Numismatik#

Numismatics, one of the first eminent collectors of coins in Austria was Emperor Maximilian I, and the later Habsburgs acquired further precious items for their coin collections. Emperor Karl VI set up the "Muenz- und Antikenkabinett" (Collection of Coins and Antiques) in Vienna (now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum). In the 16th century first attempts at scientific numismatic research, to which Austria contributed considerably, were begun by W. Lazius, L. Heyperger and C. Tanstetter and continued by C. A. Fernberger in the 17th century and by K. G. Heraeus, C. Garelli, E. Froehlich and J. Khell von Khellburg in the 18th century. J. H. Eckhel was the founder of strictly scholarly numismatics in Austria and compiled a first system of classification. Another important numismatologist was F. Neumann, who connected numismatics with archaeology, which still very much concentrated on classical numismatics in the 19th century. Famous 19th century numismatologists were J. Brettauer, K. Domanig, J. v. Arnetz, J. Bergmann, in the 20th century A. Luschin-Ebengreuth, A. Loehr and B. Saria. In 1870 the Numismatic Association in Vienna ("Numismatische Gesellschaft in Wien") was founded. Since 1947 it has been called the Austrian Numismatic Association ("Oesterreichische Numismatische Gesellschaft"); it owns a library, the Richter Collection (classical coins), publishes the magazine "Numismatische Zeitschrift" and issues reports.

Numismatics helped to have coins acknowledged as historical sources and thus became one of the first exact historical disciplines in Austria. The large collections in Vienna contributed to this successful development.