Conditon: Stunning specimen, EF.
from ancient to modern times
Condition: Superb extremely fine.
from ancient to modern times
Condition: Gorgeous example, near mint state.
from ancient to modern times
Condition: Very rare. Good very fine.
from ancient to modern times
Condition: Great portrait, near EF/VF.
from ancient to modern times
Condition: Rare. Good Portrait. Good very fine.
from ancient to modern times
Condition: Very rare. Good very fine.
from ancient to modern times
Very rare in this magnificent condition.
from ancient to modern times
Uniface Necessity Thaler. 1565. Condition: good vf
from ancient to modern times
Very rare in this magnificent condition.
from ancient to modern times
Joachim Stollhoff († 2 November 2024)
by Ursula Kampmann
On 2 November 2024, Joachim Stollhoff, owner of Münzen und Medaillen GmbH, passed away after a short and serious illness. In him, we have lost a coin dealer of the old school. Ursula Kampmann remembers a companion.
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Joachim Stollhoff. Next to him, like on almost all of our photos: Claire Franklin-Werz. Photo: UK.
Joachim Stollhoff actually had a completely different career plan when he studied to become a teacher in Berlin in the 1970s. He wanted to teach English and physical education. But in Germany, the teacher shortage of the 1960s was followed by a teacher glut in the 1970s and the 1980s. So Joachim Stollhoff had to find another job. He found it in the coin trade. Despite the recession, there was always a need for good, reliable cataloguers. There I met Joachim Stollhoff, over 30 years ago.
Giessener Münzhandlung and Kölner Münzzentrum
After a few temporary jobs, Joachim Stollhoff began to work as a freelancer for the Munich auction house “Giessener Münzhandlung” in the late 1980s while studying numismatics. At some point, he gave up his academic ambitions and decided to commit to working in the coin trade. He found a permanent position with Heinz-W. Müller at the “Kölner Münzzentrum”.
Joachim Stollhoff was a wonderful colleague who worked tirelessly, honestly, calmly and never by the clock. He always had time to answer questions, no matter who asked. He often felt more committed to the coin enthusiastic clients than to his employer’s profit.
After all, the capitalist drive for profit was something that remained alien to Joachim throughout his life. He believed in what German students had demanded in the 1970s: he was a committed socialist who saw money only as a means, never as an end. He was not interested in luxury or status symbols, personal comfort or the accumulation of wealth. Joachim lived modestly and contentedly in flats that, to the very end, had the charm of a student dig. He felt at home there, surrounded by his books and his coins, immersed in the many stories his coins told him.
Joachim was never stubborn, never intolerant. He lived in Munich for many years in a flat-sharing community that was famous for its colourful parties. He enjoyed socialising and debating. Although he had his own opinions, he would change them if other arguments convinced him.
Joachim Stollhoff and Ursula Kampmann at the INC in Warsaw 2022. Photo: DB.
Joachim was a wonderful storyteller when he realised that the person listening to him was interested in his stories. I learned an infinite amount from him, first when we sat next to each other in Munich, then during my countless visits to Cologne, and finally at our regular dinners in Lörrach, Weil and the surrounding area.
Münzen und Medaillen GmbH
When Arne Kirsch left Münzen und Medaillen AG to join Künker in the 1990s, the position of managing director of the German subsidiary, Münzen und Medaillen GmbH, became vacant. I called Joachim at the time to ask him tentatively whether he might be interested. He greeted me with so much to say that, at first, I did not even manage to say a word at all. He told me that he had just quitted his job at Kölner Münzzentrum. This meant that he needed a new job and Münzen und Medaillen GmbH a new managing director. The ancient Greeks called this “kairos”. For Joachim it was an opportunity! In fact, it only took a few hours for the contract to be signed. Joachim Stollhoff came to Weil am Rhein and took up his new position as managing director.
The booth of Münzen und Medaillen GmbH at the Numismata in Munich, quite some time ago. Photo: UK
The booth at another coin fair (Basel?). Photo: UK.
It was a big change for him. Until then, he had devoted himself entirely to identifying coins, letting others dictate the schedule. Now he had to think like a businessman. He found his own way. After all, he knew more about coins than many others. Some customers, however, did not like his straightforward, blunt manner. Other coin enthusiasts loved him for his old-fashioned ideals. He ran his coin shop as if the 1990s had never ended. He was old-fashioned in the best sense of the word, dealing in what he considered “real” numismatics and taking a long time to open up to modern technology. However, when he realised the opportunities the internet offered, he embraced them with enthusiasm. The people he met under the pseudonym “mumde” on numismatic online platforms are still his friends.
Joachim Stollhoff was one of the few completely selfless people I have met throughout my life. He never took knowingly advantage of a client, preferring to take a loss himself. Let me illustrate this with one of my favourite stories: In 2013, Joachim auctioned off his own collection of exceptionally well-preserved tokens. He had collected them with great knowledge and enthusiasm over the past decades. I knew many of the pieces because Joachim liked to tell me about his new acquisitions. So I bid at the auction. Apart from my present husband, there was only one other interested party in the room. At the time, tokens were a niche field in Germany; and international bids via the Internet did not play a role. Anyone who could not make the trip bid in writing. Hammer prices therefore remained low. When a written bidder outbid me on a piece, Joachim intervened: “Stop bidding, Uschi, you’ll get it much cheaper somewhere else.” That was Joachim.
At the 12th Haller Münzbörse, 2021. Photo: UK.
Owner of Münzen und Medaillen GmbH
After the end of Münzen und Medaillen AG in Basel, Joachim Stollhoff continued to run the German branch, first as managing director under the owner, Dr Bernhard Schulte, and then on his own after Dr Schulte’s death.
For the last few decades, he did so together with Dr Claire Franklin-Werz, who joined him as an employee and became his numismatic goddaughter. He was very proud of her wonderful sense of humour, her adventurous spirit and her curiosity. Joachim Stollhoff encouraged her as much as he could. The two of them enjoyed the last decades very much. They took advantage of every coin show, every congress to go on little expeditions in their old car.
Auction 50, the last floor auction so far by Münzen & Medaillen GmbH, June 2023. Photo: UK.
Auction 51 Will Be Held Following the Wishes of Joachim Stollhoff
On Saturday evening, 2 November 2024, Joachim Stollhoff died after a short, serious illness. His long-time colleagues Claire Franklin-Werz and Petra Gasenzer were at his deathbed. Together with Arne Kirsch, founder of Münzen und Medaillen GmbH, they will hold auction 51 following the wishes of Joachim Stollhoff. Right up to the very end, it was important to him for the auction sale to be implemented properly.
For practical reasons, the auction date has been postponed to Wednesday, 4 December 2024.
Joachim Stollhoff and Claire Franklin-Werz. Photo: UK.
Joachim Stollhoff is not survived by a wife or children, but by many people to whom he meant a great deal. These include his two nieces and their families in Hannover, to whom we extend our deepest condolences. These also include Claire Franklin-Werz and Petra Gasenzer. They became his family of choice.
Joachim Stollhoff leaves behind many friends who shared his uncompromising passion for numismatics. We will all miss him dearly.
Claire Franklin-Werz is writing a detailed obituary for Joachim Stollhoff. We will publish it at CoinsWeekly next week.
