Our Summer Auction Sales may only last three days, but these three days are packed with numismatic highlights. On Thursday, 3 July, 224 coins and medals from Tyrol will be on offer, including testimonies to the creation of the first taler as well as extremely important representative pfennigs of the Renaissance and early Baroque periods. They are from the collection of engineer Hermann Wohnlich and will be presented in a separate catalog (Auction 423).

Another catalog is dedicated to the third part of the collection of a German manufacturer and history enthusiast, presenting first-class issues from Münster, Osnabrück and Passau, as well as some pieces of the Fugger family and the Landgraves of Leuchtenberg (Auction 424).

The general catalog with world coins and medals from the Middle Ages to the present day includes, among other things, the collection of the Mohr family with many gold coins and an extensive series of the finest medals.

The eLive Premium Auction 426, taking place subsequently on 7 and 8 July 2025, will be the subject of a separate auction preview.

Like many other Germans, the engineer Hermann Wohnlich began to collect coins in the 1970s. He bought his first coin at the first auction of the newly established coin shop “Gießener Münzhandlung”. It was a gold gulden of Archduke Sigismund (called ‘rich in coins’) of Tyrol. Having established the topic of his collection, Hermann Wohnlich developed into a dedicated coin enthusiast who acquired his coins from all over the numismatic world.

Hermann Wohnlich worked as the manager of a successful specialty paper printing company, a job that required him to move to Hesse in 1953, which was far from his beloved home of Oberaudorf in the Inntal valley. Collecting coins from Tyrol gave him the opportunity to keep in touch with his home region. Being a member of the active Tyrolean Numismatic Society and a regular at their events provided him with many reasons to travel to Hall and Innsbruck on various occasions, especially after Hermann Wohnlich returned to Oberaudorf after his retirement.

In almost forty years of collecting, Hermann Wohnlich had the opportunity to place bids for outstanding Tyrolean pieces at many important auction sales. This becomes evident on every page of catalog 423, which presents the magnificent rarities of this ensemble. It covers Tyrolean coinage, beginning with Count Meinhard II, and an example of his popular zwanziger, from which the kreuzer took its name. It ends with Tyrol’s becoming part of the Austrian Empire and some 20th-century medals.

The time frame is represented by a breathtaking variety of 224 lots of the most beautiful coins created by the mint in Hall. For collectors interested in monetary history, this catalog is an absolute must, as it contains all the precursors and early forms of the first taler – then called guldiner. But Hermann Wohnlich’s collection of representative pfennigs is also very impressive and fascinating to see for any collector interested in art history. This catalog perfectly covers the variety of coinage commissioned by Maximilian I. But we can also see the much rarer representative talers of his successor Ferdinand I as well as evidence from the early days of machine-made coins produced with the rolling mill.

As an engineer, the collector paid particular attention to the perfect minting of the coins and medals he acquired. He had a good eye for this, which is why the collection stands out for its consistent quality. Many pieces are characterized by their wonderful patina – and there is a comment for every single coin mentioning the place where Hermann Wohnlich bought it.

Are you fascinated by multiple gold and silver coins? In that case, you should take a close look at this catalog. For the third part of the collection of a German manufacturer and history enthusiast contains numerous impressive examples of the coins that were once used as diplomatic gifts in order to establish and maintain personal connections.

The catalog covers various topics. One of them is the coinage of the bishopric of Münster, starting with Heinrich von Schwarzburg (1466-1496) and ending with the sede vacante of 1801. This ensemble is complemented by issues commemorating the Peace of Westphalia of Münster and Osnabrück, as well as some issues from the neighboring bishopric of Osnabrück.

A particularly interesting topic is that of the coins issued by the Fugger family, who famously started out as a merchant dynasty from Augsburg and went on to own several counties as members of the nobility. In this capacity they minted coins. A small series of their issues is part of this catalog.

There is also a small run of early issues from the Landgraves of Leuchtenberg that were created before the territory came under the control of the Wittelsbach dynasty. The catalog concludes with an impressive overview of the coinage of the bishops of Passau. To this day, the city on the Danube and Inn rivers is dominated by the clergy. St. Stephen’s Cathedral towers over the old town, which has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in northern Bavaria. Passau’s magnificent coins give an idea of the power behind the baroque splendor that attracts visitors from all over the world today.

Auction 425 begins on the afternoon of 3 July 2025 with world coins and medals from the Middle Ages to the present day. With more than 1,600 lots, the extensive catalog has something to offer for almost every collector. For example, the catalog presents the collection of the Mohr family, containing a wealth of fascinating gold coins from all over the world.

Some of the most spectacular pieces are featured in our preview, but there are also many interesting coins in the mid-price range, and collectors interested in medals in particular will make exciting discoveries.

Of course, as we have come to expect from Künker, catalog 425 also offers a rich selection of German coins minted after 1871.