Münzhandlung Basel I 1934

[Nikodeimos]

Hello everyone!

I recently acquired a coin which is ex Münzhandlung Basel I 1934, and am in desperate need of your expertise. I bought the piece as being ex Waldeck - however, upon closer scrutiny, Münzhandlung Basel I does not appear to be the Waldeck collection, the first part of which was auctioned in Münzhandlung Basel III.

The foreword of the 1934 catalog states the following:

- It's a collection formed by someone of high nobility in the mid 19th century.

- The coins were mainly acquired during travels in Italy.

- The collection consists of bronze coins.

- The collection was never published in any way.

Clearly, this is problematic for the Waldeck collection, which was mainly formed in the 18th century, also included other metals and had some pieces published by Friedländer, who visited the collection in the mid 19th century. A few entries on acsearch have Münzhandlung Basel I 1934 = Waldeck, but I think they have been misled by Spring, who has it like that in his catalog but probably mistakenly so. So my question for you all is: does anyone happen to know who the collection of Roman bronzes sold in Münzhandlung Basel I 1934 belonged to?

[Broucheion]

Hi @Nikodeimos,

Try rNumis (https://www.rnumis.com/house_auctions.php?house=BASEL&db_minyr=1844&db_maxyr=2024&dbcountry=All Countries )

 

- Broucheion 

 

 

[rNumis]

Well, my information about it being (Waldeck) probably came from Spring. If that turns out to be incorrect I'll need to change it. 🤔

But are we sure Spring is wrong? Maybe it's a mistake in the catalog...they said 19thC but maybe meant 18thC?

Edited June 5 by rNumis
additional point

[Nikodeimos]

@rNumis At this point, I'm not sure of anything! The foreword is unambiguous: it speaks of a collection formed 'about the middle of the previous century' (um die Mitte des vorigen Jahrhunderts). Perhaps it's a good idea reproducing the text here:

This precludes Christian August von Waldeck-Pyrmont even more (even if the 18th century was meant, which is unlikely), as he was only born in 1744 (unless he became a serious collector very early on!) Moreover, the foreword says the collection was never published, but a part of the Waldeck collection was, in fact, studied by Friedländer in 1863 (without any mention of the highlights mentioned in the foreword). I did some digging and the first mention I could find of the connection between the sale of 1934 and Waldeck is a Bank Leu/Hess catalog of 1971. Is that were the mistake (if it is a mistake) might have crept in?

 

Edited June 5 by Nikodeimos

[Carausius]

Is your coin in the MB Auction 1 plates?  Münzhandlung Basel also had fixed price lists, the first of which was issued in April 1934.  

I don't have Auctions 1 or 2 in my library.  Auction 3 (5 March 1935) states Prince W. in the title, which is Waldek.  Auctions 4, 6 and 8 also have "Prince W" in the title.  

I understood that the Prince W coins were the primary stock of Münzhandlung Basel from it's inception, but that understanding is likely derived from Spring! 

Edited June 5 by Carausius

[Nikodeimos]

@Carausius Yes, the coin is in the plates in the auction catalog, so certainly ex Münzhandlung Basel I 1934: