Arnaud, Pierre (1922-1996)
by Hadrien Rambach
A French collector born in Marseille, Pierre Arnaud first made money dealing in boats, and then earned a fortune with the company Fotolabo. After falling in love with the plateau of Crans-Montana, he moved to Crans-sur-Sierre in the Swiss Valais. After his death, his daughter Sylvie Salzmann created a foundation in his memory to organise art-exhibitions. In order to raise money for the foundation, she sold his coin collection through Acama and Hess-Divo (auction 307, 2007). Despite a financial setback, having been the victim of an “investment-company” in the 1970s, Arnaud had indeed built a refined collection of coins with the help of Hans Voegtli and the firm of Münzen und Medaillen, disposing of his earlier purchases (Byzantine and French gold coins) and keeping only Greek and Roman coins in high grade.
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.
