Most enjoyable order of Numismatic Books & Auction Catalogs I can remember! (From the Lanz Library sales at G. Hirsch.)

[Curtis JJ]

All literature below is from two recent auctions of the Numismatik Lanz Library. All of them had "something extra" that I wanted...

(For anyone unfamiliar with Numismatik Lanz or its founder Hermann Lanz [1910-1998], or only recently so -- e.g., only the ebay sales under Hubert Lanz -- in the first comment below I'm adding some quick background, as well as I can. Others know/knew them better, so please don't hesitate to correct anything.)

 

Just one coin! "Baumreiter" Drachm. (3.35g, 15mm, 10h). Photo by Roma Numismatics.
Ex Hermann Lanz (1910 - 1998) Collection.
Kostial - Lanz 422 (this coin), exhibited at the SMB in 1997.
 

 

Things I love about buying used literature from working numismatic libraries ...

Unique & interesting “object biographies”:
Knowing when, why, how, and by whom an object or document was produced or used.

I bought a couple of Hermann Lanz’s original BMC volumes in the first sale.
The BMC Corinth included the bookplate of Sir George Francis Hill (1867-1948) & Mary Paul Hill.
G.F. Hill authored or edited several BMC vols. & was Director of the BMC (1931-1936).

Below, HARDCOVER copies of Leo Benz I, II, III (didn't know that existed!)

Hubert Lanz’s custom hardcover set of Leo Benz catalogs: Lanz Auctions 88 (1998), 94 (1999), 100 (2000).
Has anyone seen hardbound Leo Benz (or other Lanz catalogs) before? Part of the Lanz Library sale also included a partial set (94 & 100 only); mine was described as having binding repaired with tape, but I removed the tape easily & found no damage whatsoever.
 

Coins & books that “belong together”:
The “plate coins” alongside the author’s/cataloger’s own personal copy, or a copy owned by someone otherwise connected to the objects’ biographies.

Sammlung Leo Benz (1909-1996) was one of Lanz Numismatik’s finest & proudest series of sales.
My collection includes an L. Julius Caesar Cupids Denarius (Lanz 88, 407).
Pictured above on the plates in Hubert Lanz’s custom bound hardcover catalog.

 

BCD and CNG didn’t realize it, but BCD Peloponnesos II 2327 was previously in the “Sammlung Kommerzienrat H. Otto, Stuttgart” [Heinrich Otto, Jr. (1856-1931)], sold at Hess 207 (1931), Lot 493. Probably acquired by (or for) John A. Sawhill (1892-1976), who eventually bequeathed it to James Madison University. JMU auctioned it, and BCD bought it.
The coin is pictured above with Hermann Lanz’s (Inv. No. 1567) copy of the catalog.

Another connection: BCD worked closely with Lanz Numismatik, where the first two sales of his collection were held: BCD Korinth (Lanz 105) & BCD Euboia (Lanz 111).

 

Other historical details about scholarship or commerce:
Auction catalogs with buyers “hand-named,” live, in the margins; a dedication from one well-known numismatist to another; scholarly or commercial correspondence.

Hermann Lanz’s (mostly) hand-named copy of the Kunstfreundes Sale (Hess-Leu 1974).
Finding a copy of the catalog isn't unusual, but finding one with the names of buyers written down live in the margins is!
I’ve covered them up since I don’t know what’s public. (Note: Those are estimates shown; actual prices were MUCH higher.)

(Before this the only named copy I’d heard of was: BCD Library Duplicates II, 214 [mine was ~20 times cheaper!].)

 

Fascinating surprises inside:
Annotations in the text; documents or photos laid in; author signatures or numismatic bookplates.

Interesting French-annotated plates from Munzhandlung Basel No. 6 (1936) -- an important auction of Alexandrian coins and Roman Republican.
I bet someone out there somewhere knows who did that to the plates. I've seen it before on other catalogs.

 

Grierson’s (1966) Bibliographie Numismatique was heavily annotated inside, especially the section on ancient coin auction catalogs.
A remarkable bonus is a second set of annotations on the auction catalog section. The (partially) annotated text had been photocopied; new notes continued to be added both to the book and the photocopy, apparently in at least two different hands. Could these be Hermann’s, Ernst's, and/or Hubert’s annotations?

 

“Object biography,” continued:
Having a connection to previous generations of collectors, sellers, and/or scholars.
(On this topic, see the excellent article by William Daehn, “An Old Book Brings Old and New Collectors Together,” The Asylum [Numismatic Bibliomania Society] Vol XIX, No 4, pp. 120-126. That topic could equally well apply to collectors of coins.)

Hermann Lanz (1910-1998) Library Stamps & Inv. Nos.
He always used red. Still working out the mysteries, but seems he also used red in to annotate text.

Who are these ones?

Maybe Hermann, Ernst Lanz, or Hubert Lanz? Or previous owners, Gitta Kastner or Ernst Holzer?

Offprint by @curtislclay, dedicated to Luke Scholing of Jacques Schulman, Amsterdam (who, I believe, left to start Medusa Galleries, c. 1980-2000+, with his wife [?] Lauranne in Florida).

 

BEST FOR LAST! (Well, maybe tied for second-best...)

Also from the first Lanz Lib. sale: A surprisingly tall book!
The 1871 catalog of coins in Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer (1839-1920) collection, beautifully signed by Imhoof-Blumer, with handwritten dedication to the Winterthur Kunstverein Museum Library. Choix de Monnaies Grecques du Cabinet de F. Imhoof-Blumer is available online at many locations (public domain).

And engraved plates signed by the great Léon Dardel (1814 - ?) !!

 

Give me used books like these over new ones any day!

Edited August 26, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[Curtis JJ]

As promised…

Brief background on Numismatik Lanz (1947-pres.), Hermann Lanz (1910-1998), Ernst Lanz (1945-1989), and Hubert Lanz (1943-):  

• All literature above is ex-Lanz Numismatik from the recent sales of the firm's library at G. Hirsch (e-Auction 7 [23 Jan 2022] & e-Auction 10 [17 Jul 2022]). Most or much of it is from Hermann Lanz's (1910-1998) library, often with prior owners recorded as well, and inherited by his son, Hubert Lanz.
• Numismatik Lanz was founded by Hermann Lanz in 1947 (also a founder of the International Association of Professional Numismatists [IAPN] in 1951.)
• He's also very well known for his famous collection of Celtic coins, cataloged by M. Kostial (1997/2003, Kelten im Osten...). It serves as one of the major references in the field.
• For a time, Hermann's son Ernst H. Lanz (1945-1989) was the primary cataloger for the firm. He was murdered during a robbery at the Graz office, after which Hubert (born 1945) may have become the firm's principal.
• Looking only at the last decade, one might not realize what an important numismatic firm Lanz once was in the second half of the 20th century, and early 21st.
• Even recently under Hubert, between 1998 and 2002, Lanz was responsible for several classic sales:
  • Leo Benz (1909-1996) collection in three sales (Lanz 88, 94 and 100; see below);
  • BCD Collection's first two sales, BCD Korinth (Lanz 105) and BCD Euobia (111);
  • two others I'm familiar with are Sammlung Erich Karl (Lanz 131, Münzen von Karien) and Slg. Friedinger-Pranter (Lanz 155, 156 [part]).

Many of their catalogs still serve as important numismatic research literature, which is the firm's most important legacy for my interests, and how I usually think of it and those who ran it.

(Please don't hesitate to suggest corrections or additions.)

Edited August 26, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[NewStyleKing]

If you spot any NewStyles, I'm always interested  to see what came up in the past.  And other stephanophores.  Its a pity I cannot access Hubert lanz's ebay sales of upto 10 years ago for the NewStyle hoards that he sold!

 

NSK=John

[Prieure de Sion]

One word: fantastic!

[Al Kowsky]

3 hours ago, Curtis JJ said:

All literature below is from two recent auctions of the Numismatik Lanz Library. All of them had "something extra" that I wanted...

(For anyone unfamiliar with Numismatik Lanz or its founder Hermann Lanz [1910-1998], or only recently so -- e.g., only the ebay sales under Hubert Lanz -- in the first comment below I'm adding some quick background, as well as I can. Others know/knew them better, so please don't hesitate to correct anything.)

 

Just one coin! "Baumreiter" Drachm. (3.35g, 15mm, 10h). Photo by Roma Numismatics.
Ex Hermann Lanz (1910 - 1998) Collection.
Kostial - Lanz 422 (this coin), exhibited at the SMB in 1997.
 

 

Things I love about buying used literature from working numismatic libraries ...

Unique & interesting “object biographies”:
Knowing when, why, how, and by whom an object or document was produced or used.

I bought a couple of Hermann Lanz’s original BMC volumes in the first sale.
The BMC Corinth included the bookplate of Sir George Francis Hill (1867-1948) & Mary Paul Hill.
G.F. Hill authored or edited several BMC vols. & was Director of the BMC (1931-1936).

Below, HARDCOVER copies of Leo Benz I, II, III (didn't know that existed!)

Hubert Lanz’s custom hardcover set of Leo Benz catalogs: Lanz Auctions 88 (1998), 94 (1999), 100 (2000).
Has anyone seen hardbound Leo Benz (or other Lanz catalogs) before? Part of the Lanz Library sale also included a partial set (94 & 100 only); mine was described as having binding repaired with tape, but I removed the tape easily & found no damage whatsoever.
 

Coins & books that “belong together”:
The “plate coins” alongside the author’s/cataloger’s own personal copy, or a copy owned by someone otherwise connected to the objects’ biographies.

Sammlung Leo Benz (1909-1996) was one of Lanz Numismatik’s finest & proudest series of sales.
My collection includes an L. Julius Caesar Cupids Denarius (Lanz 88, 407).
Pictured above on the plates in Hubert Lanz’s custom bound hardcover catalog.

 

BCD and CNG didn’t realize it, but BCD Peloponnesos II 2327 was previously in the “Sammlung Kommerzienrat H. Otto, Stuttgart” [Heinrich Otto, Jr. (1856-1931)], sold at Hess 207 (1931), Lot 493. Probably acquired by (or for) John A. Sawhill (1892-1976), who eventually bequeathed it to James Madison University. JMU auctioned it, and BCD bought it.
The coin is pictured above with Hermann Lanz’s (Inv. No. 1567) copy of the catalog.

Another connection: BCD worked closely with Lanz Numismatik, where the first two sales of his collection were held: BCD Korinth (Lanz 105) & BCD Euboia (Lanz 111).

 

Other historical details about scholarship or commerce:
Auction catalogs with buyers “hand-named,” live, in the margins; a dedication from one well-known numismatist to another; scholarly or commercial correspondence.

Hermann Lanz’s (mostly) hand-named copy of the Kunstfreundes Sale (Hess-Leu 1974).
Finding a copy of the catalog isn't unusual, but finding one with the names of buyers written down live in the margins is!
I’ve covered them up since I don’t know what’s public. (Note: Those are estimates shown; actual prices were MUCH higher.)

(Before this the only named copy I’d heard of was: BCD Library Duplicates II, 214 [mine was ~20 times cheaper!].)

 

Fascinating surprises inside:
Annotations in the text; documents or photos laid in; author signatures or numismatic bookplates.

Interesting French-annotated plates from Munzhandlung Basel No. 6 (1936) -- an important auction of Alexandrian coins and Roman Republican.
I bet someone out there somewhere knows who did that to the plates. I've seen it before on other catalogs.

 

Grierson’s (1966) Bibliographie Numismatique was heavily annotated inside, especially the section on ancient coin auction catalogs.
A remarkable bonus is a second set of annotations on the auction catalog section. The (partially) annotated text had been photocopied; new notes continued to be added both to the book and the photocopy, apparently in at least two different hands. Could these be Hermann’s, Ernst's, and/or Hubert’s annotations?

 

“Object biography,” continued:
Having a connection to previous generations of collectors, sellers, and/or scholars.
(On this topic, see the excellent article by William Daehn, “An Old Book Brings Old and New Collectors Together,” The Asylum [Numismatic Bibliomania Society] Vol XIX, No 4, pp. 120-126. That topic could equally well apply to collectors of coins.)

Hermann Lanz (1910-1998) Library Stamps & Inv. Nos.
He always used red. Still working out the mysteries, but seems he also used red in to annotate text.

Who are these ones?

Maybe Hermann, Ernst Lanz, or Hubert Lanz? Or previous owners, Gitta Kastner or Ernst Holzer?

Offprint by @curtislclay, dedicated to Luke Scholing of Jacques Schulman, Amsterdam (who, I believe, left to start Medusa Galleries, c. 1980-2000+, with his wife [?] Lauranne in Florida).

 

BEST FOR LAST! (Well, maybe tied for second-best...)

Also from the first Lanz Lib. sale: A surprisingly tall book!
The 1871 catalog of coins in Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer (1839-1920) collection, beautifully signed by Imhoof-Blumer, with handwritten dedication to the Winterthur Kunstverein Museum Library. Choix de Monnaies Grecques du Cabinet de F. Imhoof-Blumer is available online at many locations (public domain).

And engraved plates signed by the great Léon Dardel (1814 - ?) !!

 

Give me used books like these over new ones any day!

Curtis, Nice score ☺️! I love the old engraved plates, they can reveal details that a photo can't 🤨.

[shanxi]

4 hours ago, Curtis JJ said:

Who are these ones?

Two types of old german handwriting. If this helps.

 

 

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by shanxi

[Prieure de Sion]

I don't have such old treasures as you have. On the one hand, I started collecting very late (around 1990), then paused (youth) and am more the digital type with a digital library on the computer. 

My oldest work (ha ha ha) is from the 70s of the last century. The ancient coins of the Heynen Collection. However, I have already been able to extract a lot of information from it.

In addition to the usual descriptions of the coin itself, there are also historical backgrounds to the coin every now and then, which is very informative and interesting. And of course the corresponding illustrations.

By the way, does anyone know if the entire collection is in the museum - or if coins from the collection have also made it into private hands?

 

 

Otherwise, I only have these 2 volumes "Roman Coins and Their Prices" - collected from over 10,000 auction results and dealer lists.

 

 

I started with these three books around 1990 when I was a teenager. But as I said - only a few modern books have been added now and the rest are in the digital library.

 

[Curtis JJ]

9 hours ago, NewStyleKing said:

Hubert lanz's ebay sales of upto 10 years ago for the NewStyle hoards that he sold!

@NewStyleKing = John, I think I found them indexed on coryssa.org (Rasiel Suarez's database of ~2 million ancient coin sales on Ebay).

I found 970 coins for seller "numismatiklanz" coded as "Attica" by Suarez (searching only in Greek coins). Most are classical but I also see many New Styles.

The system takes a while to learn, so don't hesitate to message me if you have questions. Not sure if this link will work or if you have to repeat the search (first page is 2022, last page is 2012 I think):

https://www.coryssa.org/index.php/subcategory/greek/subcategory_id/6002/page/0/search_seller/on/keywords/numismatiklanz/search2/yes/date_to/2022-08-26/use_checkboxes/0/period/greek

I've actually found many of my coins on Coryssa. (It can also be used as database for finding forgeries.)

Edited August 26, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[Heliodromus]

6 hours ago, Prieure de Sion said:

My oldest work (ha ha ha) is from the 70s of the last century. The ancient coins of the Heynen Collection

I wonder if you could take a photo of a plate from the Heynen book for me? I believe plate 71 # 12 should be a unique unlisted coin of Constantine - Pax Perpetva with a consular obverse. I have a really poor photo from the plate, but if you could take a high resolution cellphone (or whatever) photo, that would be much appreciated!

 

[Curtis JJ]

13 hours ago, shanxi said:

Two types of old german handwriting. If this helps

Thank you, much! I also have lots of old German collection tags that need deciphering, so I have no doubt it will come in very handy (I can never resist a pun).

 

12 hours ago, Prieure de Sion said:

with a digital library on the computer. 

I would definitely never trade away all the great digital works now available for a hard copy-only library! (Though if I use things often enough sometimes I'll print important pages or plates or articles.)

The big question for me is always when is it worth it to save the PDF, or just the links. There are thousands out there (single references [books, articles & many many auction catalogs]; journal websites or large directories/ databases of texts online [e.g. Digital Library Numis, JSTOR]; and authors' sites [e.g., many scholars on Academia.edu]).

The documents can disappear, of course, so I download anything important that I use regularly. But a proper reference library must also include many texts you've never read. 

I've been considering just keeping an exeternal drive or two dedicated to PDFs of 1-2k or more auction catalogs from the late 19th-20th centuries. (I'm working on an annotated bibliography and would hate to lose access to them [I've shared a small chunk, ~2-3% of the project, on my website, important "20th Cent. Sales of Alexandrian Coins Online"].)

Edited August 27, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[NewStyleKing]

39 minutes ago, Curtis JJ said:

@NewStyleKing = John, I think I found them indexed on coryssa.org (Rasiel Suarez's database of ~2 million ancient coin sales on Ebay).

I found 970 coins for seller "numismatiklanz" coded as "Attica" by Suarez (searching only in Greek coins). Most are classical but I also see many New Styles.

The system takes a while to learn, so don't hesitate to message me if you have questions. Not sure if this link will work or if you have to repeat the search (first page is 2022, last page is 2012 I think):

https://www.coryssa.org/index.php/subcategory/greek/subcategory_id/6002/page/0/search_seller/on/keywords/numismatiklanz/search2/yes/date_to/2022-08-26/use_checkboxes/0/period/greek

I've actually found many of my coins on Coryssa. (It can also be used as database for finding forgeries.)

WOW  Thanks very much.  I am getting to grips  with it NOW!  I shall report back!

[Curtis JJ]

28 minutes ago, Heliodromus said:

wonder if you could take a photo of a plate from the Heynen book for me? I believe plate 71 # 12 should be a unique unlisted coin of Constantine

I'd be curious to see also! 

It's an interesting group to have for one's only three physical books, @Prieure de Sion! But my selections have always been a bit eclectic too. Franke is always good & the pair of German catalogs of Roman look interesting - haven't seen that one before! 

[NewStyleKing]

Curtiss JJ  ! I have already  found one of my LANZ purchases.  Incredible!  This is a goldmine!

 

More and more and more!!!

Edited August 26, 2022 by NewStyleKing

[Curtis JJ]

5 hours ago, NewStyleKing said:

I have already  found one of my LANZ purchases.  Incredible!  This is a goldmine!

Coryssa.org has to be one of the most valuable but little-known ancient coin resources. Most people don't know about it, so I always mention it when an opportunity presents.

So glad you've already found some of yours indexed there! 

If Ras ever decides to stop the project, I hope someone will take it up so it won't vanish! 

Edited August 27, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[Prieure de Sion]

5 minutes ago, Curtis JJ said:

I'd be curious to see also! 

It's an interesting group to have for one's only three physical books, @Prieure de Sion! But my selections have always been a bit eclectic too. Franke is always good & the pair of German catalogs of Roman look interesting - haven't seen that one before! 

I only have three books and it is actually somewhat interesting? That surprises me a bit now...

10 minutes ago, Curtis JJ said:

I would definitely never trade away all the great digital works now available for a hard copy-only library! (Though if I use things often enough sometimes I'll print important pages or plates or articles.)

I have the app Devonthink on the Mac - I digitise all documents or import all PDFs. It's an indexed knowledge base. Digital just has the advantage that you can search for specific things and get a result of all the indexed documents. If these were all books - I would surely miss something.

40 minutes ago, Heliodromus said:

I wonder if you could take a photo of a plate from the Heynen book for me? I believe plate 71 # 12 should be a unique unlisted coin of Constantine - Pax Perpetva with a consular obverse. I have a really poor photo from the plate, but if you could take a high resolution cellphone (or whatever) photo, that would be much appreciated!

But I'd love to. I am happy - if I can help with my small amount of 3 books. Is this it?

 

 

[Heliodromus]

16 minutes ago, Prieure de Sion said:

But I'd love to. I am happy - if I can help with my small amount of 3 books. Is this it?

Yes, that's it! That's great - thanks!

Here's a cleaned up version in case anyone else wants it.

[Prieure de Sion]

 

I will try tomorrow better pictures with daylight ... the book paper is glossy, the desk lamp too bright. Maybe there will be better pictures tomorrow in indirect daylight. I'll try.

[Etcherdude]

1 minute ago, Prieure de Sion said:

 

I will try tomorrow better pictures with daylight ... the book paper is glossy, the desk lamp too bright. Maybe there will be better pictures tomorrow in indirect daylight. I'll try.

These images look pretty good to me.

[Heliodromus]

12 minutes ago, Prieure de Sion said:

I will try tomorrow better pictures with daylight ... the book paper is glossy, the desk lamp too bright. Maybe there will be better pictures tomorrow in indirect daylight. I'll try.

I'm more than happy with the one you already took - it seems limited by the resolution of the printed image more than anything else!

 

 

[Prieure de Sion]

16 hours ago, Heliodromus said:

I'm more than happy with the one you already took - it seems limited by the resolution of the printed image more than anything else!

I tried scanning again - greyscale, black and white and image. But the result is not really better even in daylight - the quality of the print is limited - as you also said.

[Heliodromus]

4 hours ago, Prieure de Sion said:

I tried scanning again - greyscale, black and white and image. But the result is not really better even in daylight - the quality of the print is limited - as you also said.

Thanks again - I'm sure this is the best that can be had from the plate!

I wish I knew where the coin itself is, since it's not only unlisted but a far as I'm aware this is the only known specimen. It's from Rome 313 AD (Constantine and Licinius' joint 3rd consulship), from the same issue (entirely missing from RIC) as the rare LIBERATOR ORBIS type, perhaps issued on occasion of Constantine and Licinius meeting in Milan for Licinius's marriange to Constantine's sister, and the occasion of the signing of the "edict of Milan" granting religious freedom.

Do you happen to know anything about the Heynen collection itself - who is/was Heynen, and what became of the collection ?

Edit:

So, just for the record, the Dr. Reinhard Heynen (a Dusseldof merchant) collection was donated to the local Krefeld Linn Museum (Krefeld, N. Germany, nr. Dusseldorf) in 1974, by his wife, four years after his death in 1970. The book is essentially the museum inventory of the collection, illustrating 1970 of the total 2553 coins from Heynen's collection.

It does make you wonder how many other unique coins may be hidden away in local museums rather than in the national collections visited when RIC was being compiled!

 

Edited August 27, 2022 by Heliodromus

[Prieure de Sion]

1 hour ago, Heliodromus said:

Do you happen to know anything about the Heynen collection itself - who is/was Heynen, and what became of the collection ?

If you like, send me a PN with your email address. I have scanned the preface - it's all there - as a searchable PDF. Then you can run the German text through the translator. 

[Curtis JJ]

3 hours ago, Heliodromus said:

Do you happen to know anything about the Heynen collection itself - who is/was Heynen, and what became of the collection ?

 

Disposition of the Heynen Collection:

According to Elvira Clain-Stefanelli's Numismatic Bibliography (1985: p. 1463, no. 16558), the collection was:

• "In the: Landschaftsmuseum Krefeld-Burglinn."

(I know nothing about the museum and didn't find a website on the first page of Google results.)
 

@David Atherton reportedly has a coin ex-Heynen, a Domitian Sestertius, RIC 281 [FAC Gallery, might need a login?], maybe he'll know something:

• "Acquired from Olding, MA Shops, June 2019 = Olding, List 96, March 2019, Sammlung Fritz Reusing, no. 182. From the collection of Fritz Reusing (1874-1956), acquired from the Heynen Collection; inherited and continued by Reusing's nephew Paul Schürer (1890-1976)."

I've seen one or two others mention a Heynen coin in private ownership. It's possible that Heynen sold, traded, or gifted some coins to friends during his lifetime but bequeathed the collection. Or Reusing could've traded the Landschaftsmuseum a rarity they needed for a duplicate. I don't believe Heynen is mentioned at all in John Spring's bibliography of Ancient Coin Auction Catalogues: 1880-1980. I've looked before, but can't find any personal info about Heynen -- not even a first name, much less dates of birth/death -- which is quite unusual. Hopefully the preface gives more; personally, I've never had the chance to look at a copy of the book.

---
 

More Annotated Biblio:

Also, for what it's worth, here's what BCD had to say about PRF's Heynen vol. in the 2017 BCD Library Duplicates Sale, Lot 1043:

• "A note from BCD: A quality publication of a private collection, rich in Roman coins but also including some Greek. Professor Franke has, as usual, done an excellent job and the photographs, on glossy paper, are amongst the best of that period."

[Often BCD shares bit of his rare biographical knowledge not published elsewhere, but unfortunately not about the mysterious Heynen. The archived annual BCD Library Duplicates Sales since 2014, indexed on ACSearch, is always one of my first stops to find out about numis lit, and I highly recommend it as a great under-appreciated and free annotated bibliography of ancient coin literature of all types: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term="note+from+BCD"&category=8&order=1 ]

Edited August 27, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[Heliodromus]

3 minutes ago, Curtis JJ said:

I've seen one or two others mention a Heynen coin in private ownership. It's possible that Heynen sold, traded, or gifted some coins to friends during his lifetime but bequeathed the collection.

Yes, it seems that must have been the case.

Thanks for the additional information.

Seeing as information on Heynen is hard to come by, here's what the book preface has to say:
 

Quote

 

PREFACE

Today, it is rare for an important private coin collection to become the property of a museum . Usually the coins that a collector has acquired with a lot of love and care over decades are auctioned off and thus scattered to the four winds. The Landscape of the Lower Rhine, Krefeld-Linn, is all the more grateful that in 1974 Mrs. EMMI HEYNEN donated the coin collection of her husband DR. REINHARD HEYNEN, who died in 1970, to the museum and thus to the city of Krefeld. Not only does the memory of the founder remain alive, but also the memory of the former Düsseldorf merchant, who together with his wife pursued his numismatic interests almost every free hour and over the course of time assembled one of the most important private collections in Germany.

The love for antiquity and especially for Roman history was in Dr. R. Heynen was woken up when he was still at school. Dr Franz Cramer, known for a book about Roman Trier, inspired the young high school student as a teacher. Paul Cauer, an important classics scholar, later introduced him to the Greek world . The high school graduate Heynen gave his farewell speech on the subject of Socrates as a forerunner of Jesus. As a student of economics, he fell under the spell of Lujo Brentano, with whom he wrote his doctoral thesis on W. Sombart's work Modern Capitalism. But he also heard lectures by Adolf Furt Wängler, the famous Münhner ardhaeologist and excavator of Aegina. These and keen visits to museums awakened in the young merchant, who had hesitated for a long time whether he should pursue a career as a scholar, the desire to collect excavation finds and, above all, Roman coins. From 1905 onwards he brought together around 2550 ancient coins, most of them in excellent condition, with expertise, a sure taste and a great deal of patience . Many of the mostly Roman pieces come from well-known coin dealers such as Ball, Button, Cahn, Grabow, Hess, Merzbacher, Riechmann, Rosenberg and Schilling, others he acquired while travelling. Most of Philipp Braun's Düsseldorf collection passed into his possession. The scientifically most important acquisition was a bronze coin from Elis, which shows the portrait of Emperor Hadrianus (117-138 AD) on the obverse and the head of the Zeus on the reverse, which the Greek sculptor Pheidias made around 435 BC.for the Temple of Zeus at Olympia . In the interests of science, Dr. Heynen left this valuable piece, which became the starting point and focus of Josef Liegle's book Der Zeus des Pheidias (1941/1942, published 1952), to the Berlin State Coin Cabinet (today Bodemuseum, Berlin GDR).

This catalog of the Heynen Collection is not only intended to be a kind of inventory book for the Krefeld Linn Museum, but also to make the coins accessible to experts for scientific evaluation. Therefore around 1970 of the 2553 pieces in total have been illustrated, the Greek ones based on photos of plaster casts, the Roman ones based on photos of the originals on a scale of approximately 1:1. In the spirit of the former owner, who, according to his own words (Reinbard Heynen. Attempt at a family and company history, Düsseldorf 1964 p. 109), these coins were intended to give a more vivid insight into the history of antiquity, the usual numismatic information and a detailed description often includes brief explanations of the individual emperors and the coin images. These are not aimed exclusively at experts, but also at a broader audience such as teachers of ancient languages and history, school children, students of the discipline mentioned, coin collectors and, last but not least, all museum visitors who have a greater interest in antiquity.

Regarding the use of the catalogue, the members of a ruling house who had the right to issue honorary coins are listed after the reigning emperor. The gold and silver coinage preceded the bronze coins, the arrangement within these two groups is chronological, for the period from Diocletianus also according to mints, both based on the work of H. Mattingly, E. Sydenham and others Roman Imperial Coinage (= RIC London 1923 and later), unless other works are named for the dates. In the case of the Roman coins, the numerous indications of origin and acquisition were omitted, but they can be communicated on request. A legend index allows individual pieces to be found quickly.

Thankfully, Mr. Gerhard Gröger produced the photo templates and the index with great personal commitment. The Krefeld townscape office, Mr. K.. H. Lengwenings and Mrs. I. Bartz, supported this book with their cooperation. Miss Dr. K. Braun and Mr. W. Leschhorn from the Institute for Ancient History at the University of Saarbrücken read the corrections. Mr. G. Kierblewsky from Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne, and Mr. E. Peitz from Drukhaus B. Kühlen, Mönchengladbach, have tried to print carefully . The Numismatic Commission of the federal states in the Federal Republic and the Stadtsparkasse Krefeld have granted subsidies for printing costs.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who made this catalog possible: The Rhineland Regional Council and Mr. HR Hartung; the mayor and the chief city director of the city of Krefeld, Messrs. HH Hauser and Dr. H. Steffens, and in particular the head of the cultural department, K. Honnen, and the director of the Krefeld-Linn Museum, Dr. R. Pirling, to whom it is largely thanks that the Heynen Collection came to Krefeld.

Krefeld, March 1976

P.R. Franke

I. Pair

 

 

 

[Prieure de Sion]

9 minutes ago, Curtis JJ said:

@David Atherton reportedly has a coin ex-Heynen, a Domitian Sestertius, RIC 281 [FAC Gallery, might need a login?], maybe he'll know something:

Thanks for this Information.

3 minutes ago, Heliodromus said:

Seeing as information on Heynen is hard to come by, here's what the book preface has to say:

Perfect - you translate it for the community - thats fine 🙂 

 

I am surprised. You have such great treasures of books - I only have one. And I thought nobody was interested in that. I will now cherish the "little" book again like a treasure on my shelf.... 😄 

 

Edited August 27, 2022 by Prieure de Sion