line. Therefore, Wermuth was interested in making Augustus’ ancestor look as close to the rank of his brother as possible.

How did he achieve this? He took advantage of the fact that every coin – sorry – every medal has two sides, and it can be difficult to determine which one is the more important obverse and which one the less important reverse. Wermuth opted to depict one brother on one side each, with both portraits being of the exact same size, enabling both brothers to be in the place of honor. Well, Wermuth could not do anything against the fact that Ernest was an Elector. Thus, he had to depict Ernest with the sword of the Elector and an ermine cloak. But to compensate for this, he had Albert depicted with the Golden Fleece.

Sometimes, these rules can help us understand what contemporaries thought about a situation. A good example is this medal on the subject of the Congress of Erfurt. It was created by Friedrich Wilhelm Facius (img. 4). He was the skilled son of a merchant, and Goethe himself enabled him to be trained as an engraver.

In 1808, this very Facius created two medals for the Congress of Erfurt. Who commissioned the medals? We do not know that but can conclude what happened even without taking a look at official documents. For this purpose, we first have to examine the reverse legend of the second medal of this series, which depicts a city view of Erfurt on the obverse. The legend reads: NAPOLEONI GRATA CIVITAS, which translates as “To Napoleon (from) the grateful city”.

Img. 1: The family of Emperor Maximilian I by Bernhard Strigel, created after 1515.

Img. 2: The Holy Roman Empire. Silver medal commemorating the coronation of Ferdinand I as king in Aachen. Broad specimen on a heavy blank. Very rare. Original strike. Very fine to extremely fine.

394, Lot 4803, estimate: 2,000 euros

Img. 3: Saxony. Frederick Augustus I (Augustus the Strong). Silver medal n.d. (around 1700) commemorating the founders of the Ernestine and the Albertine lines, by Chr. Wermuth. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Auction 394, Lot 5116, estimate: 1,000 euros

Img. 4: 1808 silver medal by F. W. Facius commemorating the Congress of Erfurt. Very rare. About FDC. Auction 394, Lot 4665, estimate: 1,500 euros

Img. 5: Reuss. Heinrich XXX, 1748-1802. Silver medal commemorating the wedding with Louise Christiane of Palatinate-Birkenfeld in 1773, by J. L. Oexlein. Very rare. About FDC.

Auction 394, Lot 5082, estimate: 2,500 euros

brother of Francis I Stephan of Lorraine. And this very Francis Stephan was the husband of her older sister, Maria Theresa.

In other words: the two people who got married at this wedding were virtually the mirror image to the relationship between Maria Theresa and Francis Stephan before he became Emperor one year later.

This explains why Charles Alexander had to be depicted in a lower position than Maria Anna. Maria Theresa could not allow for the House of Lorraine to be depicted on the same level as the Habsburgs. And this was of crucial importance when it came to designing this medal.

Therefore, it is all the more remarkable that the parvenu Napoleon virtually pushed his imperial bride into the background of their wedding medal (img. 9). Napoleon proudly announced his title in the legend – Emperor and King –while the emperor’s daughter Marie Louise is simply referred to as “of Austria”. Her father in Vienna probably turned purple with rage when he saw the medal.

The Wedding of Louis XV and Marie Leszczinska

The treaties were then signed in alphabetical order. The Pope was the only one – thanks to the express wishes of the Tsar –who was granted the privilege of signing first in case he should attend the congress in person.

Of course, old customs cannot disappear all at once. But today’s diplomats certainly are much more relaxed when it comes to the rank of their country than they were in early modern times.

A Window to the Past

So, please keep this background in mind when studying the catalog of the Westphalian private collection of multiple portraits. You will gain completely new insights into the courtly world of the early modern period. Let us give the last word to Roland Trampe, who looks after this special collection: “To me, coins are windows to the past. They tell of things that I’m not familiar with from my daily life, but they have left a mark that is still visible in our age. The collection ‘Multiple Portraits on Coins and Medals’ has been assembled for decades with much enthusiasm, persistence and joy. We will offer it in several auction sales. I hope that the new owners will be just as thrilled about the pieces as the Westphalia collector!“

Ursula Kampmann

Img. 6: England. William III and Mary. Silver medal commemorating their coronation in 1689, by J. Smeltzing. Very rare. About FDC.

Auction 394, Lot 4564, estimate: 2,500 euros

There is another special rule you have to keep in mind when figuring out the rank of those depicted on coins. Take a look at the royal couple of Louis XV and Marie Leszcinska, the daughter of the Polish king, at their wedding (img. 10). Both of them are at the front near the altar: the groom on the right, the bride to his left. They turn towards each other and shake hands. This is depicted on the reverse of this medal.

In fact, the Principality of Erfurt was a French enclave in Thuringia at the time, to which Napoleon had invited Tsar Alexander I. By showing off all his charisma and glory, the French Emperor wanted to secure the full support of this inconsistent ally.

The medal illustrates how the relationship between Napoleon and the Tsar was perceived in Erfurt: Napoleon is depicted in the place of honor, and although Alexander is depicted as being of the same size and on the same level, his position is a little lower in terms of protocol.

The Hierarchy of Marriage

We do not have to sugarcoat this. In the past, women were of a lower rank than men. This is demonstrated by the fact that when it came to depicting married couples, the wife was in a position that was associated with an inferior rank. This can perfectly be seen on a silver medal issued by Henry XXX of Reuss for his wedding with Christiane of Palatinate-Birkenfeld in 1773. He is depicted in the place of honor. Although both are on the same level, this small difference cannot be ignored (img. 5).

As mentioned above, it was the norm to assign women the lower rank compared to men. Here are two more examples for this: a silver medal commemorating the joint coronation of William III and Mary following the Glorious Revolution (img. 6) and a gold medal commemorating the anointing of the Danish royal couple on the day of the Queen’s birthday in 1840 (img. 7).

But how is it to be interpreted when, for once, a woman is depicted in the foreground, as it is the case on this gold medal (img. 8)? To understand this, we have to take a closer look at the historical context and, especially, at the bride and groom.

The bride is Maria Anna, the younger sister of Maria Theresa of Austria. She had already fallen for Charles Alexander of Lorraine at a young age, the younger

Now you will realize that, between bride and groom, the priest is depicted one step above them. This is due to the ceremonial rights of the Church, which grant its representatives a superior rank. The Pope is of a higher rank than the emperor, and his representatives in church rank even higher than the king.

After you, sir!

All these ceremonial rules that every politician, every diplomat, every official had to know inside out are water under the bridge today. They actually took a back seat at a very specific point in time, the Congress of Vienna.

Let us remember: Napoleon had turned the world of European nobility upside down. Time-honored imperial estates had been abolished with a single stroke of the pen in the Imperial Recess of 1803. Napoleon had turned dukes into kings. In short, he had created a chaos that even the most skilled diplomats could not have untangled.

Therefore, they did not even try to but got rid of protocol all together when they met for negotiations at the Congress of Vienna (img. 11). Emperor, king, prince or minister – whoever arrived first, got in first. Being the first to enter a room was no longer associated with one’s rank, so it was easy to do without this custom.

Img. 7: Denmark. Christian VIII. 1840 gold medal commemorating the anointing of the royal couple on the Queen’s birthday in 1840 by Chr. Christensen. Very rare. Extremely fine.

Auction 391, Lot 36, estimate: 1,000 euros

Img. 8: Holy Roman Empire. Gold medal of 3 ducats, commemorating the wedding of Maria Anna with Charles Alexander of Lorraine in 1744 by M. Donner. Extremely rare. Very fine to extremely fine / Extremely fine.

Auction 391, Lot 689, estimate: 3,000 euros

Img. 9: France. Napoleon I. Gold medal of 5 ducats for his wedding with Marie Louise on 1 April 1810 by A. Galle and J. P. Droz. Extremely fine.

Auction 391, Lot 204, estimate: 2,500 euros

Img. 10: France. Louis XV. 1725 gold medal of 4 ducats for his wedding with Marie Leszcinska by N. Roettiers. Very rare. Extremely fine.

Auction 391, Lot 150, estimate: 2,500 euros

Img. 11: Contemporary depiction of the attendees of the Congress of Vienna – their position in the painting was no longer of any importance with regard to protocol.

The Batavian Republic (1795-1806)

“Holland owes its independence to the French alone; as long as it was tied to England, it was beaten ...” Napoléon

In our upcoming auction 393, we will offer what is probably the largest and most beautiful collection of coins from the Netherlands and the Dutch overseas territories minted between 1795 and 1805. They testify to a short-lived but eventful period in the history of the Netherlands, whose guiding principles such as popular sovereignty, separation of powers and equality of all citizens, were based on the ideals of the French Revolution.

The old Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, which had been internationally recognized since the 1648 Peace of Münster, ended in 1795. The proclamation of the “Batavian Republic” was the culmination of a development that had already begun in the Netherlands in the last quarter of the 18th century. Democratic forces inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment disliked the close links between a merchant aristocracy, which also made up the senior civil service, and the House of Orange-Nassau, which had held the office of hereditary stadtholder of the Netherlands since 1747, and thus had the supreme command over the Dutch army and fleet. Part of the freedom-loving Dutch no longer wanted to accept the power to be concentrated in the hands of a few people. By the 1780s, the republican movement of the “Patriotten” (Dutch for patriots) had emerged. They met with opposition from the “Orangists”, who were loyal to the stadtholder from the House of Orange. After some half-hearted defense efforts and losses of colonial territories by Orangist admirals in the Fourth English-Dutch War, the republicans campaigned for a complete abolition of the office of stadtholder. Under their influence, the States General stripped William V in 1786 of his captain-general and admiral titles. William fled to England; his wife, Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia, took over the hereditary stadtholdership for her husband. She was fearless and wanted to travel from Nijmegen to her residence in The Hague in 1787, but was stopped by republican patriots near Gouda. Stretching the truth, she told her brother, King Frederick William II of Prussia, that she had been “dishonorably imprisoned” and urged him to help. In September 1787, 25,000 Prussian soldiers marched

into Holland and restored William V’s position as stadtholder. A major part of the republican insurgents fled to France and demanded the French revolutionary government to enforce its democratic ideals in the Netherlands.

After his return, William V immediately forged an alliance with Prussia and England, the main enemy of revolutionary France. On 2 February 1793, France declared war on the Dutch Republic and Great Britain. In the winter of 1794/95, French troops under the command of General Jean-Charles Pichegru conquered the Netherlands, and William fled to England once again. The republican Dutchmen, who had returned from French exile and had even formed their own contingent during the military conflicts, proclaimed the “Batavian Republic”. The name was based on the West Germanic tribe of the Batavians who had settled at the mouth of the Rhine around 50 BC. In line with the spirit of the French Revolution, this name was associated with the idea of an original people that could decide freely and was not under the rule of “an outsider” in a feudal system.

The Batavian Republic concluded a peace treaty with France in The Hague on 16 May 1795, which imposed several harsh conditions: The “Habsburg Netherlands”, which included the exclaves of Maastricht, Venlo, Luxembourg and Limburg (roughly the area of today’s Belgium), were annexed by the French Republic. Moreover, the new Dutch Republic had to provide for 25,000 French soldiers on its territory and pay 100 million guilders to cover France’s war expenses. In January 1796, a national assembly was elected following the French model; the Orangists, however, were excluded from the election. The National Assembly gathered on 1 March 1796 in The Hague. Whereas the Netherlands had been a more or less loose confederation of states made up of the “Seven United Provinces” up to that point, the Batavian Republic was a unitary state with a centralized government. Two parties opposed each other in parliament: the “aristocrats”, who wanted to preserve the old federalist system, and the “democrats and unitarians” who were in favor of a centralized state.

An initial constitution, adopted in May 1798, focused on the French principle of representation and divided the country into eight departments. However, due to internal disputes, this first constitution was rather short-lived. In October 1801, a new constitution was passed. It guaranteed the equality of all citizens as well as religious freedom, and it abolished guilds and ecclesiastical societies as well as all feudal rights. The new seal of the state depicted the old lion of the States General with the sword in its right paw and a bundle of arrows. The circumscription is the old motto of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands “Concordia res parvae crescunt” (“Small things flourish by concord”). Its origins can be traced back to an ancient saying, the first occurrence of which can be found in the description of the “Bellum Jugurthinum” (“The Jugurthine War”) by the Roman historian Sallustius (about 86-35 BC).

The coins of the new republic were inspired by those of the Seven United Netherlands issued before 1795. An 1802 2-ducat piece of excellent condition (img. 1) from the Dordrecht mint depicts on the obverse a knight with a sword on his shoulder and a bundle of seven arrows in his hand, representing the seven provinces of the Netherlands. The knight is a symbol for the resistance of the Dutch nation. The circumscriptions repeat a variation of the motto of the Republic “CONCORDIA RES – PAR(vae) CRES(unt), HOL(landia)” for the province of Holland. The reverse reads in a plate the legend “MO(neta) ORD(ine) PROVIN(ciarum) FOEDER(atarum) BELG(icae) AD LEG(ibus) IMP(erii)” (“coin issued on behalf of the United Belgian Provinces according to the laws of the empire”), referring to the fact that the 1583 Dutch rijksdaaler was issued according to the standards of the reichstaler as stipulated in the 1566 minting ordinance of the empire. Regarding silver coins of the Batavian Republic, a showpiece from Utrecht (img. 2) shows on the reverse a knight with his sword in hand on a horse jumping to the right. The legend reads “MO(neta) NO(va) ARG(entea) CON-FOED(erationis) BELG(icae), PRO(vincia) TRAI(ectanorum)” (“new silver coin of the United Belgian Provinces, Province of Utrecht”). The image of the “silver horseman” originates with a draft for Philip the Good of Burgundy (1419-1467), who had this motif featured on his gold coins, the so-called “cavaliers d’or”, which illustrated his great enthusiasm for chivalry. At the time, the Netherlands were part of the Duchy of Burgundy. The reverse shows the crowned escutcheon of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands held by two lions. A crowned, upright lion is depicted standing to the left, the seven arrows in its left paw and a drawn sword in its right. Below we can see the year 1798 in a cartouche. An interesting coin type is represented by a 3-guilder piece from Dordrecht of outstanding quality with a depiction of Batavia on the reverse (img. 3), leaning on a Bible, which is depicted upright on an adorned pedestal. The legend reads “HAC NITIMVR – HANC TVEMVR” (“This is what we lean on – this is what we protect”), below the year 1795.

The voluntary army of the “Patriotten” gathered in Utrecht on 12 October 1782. Painting by an unknown master between 1786 and 1800, Centraal Museum in Utrecht.

The Batavian Republic lost large parts of its colonial territories as an enemy of the coalition against France: Dutch Guiana, the Dutch Cape Colony and Ceylon became British. In 1796, a fleet of nine ships of the Batavian Republic tried to win back the Cape Colony, which had been occupied by British troops since the previous year. This ended in a military disaster of the Batavian navy that went down in history as the Capitulation of Saldanha Bay. In this bay on the south-west coast of South Africa, the British fleet trapped the Dutch, who had landed there. The Dutch admiral Engelbertus Lucas had to surrender his ships to the British without a fight. This meant that the Cape Colony had definitely been lost to the British. The other colonies, which had temporarily fallen under the control of Great Britain, did not come under Dutch administration again until 1814. The overseas trading system of the Netherlands was severely disrupted and the docks and shipyards of the former Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Middleburg, Rotterdam and Enkhuizen were shut down in 1803.

Napoléon, who had been the absolute ruler of France since 1801, appointed Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck on 5 April 1805 as Grand Pensionary (political leader) of the Batavian Republic and granted him unlimited powers. Schimmelpenninck had been sent to Paris in 1803 as an envoy of the Batavian National Assembly, where he gained the Emperor’s trust. In addition to several good reforms, especially in the financial sector, Schimmelpenninck introduced a new constitution for the Republic on 5 April 1805. However, a severe eye disease increasingly prevented him from conducting the affairs of state. Napoléon, who regarded Holland to be nothing but “alluvial deposits of the French rivers”, took political advantage of this and gave the Batavian Republic an ultimatum: either the Netherlands agreed to become a monarchy ruled by an imperial prince (one of his brothers) or he would turn the entire country into a French military department. Behind this was his intention to have a reliable representative on the spot to enforce the Continental System against England. On 5 June 1806, he appointed his brother Louis as King of Holland, not without admonishing him: “My prince, never stop being French!” But his plan turned out to be a complete miscalculation. Louis Bonaparte did not turn out to be a willing

receiver of the Emperor’s orders but thought of himself as a Dutchman from the very moment he ascended the throne: “Gentlemen! Rest assured that I have become a Dutchman in the very moment I set foot on the soil of this Kingdom. Every man is at the mercy of their birth place. And I used to be French once. Now I have a new fatherland ...”

To the annoyance of his brother, Louis succeeded in winning over the population, achieved lasting improvements in all areas within his short time as king and unconditionally championed the matters that were close to the Dutch. Many reforms that were initiated under his rule still influence the country today. When he also began to undermine Napoléon’s Continental System in the interest of the Netherlands, the Emperor considered his brother to be an enemy of France. After some argument, this led to the abdication of the King on 2 July 1810. With the Rambouillet Agreement of 9 July 1810, the Netherlands became French départements.

The historical review at the end of this politically turbulent period of Dutch history leads to the conclusion that the Batavian Republic had failed: the republican movement had turned the Netherlands into a de facto powerless vassal state of revolutionary, and later Napoleonic, France, which ultimately ended in the establishment of a monarchy. The appointment of Louis Bonaparte as king marked the end of the republican form of government in the Netherlands to this day. But even Napoléon himself admitted at the end of his reign: “I should not have annexed the Netherlands. This contributed a great deal to my downfall”.

Margret Nollé

Auction 393 - Lot 3002

Batavian Republic.

2 ducats 1802, Dordrecht.

Extremely rare. Showpiece with magnificent gold toning.

About FDC.

Estimate: 10,000 euros

Auction 393 - Lot 3036

Batavian Republic.

Ducaton (silver horseman) 1798, Utrecht.

Of great rarity. Fine toning, extremely fine.

Estimate: 3,000 euros

Auction 393 - Lot 3071

Batavian Republic.

3 guilders 1795, Dordrecht.

Very rare variety. Showpiece with magnificent patina.

Extremely fine-FDC.

Estimate: 1,000 euros

Künker Lectures in Mainz and Speyer

Time and again, Künker supports numismatic associations that contribute to fostering the interest in numismatics and provide the collectors within their communities with much support and inspiration. Numismatic associations are of utmost importance when it comes to ensuring that collectors can regularly and profoundly engage in the study coins, medals and orders. In addition to supporting these associations, our auction house also does a great deal to contribute to expanding the knowledge of coins and their historical backgrounds. A deep understanding of many historical epochs combined with the knowledge of a variety of different cultures creates open-minded and tolerant people, who learn from history and can deal with the many problems of their own era in a calm and rational manner. Therefore, we provide numismatic associations with the possibility of inviting our Scientific Consultant Prof. Dr. Johannes Nollé to hold a lecture for their members. Within this program, Johannes Nollé visited the “Numismatische Gesellschaft Mainz-Wiesbaden von 1921 e.V.” on 12 May 2023 and the “Numismatische Gesellschaft Speyer” on 5 July 2023. On 19 September, he will be at the “Verein der Münzfreunde” in Hamburg and give a presentation on “Men and Wild Boars” – a topic that has recently gained unexpected relevance due to a wild boar that haunted Germany’s capital and was mistaken for a lioness. Coins and medals illustrate the subject “Men and Wild Boars” from ancient to modern times through a variety of different angles. It becomes clear that the perception of this animal changed time

and again throughout history. The numismatic society of Mainz has been headed and inspired by Dr. Karl Ortseifen since 2009.

The trained scholar of English and American Studies has authored numerous interesting reference books. Moreover, he is credited with the publication of the “Festschrift zum hundertjährigen Bestehen der Numismatischen Gesellschaft Mainz-Wiesbaden von 1921 e.V.”, which was published by Battenberg in 2021. Beyond his numismatic commitments, Karl Ortseifen is also an outstanding expert in the history of the city of Mainz and its coinage. When he returned from Mainz, Johannes Nollé enthusiastically told us: “Within a short amount of time, he told me so much about Mainz and its history that I now know Mainz almost as well as my hometown, Aachen – which is also steeped in history. Moreover, I was pleased to welcome and meet the important collector and expert on Mainz coinage, Professor Dr. Eckhart Pick, at my presentation.”

Johannes Nollé received an equally wonderful introduction to the city of Speyer from Dr. Wolfgang Dreher, the chairman of the numismatic society of Speyer. Last year, the retired BASF chemist, who is an expert in the history of southwest Germany, introduced Johannes Nollé to the eventful history of the Speyer Cathedral and its imperial and royal tombs. This year’s visit to this large and very active association was used to take a close look at Speyer’s old synagogue and the tomb crowns of the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire buried in the

cathedral. “A place like the old synagogue in Speyer allows us to experience the tragedy of Jewish life in Germany,” comments Johannes Nollé. After the lecture, the Speyer visit was rounded off by a dinner in an atmospheric restaurant right opposite the Memorial Church of the Protestation in Speyer with its statue of Luther and its beautiful glass windows that tell the story of the Reformation. The dining coin enthusiasts were also joined by Dr. Barbara Simon, the President of the German Numismatic Society (Deutsche Numismatische Gesellschaft), who had come to Speyer for this lecutre.

Consultant at Künker

We would like to share the lectures that were held in Mainz and Speyer with the readers of our Künker Exklusiv and present the Mainz lecture on the following pages.

Professor Johannes Nollé, Scientific

Julia Kröner und Inja MacClure

Foto: Dr. Andreas Pangerl

People’s Pride in Their Grapevines and its Result: Dionysus, God of Wine, as a Model for Biblical Traditions About Jesus

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It is impossible to imagine Greek culture without wine. The Mediterranean trinity of olive trees, grain and grapevines could be found everywhere in the Greek cultural region. Grapevines are a particularly sensitive crop and so, to ensure that they thrived, people everywhere worshipped the patron god of wine-making and fruit: Dionysus. However, Dionysus’ role went far beyond that of a vegetation god who made the vines grow so that they bore juicy grapes for good wine. He became one of the most popular and well-loved deities among the Greeks and also the Romans, who usually called him Bacchus. Dionysus was also a god of wine and pleasure, as well as the associated celebrations that formed and shaped communities. With his intoxicating drink, this god delighted and inspired people, and gave them a preview of paradise. In this respect, too, the Christian religion borrows elements from the god of wine: it states that wine, which according to Christian belief is changed into the blood of Christ, grants eternal life.

According to the beliefs handed down in Greek myths, the gods of the Greeks and Romans were not eternal, but in fact had a beginning: like people, they were born. Only after that did they, being immortal, go on to exist forever. The birth of a god as a child on earth provided people with tangible proximity to, and therefore assistance from, the divine. This child-form of god required people to love and care for the divine child that had come to them. Christianity, which in its formative phase was aimed at the people of antiquity, was unable to resist this “pagan” idea of the emergence of a god and, particularly in the Gospel of Luke, adopted a number of traditions about the birth of Dionysus: the Christian God was also born in an unremarkable place under precarious circumstances. The problem with this relatively young religion, however, is that the God of the Christians, despite having been born in Bethlehem, was supposed to be eternal like his father,

and so the Council Fathers of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) agreed on a creed that was difficult, if not impossible, to understand rationally: “I believe...in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.”

Since Dionysus was so popular, many stories were told about his birth in Greek myths. We know of well over 50 cities that, in the many local versions of the birth myth, claimed that the newborn Dionysus was raised on their territory and had, with his birth, conferred dignity and sanctity on the city in question.

Dionysus was a son of Zeus, whom the latter had fathered with his Theban lover Semele. The pregnant Semele was proud to have been chosen by a god and to carry his child in her womb. So, in her arrogance, she demanded that Zeus appear to her, not as a human, but in his divine form. Since Zeus had promised to grant her whatever she wished, he was forced to appear to her as a god, as Semele insisted that he honor this promise. So, Zeus had no choice but to appear to her in the divine fire of lightning. The unfortunate Semele burned to death. Christian tradition explains the origin of Jesus in a similar way. In the New Testament, too, God associates with a mortal, but he treats the mother of Jesus much more gently: although she is touched by the “breath of God” and overshadowed by the “power of the Most High”, she does not have to burn in the process.

At the last moment, Zeus tore the unborn Dionysus out of the burning Semele’s womb and implanted the fetus in his thigh, where he carried it. After nine months, he pulled the baby out of his thigh and gave him to his son Hermes or directly to a nurse. One coin from Nysa-Scythopolis (now Bet She’an in Israel) depicts Zeus pulling baby Dionysus out of his thigh (img. 1); another shows him having already handed the baby over to the nurse Nysa (img. 2). Like almost all coins from this city, these are not very well preserved due to a long period of circulation.

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An ancient literary source tells us that the adult Dionysus buried his nurse himself in Nysa-Scythopolis, where he also founded the city of Nysa in her memory. In one inscription found there, a citizen refers to Dionysus as the city’s founder. Much more commonly, however, variations of the Dionysian birth myth assert that Hermes carried the baby Dionysus to a hidden place at the edge of the known world, where he could grow up undisturbed. The child’s life was under threat from the jealous wife of Zeus – named Hera –who wanted to kill the child. There are coins from numerous cities that depict Hermes – who was also the result of an affair between Zeus and a mortal woman – carrying Zeus’ child in his arms to a remote location. Sagalassos (img. 3), located in the mountains, minted entire series of coins referencing Dionysus and stylizing the city as the place of his childhood. On a coin featuring the portrait of Emperor Nerva (96-98), Hermes is depicted on the reverse hurrying to Sagalassos, carrying baby Dionysus in his left arm. He does not touch the holy child with his bare hands, but rather carries him wrapped in a cloth (img. 4). An extremely rare coin from the Lydian city of Tmolos, located in the mountain range of the same name (img. 5), depicts on its obverse Emperor Hadrian (117-138) and his intended successor Lucius Aelius Caesar (136-138). The reverse depicts the mountain god Tmolos with the baby Dionysus, who was brought to him by Hermes. The gnarled mountain god has accepted the wine god into his mountain range; he respectfully uses his fur mantle to hold the child (img. 6). Even today, it is still customary in the Catholic Church for the priest to handle the monstrance for the host with a little cloth rather than their bare hands.

Img. 1: Bronze coin from Nysa Scythopolis in Palestine: Gordian III // Zeus pulls Infant Dionysus from his thigh (Nomos AG, obolos 20, 3 October 2021, Lot 461).

Img. 2: Bronze coin from Nysa Scythopolis in Palestine: Gordian III // Zeus has given Infant Dionysus to the wet nurse Nysa (CNG Triton XXV, 11 January 2022, Lot 5239).

Img. 3: View of the upper Agora from Sagalassos in Pisidia (JN).

Img. 4: Bronze coin from Sagalassos in Pisidia: Nerva // Hermes carries Infant Dionysus away (M & M 16, 19 May 2005, Lot 808).

Another coin from Sagalassos, featuring the bust of Emperor Claudius Gothicus (268-270), depicts on its reverse Hermes arriving in Sagalassos. He is seated on a rock, representing the mountain town of Sagalassos, and in his outstretched left arm he holds baby Dionysus, who is turned, also with arms outstretched, towards the people who have welcomed him. In his lowered right hand, Hermes holds his herald’s staff, the kerykeion (img. 7).

The most beautiful depiction of the arrival of Hermes can be found on a mosaic in a house in Nea Paphos on Cyprus (img. 8). At the center of the image is the seated figure of Hermes with small wings attached to his head and his feet. He holds the baby Dionysus, in a cloth with veiled hands, and again the infant outstretches its arms towards the human, welcoming him. The head of the divine child is surrounded by an aureole, a symbol that is often described as a ‘halo’: the birth of God enlightens the world. Behind Hermes is the personification of the birth of god (Theogony) and someone who brings divine

food for the child (nectar). The wet nurse Ambrosia and the god’s future foster father (Tropheus) – who is called Joseph in the New Testament – rush towards the baby Dionysus. To the left are three nymphs, water goddesses, that prepare a bath for the newly born child. Behind them is the future educator and teacher of the child (Anastrophe), depicted in a gesture of humility, and the personification of the town of Nysa, who is pointing towards the child. After all, legend had it that Dionysus grew up in a town called Nysa. This was deducted from his name, which can be interpreted as “God of Nysa”. Many locations – for example in Palestine, Arabia, India and Asia Minor – claimed to be the Nysa that is the place of Dionysus’ birth. In the bottom left corner of the image, a rose has sprouted from a tile-like pot, which is now in bloom. The Christmas carol “Lo, how a rose e'er blooming”, the Christmas rose the so-called Barbara branches, which are put into water on 4 December and blossom on Christmas, have their origin in this “pagan” tradition.

The bath of baby Dionysus was a symbol that was picked up by Christianity, although the Bible does not mention that newly born Jesus was bathed. There are many images from medieval and modern times that focus on the bath of Infant Jesus; in this way, the tradition of Dionysus was directly incorporated into the Christian idea of the birth of Jesus without the help of Luke the Evangelist. At this point, it is enough to refer to an apsis mosaic in the monastery church of Hosios Lukas near Delphi that depicts the birth of Christ. Succeeding the nymphs, two women bath the newly born Infant Jesus (img. 9).

After the bath, the baby Dionysus was placed inside a winnowing fan, which is referred to as “liknon” in Greek. The liknon, a flat, woven basked, was used by ancient farmers to separate the pod of the grain (the chaff) from the grain itself. This agrarian technique led to our saying “to separate the wheat from the chaff”. A work of the French painter Millet shows a man working with such a basket (img. 10). With the winnowing fan, the products of threshing were thrown into the air; while the heavy grain fell back into the basket, the light chaff was blown away by the wind. In winter, when the harvested grain had long been threshed and winnowed, the liknon was often used for another purpose.

Img. 6: Bronze coin from Tmolos in Lydia: Hadrian and Aelius Caesar // Mountain god Tmolos holds Infant Dionysus in his arms (CNG Triton XV, 3 January 2012, Lot 1393).

Img. 7: Bronze coin from Sagalassos in Pisidia: Claudius Gothicus // Hermes, sitting on a rock with Infant Dionysus (CNG E-Auction 194, 20 August 2008, Lot 127).

Img. 5: Mount Tmolos (today Boz Dağ) in Lydia (JN).

Img. 8: Mosaic in Nea Paphos: Receiving the divine child in Nysa (JN).

Img. 9: Apsis mosaic in the monastery church of Hosios Loukas: Newborn Infant Jesus is given a bath (JN)

Img. 10: Oil painting by Jean-François Millet, Le vanneur/The Winnower, Louvre.

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which was also moved to winter time, the liknon was replaced by a manger – another agricultural tool used for grain. A beautiful coin from the city of Nicaea (today’s İznik) shows the bust of Julia Domna on the obverse, the wife of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211) and the mother of Emperor Caracalla (198-217) (img. 11). On the reverse, the newly born Infant Dionysus sits in a liknon with its arms outstretched to welcome humankind and draw attention to himself. The wickerwork of the basket is clearly recognizable. Behind the child is the thyrsus staff. It is a sort of scepter of Dionysus, which is wrapped in vine leaves and ivy and has a pine cone as its crown. All three plants were seen as symbols of indelible life in antiquity.

Many cities associated their wine culture with the birth of Infant Dionysus. They said that the newly born god of wine gave them particularly good vines and thus the base for an excellent wine. This is recalled by numerous coins, depicting the baby Dionysus with a grape in its hand. One example for this is a coin from Serdica (today’s Sofia in Bulgaria) with the portrait of Emperor Caracalla on the obverse. The reverse shows Infant Dionysus sitting in the winnowing fan, in its right hand the thyrsus staff and in his left the grapes he brought (img. 12). A similar scene is depicted by a coin from the Hellenistic period from the small town of Ophrynion (today’s Erenköy or İntepe) in the Troad region (img. 13). To this day, excellent wine is produced there.

They slammed their swords against the shields so that the cries of the baby Dionysus could not be heard by anyone. This scene is depicted on a coin from the city of Magnesia on the Maeander with the portrait of Marcus Aurelius Caesar (139-161) (img. 14). The Christian tradition turned the noise of swords and shields into a choir of angels that sang when Infant Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

The parallels between the Christmas story as told by Luke the Evangelist and the mythical traditions of the birth of Dionysus cannot be overlooked. It is very possible that it was Nysa Scythopolis in Palestine in particular that inspired the author of this Gospel. Greek myths had also spread throughout Jewish Palestine after Alexander the Great had conquered this territory, and especially the story of the birth of Infant Dionysus was met with great interest. We should not be surprised by this, after all, even people who are skeptical or even dismissive of the Christian religion like to celebrate Christmas. They might even attend a Christmas service and listen to the story of the nativity of Jesus in a festive mood.

Newly born babies were put inside and the liknon served as their bed. Both ways of using the basked represent symbols of fertility and new life. The image of Dionysus in a winnowing fan was interpreted as an expression of the hope that the gods grant fertility to humankind and its land; therefore, Dionysus was also referred to as Liknites (which translates to: the child from the winnowing fan). At the birth of the Christian god,

Jesus’ life is said to have been threatened by King Herod, who feared to lose control because the stargazers from the Orient believed the newly born child to be the future king of the Jews. Legend has it that his fear ended with the non-historical infanticide in Bethlehem. As mentioned above, Dionysus was persecuted by Zeus’ jealous wife Hera. Even though the child was brought up in a secluded place, Hera might have found the child because it was crying. To muffle the sound of the baby’s crying, warriors, which were referred to as Korybantes, performed a weapon dance that included singing and making noise with their weapons, surrounding the child.

Brno – Our Representative Office in Czechia

Brno is located at the southern border of the Czech Republic, near Vienna and Bratislava – but Prague and Budapest are not far away either. One of our two representative offices run by Petr Kovaljov is located there. He will assist you with expert advice and assistance regarding all fields of numismatics and phaleristics. Bohemian numismatics and the coins of the Moravian region are two special chapters of monetary history that Petr Kovaljov is particularly interested in.

For collectors from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary or Lower Austria, our office in Brno is the best and quickest way to directly get in touch with us. Mr. Kovaljov is glad to answer all questions on upcoming coin auction sales and accepts consignments of coins, medals and orders for our auction sales.

Künker Czechia c/o Petr Kovaljov Kotlarska 266/3 602 00 Brno

Czechia

Telephone: +420 603 811 031

E-Mail: petr.kovaljov@kuenker.de

Johannes Nollé Johannes Nollé

Img. 11: Bronze coin from Nicaea in Bithynia: Julia Domna // Dionysus in the winnowing fan (Helios 6, 9 March 2011, Lot 340).

Img. 12: Bronze coin from Serdica in Thrace: Caracalla // Dionysus in the winnowing fan with grape (Numismatik Naumann 12, 2 February, Lot 340).

Img. 13: Bronze coin from Ophryneion in the Troad region: Hector // Infant Dionysus with grape (Numismatik Naumann 106, 1 August 2021, Lot 199).

Img. 14: Bronze coin from Magnesia on the Maeander: Marcus Aurelius Caesar // Two Korybantes dance around Infant Dionysus (Numismatik Savoca, Online Auction 25, 16 September 2018, Lot 473).

The Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul (Cz.: Katedrála sv. Petra a Pavla), the seat of the Diocese of Brno in the Moravian city of Brno. It is located on the Petrov hill in the city center.

The building of our representative office in the beautiful center of Brno.

Our representative in Brno: Petr Kovaljov.

Auction 391: La Collection “Maître Robert Schuman”

Numismatics in the Field Between History and European Visions

The late Luxembourg notary Robert Schuman (who was born on 20 May 1953 in Luxembourg and passed away there on 7 June 2022) did not only bear the same name as the French statesman, famous founding father of Europe and visionary of a peaceful union of European nations, who was born in Luxembourg as a citizen of the German Empire (on 29 June 1886 in Clausen, deceased on 4 September 1963 in ScyChazelles). The two Robert Schumans were also descendants of the same distinguished family.

As a German, the future French statesman Robert Schuman completed his law degree at German universites and opened a law office in Metz in 1912, a city which – like Strasbourg – belonged to the Alsace–Lorraine territory of the German Empire at the time. After the First World War, Schuman became a French citizen, was a long-time member of the French National Assembly, and, in 1947, advanced to become France’s Prime Minister before being appointed Foreign Minister from 1948 until 1952. The foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community and the vision of a European union are inseparably linked to the name of Robert Schuman.

The Luxembourg notary Maître Robert Schuman was certainly inspired by the ideas of his famous relative. His friend JeanPierre described him this way: “He was a seasoned globetrotter (who crisscrossed the world all over), a great collector, who wanted to preserve and pass on a piece of our history.”

Preserving and passing on history is the aim of many coin collectors, who therefore play an important role in ensuring that future generations can also learn about the past. Coins are among very few cultural assets that can be bought as historical testimonies. If, for example, you possess a gold coin of the Sun King Louis XIV (who ruled from 1643 to 1715), you probably want to know more about this king, who shaped the absolutist era with his slogan: “L´Etat c´est moi!” (“I am the state!”). And, therefore, it is not surprising that the collection of Maître Robert Schuman contains almost 50 gold coins of the legendary Sun King. Robert Schuman collected exclusively gold coins, and the section of France with about 200 specimens is one of the highlights of this ensemble. When assembling it, he was assisted by the well-known Luxembourg numismatist Romain Probst (who passed away in Luxembourg on 3 April 2023 at the age of 86), whose expertise and advice were of great help to him. The part of the collection with European gold coins will be offered in auction 391 during our Fall Auction Sales from 25 to 29 September 2023 in Osnabrück.

In our Winter Auction Sales from 13 to 15 November 2023, we will then auction off more than 100 ancient gold coins from the Maître Robert Schuman Collection, including a series of Roman aurei – a special focal point of this ensemble.

Like his name twin, the collector Maître Robert Schuman was very attached to the concept of European integration. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is an important part of the European Union today and promotes the numismatic tradition with its own coin collection – the numismatic world acknowledges and highly respects this achievement.

With our catalogs, we want to keep the memory of Maître Robert Schumann alive: nummi docent, coins teach us about history. The same holds true for this collection.

Fritz Rudolf Künker

Lot 126 – Kingdom of France. Louis XIV, 1643-1715.

Double louis d'or au soleil 1710, D, Lyon.

Very rare. Attractive specimen with fine gold toning, extremely fine.

Estimate: 3,000 euros

Lot 43 – Kingdom of France. Jean le Bon, 1350-1364. Mouton d'or n.d. (1355).

Extremely fine.

Estimate: 2,500 euros

Lot 88 – Kingdom of France. Louis XIV, 1643-1715.

Double louis d'or à la mèche longue 1648 N, Montpellier. Of great rarity. Very fine.

Estimate: 7,500 euros

Lot 101 – Kingdom of France. Louis XIV, 1643-1715.

Double louis d'or à l'écu 1691 K, Bordeaux Rare, especially in this quality. Showpiece. Traces of an overstrike, extremely fine-FDC.

Estimate: 5,000 euros

Lot 115 – Kingdom of France.

Louis XIV, 1643-1715.

Double louis d'or aux huit L et aux insignes 1702, A, Paris. Very rare. Minor traces of overstrike, extremely fine.

Estimate: 3,000 euros

Lot 253 – French Republic.

5th Republic since 1958.

10 francs in gold 1986.

Celebrating the 100th birthday of Robert Schuman. In the original case with certificate. Proof.

Estimate: 350 euros

Lot 264 – Great Britain.

William III and Mary, 1688-1694.

5 guineas 1692 (4th year of the reign), London.

Very rare. Attractive specimen with fine gold toning, minor rim nick, extremely fine.

Estimate: 20,000 euros

Lot 267 – Great Britain.

William III, 1694-1702.

5 guineas 1701 (13th year of the reign), London.

Rare. Beautiful patina, minor blank error, very fine-extremely fine.

Estimate: 15,000 euros

Lot 275 – Kingdom of Great Britain. George II, 1727-1760.

5 guineas 1753 (26th year of the reign), London.

Very rare. Minor scratch, about extremely fine.

Estimate: 15,000 euros

Numismatic Collections Around the World: The Smithsonian Institution

The national numismatic collection in Washington D.C. is home to 1.6 million objects. This might actually make it the world’s largest collection of means of payment. In this article, we introduce you to the Smithsonian Institution, and want to start a small series with it. From now on, numismatic institutions that we consider remarkable will be featured in our Künker Exklusiv issues in irregular intervals.

Those who travel to Washington D.C. cannot do without visiting the Smithsonian Institution. It is the largest museum complex on Earth with about 154 million objects, and hundreds of new objects are added on a daily basis. Almost 30 million visitors explore the 19 museums, 21 libraries and 9 research centers, the zoo and the botanic garden every year. Most visitors can be found in the eleven museums at the famous National Mall, which is framed by the Capitol on one side and the Washington and Lincoln Memorials on the other. Which of the 19 museums should you as a coin collector go to? Well, all of them. Almost every museum contains pieces from what is probably the largest numismatic collection in the world, containing a total of 1.6 million objects.

How the Smithsonian Institution Came into Being

The story of the founding of the Smithsonian Institution is far too good not to be told. Actually, its origins can be traced back to 1816, when some Washington citizens took it upon themselves to found the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Science. But things did not truly evolve until the United States received an unexpected inheritance: James Smithson, the son of Elizabeth Hungerford Keate Macie and Hugh Percy, Duke of Northumberland, bequeathed his immense fortune to the U.S.

He was an illegitimate child and therefore had no legal claim to the inheritance of his ancestors. Therefore, he was rather obsessed with the thought of leaving a mark so that his name would be remembered by future generations. This is evidenced by a passage from his writings: “The best blood of England flows in my veins; on my father’s side I am a Northumberland, on my mother’s I am related to Kings, but this avails me not. My name shall live in the memory of man when the titles of the Northumberlands and the Percys are extinct and forgotten.”

And, indeed, his name is still remembered today because his inheritance came with a provision: he wanted his money to be used to found the so-called Smithsonian Institution for the purpose of expanding and spreading the knowledge of mankind. To this intent, he gave the incredible amount of 104,960 English sovereigns to the U.S., which were sent to Washington via ship in 1838 in eleven boxes. There, the government had them minted into gold dollar coins and spent them on creating the Smithsonian Institution. The 508,318 dollars – an incredible sum at the time – provided for the funds to create the basis of the national collections of the United States.

Collection and Exhibition

Private initiative is still the cornerstone of the Smithsonian Institution, even regarding its numismatic collection. Only one single person is permanently employed to take care of the largest coin collection in the world. All other employees receive their funding via patrons and sponsors. And when Dr. Ellen Feingold, the curator, plans to mount a major exhibition, she relies on the goodwill of collectors and coin dealers. They support this cause willingly and extensively, because they know exactly that the Smithsonian Institution will attract immense attention to the numismatic field.

After all, Dr. Ellen Feingold has succeeded in placing objects of her collection in virtually every single museum. In the muchvisited American History Museum, she even fills two large exhibition areas on the first floor exclusively with pieces from the numismatic collection: “Value of Money” is the title of a classic numismatic exhibition, which is constantly growing as new display cases keep being added. The exhibition “Really Big Money” on the opposite side is addressed to children. It exhibits some truly spectacular, large and exotic objects, which also amaze adults.

But there is much more. As mentioned above, means of payment can be found everywhere thought the various museums. The exhibition on the office of the U.S. President contains the coin collection of Dwight D. Eisenhower; in the section on American innovations, you can find an entire series of early credit cards; and the National Museum of the American Indian shows a wealth of Indian Peace Medals. These fascinating objects were given to Indian allies by the U.S. Administration, and we often know who gave them to whom on what occasion. In the National Museum of African Art, there is a large area with premonetary means of payment and at the National Gallery of Art, which – by the way – is not an official part of the Smithsonian Institution, you can discover an extensive series of medals and plaques from the Renaissance and baroque periods.

Ulysses S. Grant, the Grand Prince Mikhailovich and Catherine Bullowa

Throughout past and present, the numismatic collection of the Smithsonian Institution has repeatedly succeeded in acquiring large and important ensembles, either with the help of sponsors or as bequests. In practice, this means that the national collection of the United States contains both, the legacies of “normal” coin collectors and some of the world’s most important collections. At this point, we will only mention the 25 Japanese large gold coins that President Grant received in the 19th century by the Japanese emperor. They are kept for posterity, just like the about 20,000 coins, medals and banknotes that were bequeathed to the museum by coin dealer Catherine Bullowa-Moore, who passed away in 2017. Or consider the extensive coin collection of the Russian Grand Duke Georgi Mikhailovich. It was scattered across the globe. The Smithsonian Institution was able to receive 11,400 specimens, the largest part of this important ensemble. They include a specimen of a Constantine ruble that was never issued. Ulrich Künker has his very own memories attached to the piece.

Ulrich Künker explains: “The Constantine ruble is one of the greatest rarities of Russian numismatics. Only five specimens are known of today. This is due to the fact that Constantine, the Tsar depicted on them, never ascended the throne. He had already abdicated before his father’s death to let his younger brother, the later Tsar Alexander I, ascend to power. The mint was unaware of this, which is why coins with his portrait were minted. Therefore, it is a rare experience for every coin enthusiast to hold a Constantine ruble in their hands. I had traveled to Washington for an AINP meeting and was invited to a reception at the Smithsonian. The Constantine ruble was exhibited there and I was even allowed to take it in my hand.

A few weeks later, I met Igor Shiryakov in the State Historical Museum in Moscow. He proudly presented his specimen of the Constantine ruble to me. There, too, I was allowed to examine it in my own hands. This probably makes me one of very few people that had the privilege of holding two different specimens of this rare coin in my hands within a couple of weeks.”

How a Numismatic Collection Can Make a Difference

The numismatic collection of the Smithsonian Institution is not only the world’s largest coin collection but also receives special attention due to how it is incorporated into the most important

An oban from the small series of Japanese gold coins, a gift from the Tenno to the U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. American History Museum.

Photo: UK.

Entry to the exhibition “Value of Money” with the impressive vault door. About 300 items of the numismatic collection, which comprises 1.6 million objects, are exhibited here. American History Museum. Photo: UK.

The precursor to the U.S. credit card: Charga-Plates. This system was developed by the Farrington Manufacturing Company. Department stores and large retailers regularly gave them to customers to make the payment process easier. What is special about this object is that it features the name of one of the most important former curators of the numismatic collection of the Smithsonian Institution:

cultural institution of the United States. And sometimes, Dr. Ellen Feingold takes advantage of this fact – for example for making a statement on the cultural identity of Ukraine: It all started with her acquiring a German zero-euro banknote for her collection that had been issued by a private company in support of Ukraine. The banknote inspired her to create a small exhibition with about 15 coins and banknotes. In the descriptions and also in an article in the Smithsonian Magazine, she described how Ukraine’s independent history is reflected by its means of payment. Her exhibition received widespread attention, not only among the visitors of the Smithsonian. Journalists and tv shows came to cover the exhibition. Word of the Smithsonian Institution’s numismatic collection’s efforts even spread to Ukraine. The country officially thanked the United States for not only providing military, diplomatic and economic support but also promoting their culture. This led to an official collaboration of Ukrainian museums and the Smithsonian Institution. It is incredible to see how much of an impact these 15 exhibits in a single showcase had!

When traveling to Washington D.C., we recommend that you make time to visit both exhibitions of the numismatic collection of the Smithsonian Institution. You will see: It is worth it!

Ursula Kampmann

Emergency money from the 1930s. American History Museum.

Photo: UK.

Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli. American History Museum. Photo: UK.

Obverse of the Constantine ruble, one of as few as five known specimens.

Photo: Smithsonian Institution.

Indian Peace Medal with the portrait of Thomas Jefferson, produced in 1801, from the estate of Powder Face. National Museum of the American Indian.

Photo: UK.

One of the earliest Renaissance medals: the portrait of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, created by Costanzo de Ferrara. National Gallery of Art. Photo: UK.

An important means of payment in West Africa: Kissi pennies. National Museum of African Art. Photo: UK.

Jewelry medallion made from a coin of Theodosius I (379-395), from a Byzantine coin hoard of the 6th century, acquired in 1909 by Maurice Nahman through Charles Lang Freer. Freer Gallery of Asian Art. Photo: UK.

Wax embossing for a medal. National Gallery of Art. Photo: UK.

Coin collection of Dwight D. Eisenhower, assembled around 1955. American History Museum. Photo: UK.

Almost $20M for Reconciliation and Remembrance

Between January 2022 and June 2023, we had the pleasure of offering the extensive collection of Mark and Lottie Salton in collaboration with the US auction house Stack’s Bowers Galleries. The total result of the more than 10,000 coins and medals amounts to almost USD 20 million. The net proceeds are the Salton’s legacy, and they wanted to set an example with it. The money will not be inherited by their family but benefit three non-profit organizations that are committed to remembering those who fell victim to the Holocaust.

The chosen legatees are:

• the Anti-Defamation League, an American organization based in New York City that campaigns against the discrimination and defamation of Jews;

• the American Society for Yad Vashem, which supports the mission of the Israel-based Yad Vashem memorial to uphold the memory of the Holocaust for future generations by documenting what happened, studying it and passing on the knowledge to descendants in a scholarly way; and the Leo Baeck Institute, a New York institution that documents the history and the culture of especially German-speaking Jews.

The importance of institutions that systematically gather documents that recall the history of past Jewish generations became already evident when we had the fate of Mark and Lottie Salton researched prior to our auction sales. The archives of the Leo Baeck Institute held crucial documents and an expert was able to reconstruct not only the lives of the deceased but also a crucial episode of the German coin trade thanks to these sources. After all, Mark Salton was a descendant of the Hamburger-Schlessinger family, which played a key role in the Frankfurt coin trade.

We have already recounted so much of the fate of the Aronstein, Hamburger, Schlessinger and Salton families that we do not have to repeat it at this point. If you are interested in the matter, we recommend you watch our film or read our detailed brochure. Both can be downloaded online for free (see QR code). All those who prefer a printed issue, please contact our customer service at +49 541 96202 0.

Ulrich Künker sums up the project: “It is important to recall what happened on German soil. Contributing to these efforts by reconstructing the histories of these families was an honor for us. Of course, many institutions were founded to do just that. But they can only deal with a fraction of the wrong that was done to our fellow Jewish citizens. Moreover, the fact that these institutions exist does not relieve us of the responsibility to raise our voices against discrimination and exclusion. For me personally, this is why I commissioned this brochure.”

The result of the eleven auction sales that offered the coins, medals and literature of the Salton Collection is in our view more than satisfying: we were able to give nearly USD 20 million to the three NGOs mentioned above.

Andreas Kaiser comments: “NGOs like the Anti-Defamation League, the American Society for Yad Vashem and the Leo Baeck Institute can only exist and do their work thanks to the financial support of generous people like the Salton couple. We are delighted about the fact that we could help a little in this process by generating net proceeds that were as high as possible to benefit these institutions.”

1,5:1

Künker auction 362 - No. 1280

Netherlands. City of Campen.

Eight rose noble n.d. (1600). 60.95g.

Imitation of the quadruple sovereign by English Queen Elizabeth. Extremely rare and of great importance for monetary history. Extremely fine.

Estimate: 250,000 euros. Hammer price: 700,000 euros

Felix Schlessinger wrote about this coin: “We bought the piece in 1938 for 900 guldens”. The coin then appeared in a Glendining auction sale on 26 and 27 October 1938 as lot No. 213 with a starting price of GBP 280 and an estimate between GBP 350 and 450. It appears that the coin was not sold but remained in the possession of the Schlessingers. Thus, after the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, the authorities took it to the Dutch National Bank along with 635 other gold coins (David Hill, ANS 2021, p. 44). Thanks to the mediation of Jacques and Hans Schulman, the piece was returned to its rightful owner, Mark Salton, in 1950.

Scan the QR code for the film that accompanies the brochure: “The Origins of the German Coin Trade: The Hamburger and Schlessinger Families“

In addition to numerous original images and pedigrees, the brochure also contains parts of Mark Salton’s memoirs. Scan the QR code to read the brochure: “The Origins of the German Coin Trade: The Hamburger and Schlessinger Families“

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Ulrich Künker

Mark and Lottie Salton. Picture from 2001. Photo: Ira Rezak.