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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Curtisimo, post: 7412327, member: 83845&quot;]Wonderful coin Donna. I have always thought it would be great to pick up a solidus but I still haven’t found the right one. Yours is a great example of a design that still retains its artistic link to the earlier Roman themes.&nbsp; It is always nice to be able to trace a provenance back that far also.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The evidence certainly seems to suggest that this might have been the case but if it makes you feel any better I did not find any direct evidence that he was a party member or a supporter. I did a lot of research on several of my WWII era provenances and I do recall that there were some cases of Jewish families transferring or selling their businesses to employees or family friends in order to try and protect as much of the assets as possible. Certainly this was a minority of cases but if I remember correctly (it’s been a while since my deep dive) it was happening enough that the Nazis cracked down on it. I was able to find details on the aryanizing process and post-war settlements for other dealers but not Kress.&nbsp; The only info I found is that Heinrich and Gerhard Hirsch were denied an auction permit in 1935 after which Gerhard moved to Prague in 1937 and continued as a dealer. The Munich company under the name Otto Helbing was sold in 1938/9 to Kress.&nbsp; The only additional info I found was a vague reference that Otto Helbing Nachf was “returned to Gerhard Hirsch after the war.”&nbsp; I have no idea what context this return was in but Hirsch obviously continued to sell under his own name.</p><p><br /></p><p>I always tend to think I would like and have a lot in common with the people that owned my coins before me. This thread shows that there may be some previous owners of my coins that were not particularly likable. It’s not the fault of the coin and I’m sure many upstanding folks have owned the coin before and after.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are a few of the coins from an auction in WWII Munich run by Kress.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1288397[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Roman Empire</font></p><p><font size="3">Caracalla</font></p><p><font size="3">AR denarius, Rome mint, struck ca. AD 206</font></p><p><font size="3">Dia.: 18 mm</font></p><p><font size="3">Wt.: 3.18 g</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv.: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG; Laureate head right</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev.: PONTIF TR P VIIII COS II; Mars in military dress standing left, right hand resting on shield, left hand holding spear</font></p><p><font size="3">Ref.: RIC IV 83</font></p><p><font size="3">Ex Otto Helbing Nachf. 86 (Nov. 25, 1942); Ex Gorney &amp; Mosch Auction 241, lot 3068 (Oct. 12, 2016); Ex arnoldoe Collection</font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1288398[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Roman Empire</font></p><p><font size="3">Severus Alexander</font></p><p><font size="3">AR Denarius, Antioch mint, struck ca. AD 222-235</font></p><p><font size="3">Dia.: 18 mm</font></p><p><font size="3">Wt.: 3.35 g</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv.: IMP C AVR ALEXAND AVG; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev.: PROVID DEORVM; Providentia standing left, holding wand over globe and sceptre</font></p><p><font size="3">Ref.: RIC 294</font></p><p><font size="3">Ex arnoldoe Collection, Ex Otto Helbing Nachfolger 86, Lot 1585 (Nov. 25, 1942)</font></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a coin I can trace to a pencil rubbing done by Dattari (pre-1901?).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1288400[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1288399[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Egypt, Alexandria </font></p><p><font size="3">Antoninus Pius</font></p><p><font size="3">BI Tetradrachm, Alexandria mint, RY 11 = AD 147/8. </font></p><p><font size="3">Dia.: 24 mm</font></p><p><font size="3">Wt.: 13.81 g</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv.: ANTωNEINOC CEB EYCEB, Laureate bust right</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev.: L ENΔEKATOV, Elpis standing left, lifting hem of skirt and holding flower</font></p><p><font size="3">Ref.: Dattari-Savio pl. 111, 8160 (this coin illustrated); Emmett 1383.11; RPC Online IV temp #13607 (this coin cited).</font></p><p><font size="3">Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago (1981.511); ex Giovanni Dattari Collection (1853-1923)</font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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