Friedrich Popken (1940-2024)

When Friedrich Popken was born on 16 February 1940, no one could have imagined that he would go on to create the Ulla Popken brand, bringing unprecedented success to the Popken family business.

The Popken family had been living in Frisia, Germany, for centuries. His great-grandfather, Thade Boiken Popken, had been a farmer before selling his farmstead to the Prussian state in the mid-19th century, when Prussia was essentially building the largest German naval base from scratch in Wilhelmshaven. The great-grandfather became very successful with his haulage business in Wilhelmshaven and left his heirs a substantial sum of 140,000 gold marks in 1881. One of his sons, Johann Popken, the grandfather of Friedrich Popken, founded the clothing store J. Popken in 1880 in Hameln. Following Johann Popken’s early death in 1905, his wife Elisabeth successfully steered the company through the turmoil of the First World War (1914-1918), German hyperinflation (1919-1923) and the Great Depression (1929-1932).

Friedrich Popken’s parents, Jutta and Carl Friedrich, continued to run the business during the difficult years after the Second World War. In accordance with his parents’ wishes, on 1 August 1958, after completing his secondary education and graduating from business school, young Friedrich began an apprenticeship as a textile merchant at Anton Kolck’s in Lübbecke.

In 1968, Popken took the plunge into self-employment with the small Oldenburg company “Mami und Baby”. The following years were tough and demanded the young entrepreneur’s full commitment. The breakthrough came in 1975, when the company decided to adopt a new strategy by opening specialist stores for maternity wear. A milestone in the company’s development was introducing young fashion for plus-size women. This is also how the highly successful brand Ulla Popken offering young fashion from size 42 came about.

His company’s success enabled Friedrich Popken to follow his passion and build up a collection of coins from his home region of Lower Saxony. Friedrich’s great career as a coin collector began when, as a 12-year-old boy, he found a small wooden box with a few coins inside. Senator Karl Witte from Hameln, who was also an enthusiastic coin collector and a merchant in the neighborhood, probably gave the young Friedrich Popken an important impulse for collecting coins.

The first meeting of the young coin dealer Fritz Rudolf Künker and the collector Friedrich Popken most likely took place in Osnabrück in 1973. Over the years, their trusting relationship developed into a deep friendship.

As an entrepreneur, Friedrich Popken knew that you can only be successful in the long term if you focus on what is most important. Over the past few years, Friedrich Popken therefore devoted his collecting activities exclusively to issues from Lower Saxony. He was particularly interested in the so-called lösers of the Dukes of Brunswick. The results of his efforts in other fields of numismatic interest have already been sold at various auctions of the Künker auction house. Friedrich Popken wanted to leave nothing to chance. That is why he decided early on to put his collections on the numismatic market so that other collectors could enjoy the pieces.

One of the highlights of the Friedrich Popken Collection: Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. August the Younger (1635-1666). Löser of 10 Reichstalers 1638, Zellerfeld, on the imperial confirmation of the succession. Of the greatest rarity. Extremely fine. Künker auction 350 (29th June 2021), lot 612. Hammer price: 240,000 euros.

This also applies to his important löser collection. With over 240 pieces, it was the largest collection of its kind in private hands. It was offered by Künker over the course of six auction sales, the last of which took place as part of auction 400 in Berlin on 1 February 2024.

Towards the end of 2023, Friedrich Popken felt that his life’s journey was coming to an end. He openly talked about it, and bore the burden of his illness with great discipline and dignity. On my last visit to Rastede, he told me how grateful he was to be able to spend the last phase of his life at home, in a familiar environment, lovingly cared for by his wife Eleonore.

It is with great respect that we pay tribute to Friedrich Popken. We are delighted to be able to keep alive the memory of a loveable collector through the catalogs dedicated to him. Friedrich Popken was closely connected to the Künker auction house for more than 50 years. We will deeply miss him as a friend and a counselor.

Osnabrück, August 2024
Fritz Rudolf Künker