Harald Nilsson has made the Uppsala University Coin Cabinet known worldwide
Harald Nilsson, born in Jönköping in 1942, has been conferred an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Arts, Department of History, at the University of Uppsala. The award-giving ceremony will take place on January 22nd, 2010. The statement runs as follows: “Harald Nilsson is numismatist and retired Senior Curator both at the Royal Coin Cabinet Stockholm and at the Uppsala University. Prior to his retirement, he has rendered outstanding services to the rearrangement of the Coin Cabinet at the University of Uppsala. Apart from that, he has made the collection available to the general public through a new exhibit as well as a database. Furthermore, Harald Nilsson has instigated further research on the collection and founded the publication series “Studia Numismatica Uppsaliensia” of which several volumes were published within a short space of time.”
This brief statement passes over Harald Nilsson’s true standing in the numismatic world. Owing to his polite, modest and always helpful nature he certainly is one the few numismatists which only made friends during their professional career. Since he was challenged by his severe hearing handicap he waived a PhD doctorate following his studies of Classics at the Uppsala University – in Sweden, this requires a thorough and public oral examination. Nevertheless, due to his surgency and his diligence he became a formative character in Swedish numismatics. Between 1976 and 2004, Harald Nilsson worked at the Royal Coin Cabinet Stockholm where he had primary responsibility for the relocation to the new, splendid Money Museum. He acted in the background numerous times when publications had to be supervised and edited; he collected the printing costs for these publications which could be released within an extraordinary short time. From 1997 to 2009, Harald Nilsson acted as international coordinator of the Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum.
From 1992 onwards, Harald spent one day a week at the Coin Cabinet at Uppsala University. The collection was awakened by him from its 100-year sleep – he devoted much energy to this task which was to become his full-time occupation between 2004 and 2008.
At present, the keen numismatist concentrates on publishing the coins from the Swedish archaeological excavations at Carthage and Labraunda in Caria / Asia Minor.
May Harald Nilsson take much pleasure in his honorary title. He really deserves it.