"The MoneyMuseum would never have been able to put together a collection of this high standard without Dr. Mildenberg in such a short time" says Marie-Alix Wyss, the MoneyMuseum curator. Leo Mildenberg is our most important consultant and supervisor of our coin collection. He brought up the original idea of organizing the coins by their leading currencies. His profound knowledge of Numismatics, being familiar with the market, and above all having an trained eye are the requirements for carrying out such an ambitious project successfully. "In this respect there is nobody like Leo Mildenberg," exclaims Marie-Alix Wyss, praising the comprehensive experience of her mentor. "He can tell a coins price just by looking at it and knows whether there is a better, price-worthy exemplar available." He has a sense of recognizing the beauty of a coins craftsmanship turning an ordinary coin into an exquisite coin. More than 50 years of Numismatic and coin-dealing experience has attributed to the unique personality of Leo Mildenberg.

Talking to Dr. Mildenberg one forgets his 85 years. Behind his glasses sparkle enthusiastic eyes, he is full of life and still youthful. He still lectures Numismatics as well as Ancient History at Princeton and Harvard University. His passionate commitment to coins and animals in ancient art is obviously a fountain of youth!

Biography:

Leo Mildenberg was born in Kassel on the 14th of February, 1913. He went to school in Bad Mergentheim and Schwäbisch Hall. He studied Ancient History and Semitic Languages in Frankfurt on Main, Leipzig and Dorpat (Estonia); was assistant professor in Dorpat from 1939-1941; in 1941-1946 he was deported to Kazakhstan. He founded the Numismatic Department of Bank Leu in Zurich, Switzerland's oldest bank, in 1947, where he later became Bank Director until 1990. In 1966-1979 he was the chief editor of the "Schweizerischen Numismatischen Rundschau" (Swiss Numismatic Review); in 1980 he was awarded an honorary membership to the International Association of Professional Numismatists and in 1985 he received the Huntington Medal from the American Numismatic Society; on the 23rd of May 1995 he received an honorary doctorate from the Tübingen University; on his 70th birthday, 1984, "Festschrift für Studies in Honour of Leo Mildenberg", Wetteren was published; 1999 he became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society, London; 1979-1999; exhibition of his collection of animal sculptures of Antiquity in the USA and Europe.

Bibliography: The Coinage of the Bar Kokhba War, Aarau-Frankfurt-Salzburg 1984; Vestigia Leonis, Studies of Antique Numismatics of Israel, Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean World, published by U. Hübner and E.A. Knauf, Freiburg, Switzerland, 1998 for the 85th birthday of Leo Mildenberg.