Druckrey, Eike
By Johannes Nollé
Eike Druckrey was inspired to delve into ancient numismatics by his father, who over the years gave or bequeathed his son a wide range of coins. These gifts presented a challenge for the boy, who would first identify the coins more precisely, and then try to understand their historical background as thoroughly and comprehensively as possible.
Künker Auction 416 (29/30 October 2024), lot 1015: Poseidonia / Lucania. Stater, 530-500, from the Gillet Collection, Leu auction 77 (2000), no. 51. Hammer price: 40,000 EUR.
Later, Dr Druckrey began to steer the collection in his own direction, developing his own collecting style with specific objectives. He wanted to collect coins that appealed to him aesthetically. As a result, his collection consisted primarily of Greek coins from the Archaic and Classical periods that were perfectly struck and boast outstanding condition. He was not interested in quantity, but in beauty.
This is the story of the Dr Eike Druckrey Collection, who did not aim to acquire as many types of Greek coins as possible, but instead to assemble the finest pieces of ancient Greek coin art. The coins in this collection pay tribute to the artistic achievements of the Greeks in the Archaic and Classical periods. The result is a small but fine museum of artwork that provides an insight into a world in which even an object as everyday as a coin aspired to a level of beauty that was rarely achieved in later times, and is unlikely to be surpassed in this abundance ever again.
Künker auction 416 (29/30 October 2024), lot 1133: Mende / Macedonia. Tetradrachm, 460-423. From auction Hess-Leu 15 (1960), no. 131. Extremely fine / very fine. Hammer price: 42,000 EUR.
Aesthetics formed the basis of Dr Druckrey’s collection. However, his search for beauty did not end there. As an admirer of Greek art, he wanted to understand the coin motifs and, with them, the ancient Greek world of thought to which they owe their existence. Dr Druckrey read the literature to learn about the thoughts and feelings of the ancient Greeks, which he then linked to the iconography of the coins he collected. Using the coin motifs as a jumping-off point, he also intensively studied the Greek myths that were told in the Greek cities around the Mediterranean, which gave even the smallest cities their own identity and therefore deserved to appear on the coins of the poleis.
Künker Auction 416 (29/30 October 2024), lot 1060: Syracuse / Sicily. Tetradrachm, 485-480. Acquired on 10 November 1997. Rare. Extremely fine / Almost extremely fine. Hammer price: 50,000 EUR.
And that is not all: Dr Druckrey has also traveled to almost all areas of the Mediterranean where these coins were minted or widely circulated. It is essential to familiarize oneself with the geography and the “genius loci” of a region in order to understand why a particular coin motif was chosen there, and the local sensibilities that it reflects – namely, the sense of pride that the residents of a particular location felt for their homeland.
Dr Druckrey’s dedication to and detailed knowledge of his collection is clearly reflected in his book “Griechische Münzen. Faszination und Geschichte. Aufzeichnungen eines Sammlers”, which was published by Künker in 2005. This almost 700-page book, complete with very beautiful illustrations, also features an introduction written by our company’s founder Fritz Rudolf Künker, emphasizing how much the “House of Minted History” (Haus für geprägte Geschichte) welcomes the way in which passionate and knowledgeable collectors present the structure, objectives, and most exciting pieces of their collections, and make their numismatic work more accessible for other collectors and coin enthusiasts.
The Dr. Eike Druckrey Collection was auctioned on October 29/30, 2024 in Künker Auction 416. It was entitled ” The Aesthetics and the World of Thought of the Early Greeks – The Dr. Eike Druckrey Collection.
