Hymann Montagu was one of the great British coin collectors of the 19th century. He bought entire collections and inventories for his large collection of English hammered and milled coins, but also Greek and Roman coins, which was sold after his death by Sotheby.
Three generations of the Austrian Trau family ran a very successful tea-import business in Vienna. The three of them also shared the love for coins and put together a fine collection of Austrian and Roman Imperial coins, which was auctioned off between 1904 and 1936.
Swiss collector Hans Krähenbühl aimed at assembling the broadest possible numismatic panorama of Greek and Roman antiquity with his collection. The result: a wonderful collection created from a single mold, with magnificent coins and impressive series.
Christian Gollnow collected Roman coins of exceptional quality and rareness with a focus on anonymous issues from the Civil War in 68 and 69 AD. He was able to gather more specimens on the subject than the most prominent coin cabinets.
Archer Huntington set out to assemble a collection – not only of coins – from every period and every land where Spanish influence was felt. Huntington established New York’s Hispanic Society of America whom he bequeathed his over 37,000 coins.
Virgil Brand gathered the largest private coin collection of all times. When he died in 1926 he left 368,000 items, a collection estimated at a staggering five million US$. The son of a German father made his fortune with the family’s brewery business in Chicago.
Alberto Campana is an Italian biologist with a passion for numismatics. As a coin collector he is mainly focused on countermarks apposed on Sicilian Greek coins and to the Roman Republic coinage. He also published multiple books and articles on these subjects.
George Bauer was a passionate coin collector. He was elected 17th President of the American Numismatic Association and then became a professional numismatist. An authority on Greek and Roman coins and in the possession of a fabulous collection, he is little known in Europe.
Arthur Bally was born into a famous Swiss industrial family. His main passion was for Swiss coins but he clearly showed an interest for coins in general – not limiting himself to the best preserved examples or the most precious rarities. That became a problem after his death.
The Hunt brothers became legendary for their attempt to corner the world market in silver – and for losing a billion dollar in this vain effort. They were fervous coin collectors, too, and William allegedly was eager to buy every Byzantine gold coin in the world.
