Emporium Imagebroschuere engl

and the portrait of the regents on the front. For
this reason, the money from the "old Germany"
is more exciting, because it is more historically
informative.
One outstanding feature of numismatics
is the sheer endless variety. How do you
manage to keep abreast of this?
Work, work and more work. It is a bit like
learning vocabulary.
You established Emporium Hamburg
almost 50 years ago. Can you briefly
outline how the coin trade has changed
over the years?
There has actually been a boom phase every
ten years. The first was in the years 1979/80
with the start of the Afghanistan war. Also in
1980 the Olympics took place in Moscow. At
that time the silver price reached 2,000 DM per
kilo, with the cost of gold having also increased
to around 42,000 DM. That
was a huge amount of money
at the time. In the year of
reunification in 1990 we
experienced the so-called
"GDR boom". This was
a phase during which
astronomic prices were
demanded for GDR coins. In
2000 the millennium was of
course the focus. It also coincided with the end
of the D-Mark and the introduction of the euro.
In 2000 the millennium was
of course the focus. It also
coincided with the end of
the D-Mark and the introduction
of the euro.
But the real passion for collecting developed
from the initial scepticism of the public towards
the euro, which remains to this day.
There is wonderful quote from the German
philosopher Manfred Hinrich, "since
people have been shaping coins, coins have
been shaping people". What has shaped
you? Both professionally and personally?
When I was at school, history was a subject
where numbers had to be learned by heart. It
was somewhat tiresome. Later however it had
become apparent that the dates and facts I had
learned formed the central thread in order to
move through the centuries in numismatics.
To what extent has the Hanseatic City
of Hamburg shaped you and the success of
your company?
I am an East Frisian and come from the corner
of the Jade Bight. So from the "flat country".
I came to Hamburg for the
first time in the 1950s. At that
time you could still clearly
see the deep impact of the
Second World War in the
city. However with every
visit our parents made to
the Hanseatic city with us
children, we clearly saw the
development, the progress,
how the city slowly grew out of the rubble.
I completed my second apprenticeship at the
Commerzbank here in Hamburg, and, at that
time, the city also became more and more a
part of me. The older I got, the more I learned
to love and appreciate the city. Unlike other
metropolises like Paris and London, the traffic
still flows here. It takes around an hour to travel
I am an East Frisian and
come from the corner of
the Jade Bight. So from the
"flat country".
by car from north to south or from east to
west – which is great. With around 1.8 million
inhabitants, Hamburg is also very manageable.
Hamburg also has a really fascinating history.
The Romans labelled the settlement around
the Hammaburg at the time as "Emporium
Hamburgum" on their maps. In 1971 I spent
six months in the USA. One day I went to the
"Emporium" supermarket there. I can't exactly
say why but the name immediately appealed to
me. I later looked up the meaning of the name
"emporium" and it said "main marketplace,
market" – well I never, that's perfect! And that's
where the company name came from. Aside
from that, I feel really at home in Hamburg.
Hamburg is a fascinating city, which, against
the backdrop of its geographic location and
its history, its people, their spirit and creativity,
combined with the personal commitment of the
individual, has developed a huge dynamism.
A credo you favour and also live by – based
loosely on Cicero – says "all the gold and
silver in the world does not outweigh the
value of a good virtue". Can you finally
explain your thoughts on this, your
personal credo?
A good virtue such as reliability, as I have
personally found in myself, is something I
demand more and more with increasing age.
Reliability is a virtue that we should encounter
everywhere, no matter whether in society or
the state, the team in a company or a small
family. Living together only works if there are
Living together only works
if there are basic rules that
everyone understands and
respects.
basic rules that everyone understands and
respects. But this respect is not a matter of
course. Often the respect for a virtue has to be
enforced. A very good example of this is the
depiction of the goddess Justitia. Most people
know that, in one hand she is holding scales,
symbolising justice, but then it gets a little
tenuous. Few people have noticed that Justitia
has her eyes covered, in order to be impartial.
However, virtually nobody will have seen that
the mythology has given Justitia a sword in her
other hand. This sword is necessary to create
the respect for justice. The virtue of reliability
has not been given a sword in its hand. Here it
is the personal understanding of the individual
to respect the basic rules of reliability. In this
respect, the reliability I am talking about here
is an enormous force for good, that you cannot
outweigh with all the gold and silver in the
world. It is reliability that shapes the value of
the individual and the value of the entire team
in a company, internally as well as externally -
so, "Nulla Vis Auri Et Agenti Pluris Quam Virtus
Aestimanda Est" – "All the gold and silver in the
world does not outweigh the value of a good
virtue". n
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