by the International Association of Professional Numismatists
October 19, 2017 – This year the A.I.N.P. (International Association of Professional Numismatists, I.A.P.N.) held its 65th Annual General Meeting from Thursday 1st to Sunday 4th June 2017 in Lucerne (Switzerland). There were 37 numismatic firms (and 28 by proxy) out of more than 100 companies in the five continents. It is the first time since its foundation that the General Assembly has been held in that city. The annual conference brings together the largest numismatic firms in the non-profit professional association formed after the Second World War to help re-establish the relationship between professional numismatists firms, which were severely damaged. The objectives of the A.I.N.P. are the development of a healthy and prosperous numismatic trade, carried out according to the highest standards of ethics and commercial practice, the promotion of scientific research, the propagation of numismatics, and the creation of lasting and friendly relations between Professional Numismatists from around the world.
During the congress, 2 working sessions were held; various subjects such as counterfeiting in numismatics, as well as the various laws passed around the world, were debated. There followed a very interesting discussion about the new laws on cultural heritage, especially in Europe, which could prevent our trade by prohibiting the sale of cultural objects.
We were invited to a conference on new digital communications. Mr. Marc Culas from Stuttgart was our speaker and gave us some insights into new technologies, such as the importance our mobile phones have taken in our everyday lives in just 15 years, the Personal Assistant (Echo) is going to become according to him our next connected most used object, which is developed by Amazone.
The 1st Prize of the numismatic book of the year was awarded to:
Pangerl, Andreas, Portraits: 500 Years of Roman Coin Portraits, Staatliche Münzsammlung München (Munich, GER) 2017, ISBN 978-3-922840-36-7. Price: €60.
Second: Day, William R. Jr., Matzke, Michael, Saccocci, Andrea, Medieval European Coinage (Volume 12: Northern Italy), Cambridge University Press (NYC, U.S.A.) 2017, ISBN 978-0521260213. Price: $265.
Third: Thesen, Gunnar, Norges mynter i dansketiden 1449-1814, Bookwell Ltd (Porvoo, FIN) 2015, ISBN 978-82- 690202-0-5. Price: €100.
We were able to discover the beautiful city of Lucerne and its history, thanks to a guided tour, in particular the magnificent wooden Chapel Bridge rebuilt identically, following the terrible fire of 1993.
A dinner was organized in the oldest restaurant in Lucerne, the “Wilden Mann”, which celebrates its 5th centenary this year.
The city of Lucerne has several facets. A few steps from the hotel, we were able to visit the Lion of Lucerne, a sculpture designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen, then made in 1820-1821 by Lukas Ahorn. It celebrated the Swiss mercenaries who had died in the service of the King of France, Louis XVI, when the revolutionaries stormed the Palais des Tuileries in Paris in 1792.
The Gala dinner, which took place in the prestigious Schweizerhof Hotel, raised CHF 2,950 for the benefit of the French Association of Rett Syndrome.
We had a busy day on Sunday, with a cruise on Lake Lucerne, a cog rail ride with a slope of more than 40% to reach the top of Mount Pilatus, followed by a pleasant meal at the top, with a Beautiful view of the Lucerne region.
During the working sessions, the memory of the members who have passed away since the last congress, Mr. Fernando Segarra, Mr. Benjamin Bell, Peter Nikolaus Schulten, Marco Ratto and Ms. Catherine Bullowa, was discussed; one minute of silence followed.
The 2017 congress (odd year) was a year of election for our association, with a new team for the executive committee; the outgoing president was re-elected.
The next congress will take place in Prague in the Czech Republic from May 3 to 6 2018, and will be organized by John JENCEK.
It will welcome the 3 new members elected in Lucerne: Mr. Javier Saez Salgado: Numisma Leiloes
Mr. Johan Agren: Philea AB / Myntkompaniet
Mr. Hiroshi Tanaka: Taisei Coins Co.
For more information on A.I.N.P. – I.A.P.N. visit the website.
Or contact the Secretary General and Executive Director of the Association:
Jean-Luc van der Schueren
14, rue de la Bourse
BE – 1000 BRUSSELS – Belgium
Tel: + 32-2-513-3400 Fax: + 32-2-512-2528,
or via e-mail.
For more information on the French Association of Rett Syndrome click here.
On CoinsWeekly, you can read a review of two of the recipients of the 2017 I.A.P.N. book prizes: “Portraits: 500 Years of Roman Coin Portraits”, and “Medieval European Coinage, vol. 12”.