Collection Dr. Plümacher Under the Hammer – Peus Auctions 430 and 431

Dr. Busso Peus Nachf. presents the spring auctions 430 and 431, which will take place in Frankfurt from 27th to 19th April 2022. Auction 430 includes several collections of coins from ancient to modern times, including the Burkhard Graichen collection with proofs, off-strikes and minting errors. Auction 431 is dedicated solely to an impressive universal collection of ancient coins. The collection of Dr. Plümacher was built up over 70 years with considerable knowledge and a preference for special quality.

The auctions start with a selection of some 300 coins from the ancient world that have been estimated in line with the market. Among the Greek coins, the archaic didrachm of Athens deserves special mention as it is one of the rarities of Greek archaic coinage (no. 46). Magna Grecia is also well represented with a beautiful tetradrachm from Rhegion (no. 14) and a very attractive coin of Hieron for his wife Philistis (no. 30). The offer becomes particularly dense for the Roman Republic, in which beautifully toned denarii from three private collections have been assembled. This first part of the auction comes to a golden finale with a nice collection of Byzantine solidi of consistently excellent quality.

The Dr. Plümacher Collection

However, the highlight of the first day of the auction will be the sale of a universal collection of ancient coins, the Dr. Eckhard Pluemacher collection. It was compiled over almost 70 years by a collector intimately acquainted with the ancient world and guided by an impeccable taste when it comes to preservation and style of his acquisitions. In the course of a long collector’s life, an exquisite collection came about that reflects the coinage of the Greeks and Romans in a representative way and comprises a good 700 pieces. Only a few of them can be singled out here. As befits a solid cross-sectional collection, with a Syracusan decadrachm (no. 3052), a mnaeion of Ptolemy IV (no. 3342), a 100-litra gold piece of Dionysius of Syracuse (no. 3054) and an aureus for Traianus Pater (no. 3447) pegs are hammered in, which underline the will of the collector to also make more expensive acquisitions. In between there are dozens, if not hundreds, of real gems that can compete with the aforementioned coins in terms of quality and rarity. Worth mentioning here are the archaic tetradrachm from Syracuse (no. 3045, a duplicate from the Hermitage collection), the drachm from Panticapaion with the half-frontal head of Silens (no. 3074) and the magnificent Cyzikene electrum  stater with a carousing Dionysus (no. 3191). The stater of the Lycian dynast Pericle boast with an impressive portrait (no. 3267). A rarity of Hellenistic coinage is the tetradrachm of Philetairos with the portrait of the deified Seleucus (no. 3196), which is almost overshadowed by the tetradrachm of Mithradates IV from the famous Kunstfreund auction (no. 3177). A magnificent Divus-Augustus-Dupondius with the sought-after collector’s mark of the D’Este (no. 3417) as well as a light miliarense of Constantine deserve to be mentioned (No. 3595), which underpin the collectible quality standards of this section. The d’Este collection marks only the beginning of a series of well-known and sought-after provenances that can be found in this collection. Finally, the bronze coin of Zela (no. 3649), on which a complete sentence can be read in Greek, stands for the provincial Roman coins of the Dr. Pluemacher collection – a philological treasure in which the profession and the preferences of the collector come together.

The Burkhard Graichen Collection

In the realm of modern coins, the important Burkhard Graichen collection with proofs, off-strikes and minting errors of German coins should be mentioned first. Many of the coins offered here and collected meticulously by the collector are likely to be unique or only exist in very few copies, so that there is probably a unique opportunity to add one or the other really exclusive piece to your collection. Burkhard Graichen, who died unexpectedly at the end of 2021, has been collecting mostly deviations from German small coins after 1871 since 1967, and he has done so with what is probably a unique level of attention, as well as a great deal of time and money. We are proud to be able to keep a souvenir of this passionate and in the most positive sense obsessive collector in our auction. Here are a few highlights of the consistently moderately estimated collection: Planned Kingdom of Poland: two 5 Fenigów coins from 1917 and 1918, each coupled with reverses of German Imperial coins. Weimar Republic: an unknown die-coupling of two Karl-Goetz motif samples 1925 of 3 Reichsmark in platinum. Allied occupation: 10 Pfennig 1947 with “Slavic 7”. Federal Republic: An experimental 2 DM coin 1955 J minted with an enlarged die, 2 Pfennig 1967 J with a copper-plated iron core. German Democratic Republic: prototype 1949 A to Jaeger 1504.

As always, a wide range of Habsburg and foreign coins from all epochs, as well as an extensive section of old German coins, will be auctioned off in front of the Graichen Collection. Smaller series from Mecklenburg, Brandenburg-Prussia and medals dedicated to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe are worth mentioning here. There is also a collection of tastefully assembled double talers from the 19th century and a collection of talers and medals from the Thirty Years’ War period throughout the section of this catalogue. As usual, the German Imperial coins follow, often in excellent condition, before the Graichen collection mentioned at the beginning forms the crowning glory. Favorably priced lots form the usual conclusion.

You can view all lots of the auction in the online catalog.

For more information visit the website of Dr. Busso Peus Nachf.