Benz, Leo (1906-1996)
By Hadrien Rambach
Leo Benz was a Swiss citizen who inherited the Electronic company Alois Zettler. He studied electronics in Munich, before doing an internship in Rome, and then took over the direction of the family company in Zurich – a large firm that exists to this day. A very religious man, he received several honorary orders from the Vatican and Bavaria.
This attachment to Rome partly explained his interest in coins, as well as his interest in the ability to show the style and the iconography of the times. His collection was sold by Hubert Lanz in Munich, in his auctions 88 (23 November 1998), 94 (22 November 1999) and 100 (20 November 2000).
Bibliography:
- Hadrien Rambach, “Provenance glossary”, in Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 91: the George W. La Borde collection of Roman aurei – part I, Zurich, 23 May 2016, pp. [67]-[79].
- Hadrien Rambach, “Provenance glossary”, in Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 99: the George W. La Borde collection of Roman aurei – part II, Zurich, 29 May 2017, pp. 47-63.
- Hadrien Rambach, “Provenance glossary”, in Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 105: the George W. La Borde collection of Roman aurei – part III, Zurich, 9 May 2018, pp. 82-105.
This article was first published in a catalogue of auction house Numismatica Ars Classica.
