Karl Ortseifen was born on 31 October 1943 in Salz (Westerwald, Germany), and spent his childhood and youth there. After graduating from Hadamar’s classical grammar school in 1963, he studied English and American Studies as well as History at Johannes-Gutenberg Universität in Mainz. During his studies, Karl Ortseifen worked as teaching assistant in England from 1964 to 1965, and as teaching fellow at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA, from 1967 to 1969. There, he obtained an MA in English Language and Literature in 1968. He passed the state examination in English and History in Mainz in 1970, and was awarded a PhD in American Studies there in 1977.
From 1971 onwards, Karl Ortseifen held various positions at the Department of English and Linguistics at the University of Mainz, ultimately serving as Academic Director until his retirement in 2009. At the same time, he taught American Studies with a focus on language and literature, the political system of the USA, and German-American relations in both the past and the present. He continued teaching even after his retirement until 2014.
Dr. Karl Ortseifen’s education at school and university is also reflected in his numismatic interests and the topics of his collection, which include the Seleucid Empire, the Electorate of Mainz, historical territories of the Westerwald region, Great Britain and the USA. Having developed an interest in antiquity at a grammar school specializing in the humanities, Karl Ortseifen has traveled to numerous countries of the ancient world (Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Iran and Egypt) to experience the cradle of our culture first-hand.
Dr. Karl Ortseifen is not only a collector and researcher. He is also committed to promoting numismatic life in his home region, as he has been a board member of the Numismatic Society of Mainz-Wiesbaden since 1997, and has been First Chairman since 2009. He regularly gives lectures on various numismatic topics at this active coin club, as well as at numerous others, and thanks to his extensive network, he succeeded in bringing many interesting speakers to Mainz. Highlights include the Society’s 90th anniversary celebrations in 2011 (the 46th South German Coin Collectors’ Meeting) and its 100th anniversary celebrations in 2021 (the 18th German and 58th South German Coin Collectors’ Meeting), although the event came with many pandemic-related hurdles. The excellent commemorative publication “Geld und Wirtschaft im Südwesten” was also produced for these celebrations.
Therefore, Dr. Karl Ortseifen has played a key role in fostering the fruitful collaboration between numismatists in the collecting community, the coin trade, universities as well as museums that characterizes the numismatic community to the benefit of all. He is happy to share his in-depth and comprehensive knowledge, and is always prepared to learn new things himself. As chairman, he set out the motto: “We are not gathered here to increase wealth, but knowledge.”
In 2020, he was awarded the honorary award of the German Numismatic Society in recognition of his many years of service to the numismatic community.
Dr. Karl Ortseifen has been associated with our company since 1992, when he participated in Künker’s auction 22 (“Archdiocese Mainz – An important collection from the estates of the Rhenish nobility”). Now, in his later years, he wishes to divest himself of the issues from the territories of the Electorates of Mainz and Trier (created under the Westerwald Elector Johann Philipp von Walderdorff). Among the items on offer is an important piece of Westerwald monetary history: the 1756 medal commemorating Johann Philipps von Walderdorff’s elevation to Archbishop and Elector of Trier featuring the view of the medieval Molsberg castle and the church of Salz, the birthplace of Dr. Karl Ortseifen (lot No. 2420). Our collector is particularly proud of this piece.
We are delighted to be offering part of his collection and would like to thank Dr. Karl Ortseifen for his trust. We hope that you, our valued customers, enjoy browsing the catalog. We wish you every success with your bids.
