The highlight of his career was his position as head of Radio-Austria AG, the Austrian state telecommunications company, where Dr Wenzel served as General Director from 1951 until his retirement in 1970. In the early 1980s, Dr Wenzel chronicled his difficult beginnings in that role: “You can imagine that the postwar period was not easy. I often lay awake at night because I didn’t know how I was going to pay the salaries. Technically, things weren’t any better. The antennas were smashed and the equipment was ancient, both at the receiving station on Laaerberg and at the transmitting station in Deutsch-Altenburg.”

General Director Dr Wenzel succeeded in both restructuring the company and repurchasing company shares from English ownership, so that by 1955 the entire share capital was owned by the Republic of Austria. For his services to Radio-Austria AG and his contribution to the reconstruction of Austria, Dr Herbert Wenzel was awarded the Grand Silver Medal of Honour of the Republic of Austria in 1963.

Dr Wenzel began collecting coins and medals in the early 1920s and, over a period of around sixty years, built up one of the most important coin collections in Austria. In 1937, he became a member of the Austrian Numismatics Society, of which he was President for more than a quarter of a century, from 1959 until his death on 20 July 1985. Dr Wenzel enjoyed sharing his profound knowledge and the insights he had gained through his extensive collecting activities, publishing around fifty articles on numismatics and monetary history, particularly in relation to his native Austria. In recognition of this, the Austrian Numismatics Society honoured its President with the Eckhel Medal of Honour in 1970 and dedicated the 89th volume of the Numismatics Journal to him in 1974.

After his retirement, Dr Herbert Wenzel was able to devote even more time to his numismatic interests. The lawyer, who was passionate about history, also completed another degree in theology with a special focus on Oriental rites and languages, graduating with honours. After spending extended periods on Mount Athos, he was ordained in 1974 and served for many years as a deacon of the Greek Orthodox Church in Vienna.

We thank the family for their trust in making the extraordinary collection of Habsburg coins of one of Austria’s most distinguished numismatists available to other numismatics enthusiasts through several Künker auctions. We wish you, dear customers, much enjoyment in studying the catalogue and much success in bidding.

Osnabrück, November 2025 
Dr Andreas Kaiser

Image source: Territory of the Habsburg Monarchy in Europe at the time of Charles V's abdication in 1555. A. W. Ward et al. (eds.), The Cambridge Modern History Atlas, London 1912, public domain.