It was undoubtedly one of the most important and anticipated events in the world of numismatics. The 16th International Numismatic Congress took place in Warsaw from 11th to 16th September 2022. It attracted scholars, archaeologists, historians, numismatists, curators of coin cabinets, auction houses, collectors, and dealers. It was the first numismatic congress in Poland and the first in Central and Eastern Europe in general.
Long-anticipated meeting
There’s no other way to put it: everyone was euphoric when the 800 numismatists from 46 countries met for the opening ceremony at the University of Warsaw’s Aula Maxima. Finally, it did start. The International Numismatic Congress (INC), although many obstacles had to be overcome to get to this point – writes Ursula Kampmann in Coins Weekly.
This event takes place every six or seven years under the auspices of the International Numismatic Council. The main organizer was the University of Warsaw. The Samlerhuset Group was next to Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH one of the event’s main sponsors.
The Congress is primarily scientific. The main goal is to share the newest discoveries and research results with the international community. Moreover, the Congress always creates a great opportunity to meet and network with representatives of the numismatics from all over the world.
Obstacles and challenges
The organization of the Congress was a true path of health for profesor Aleksander Bursche and his team. Initially, the event was to be held in 2021, but the organizers, due to the coronavirus pandemic, decided to postpone it to 2022. Another obstacle was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The organizers had initially hoped that it would be possible to separate politics and science during the congress to socialize on a personal level with colleagues of a despotic regime. This hope was devastated when the Polish government prohibited Russian scholars from entering the country (…) Many decided not to participate and informed the organizers about their decision. Aleksander Bursche and his team reacted immediately: for the first time ever, a streaming platform was set up for the entire International Numismatic Congress, enabling those at home – for the regular registration fee – to listen to all sessions and to participate with their own paper. – writes Coin Weekly.
A very interesting summary of the Congress you can find on the Coins Weekly website.
Samlerhuset Group at the Numismatic Congress
During the Congress, we took the opportunity to talk about noble initiatives that make the world a better place. We shared information about Fairmined Gold, and Humanium Metal and we displayed the replica of the Nobel Peace Prize Medal at the Congress.
Ole Bjørn Fausa, founder and co-owner of the Samlerhuset Group talked about the Fairmined Gold Initiative during the Gala Dinner.
In his speech at the Gala Dinner, Ole Björn Fausa (…) demonstrated to the numismatists present that scholars aren’t the only ones who are committed to major ethical values. Samlerhuset has been supporting Fairmined since 2016, an initiative that seeks to improve working conditions in gold mining. After all, much of the gold that is used for computers, smartphones, jewelry – and, of course, coins – is from mines where people work under conditions that no one should have to work under these days – writes Ursula Kampmann.
The speech you can find here
Numismatic exhibitions
The congress was accompanied by extremely interesting numismatic exhibitions, such as: Opening of the special exhibition for 100 years of the Numismatic Room at the National Museum in Warsaw, Exhibition of the Polish Numismatic Society, Exhibition “The gold collection of Andre van Bastelaer in the Royal Castle”, Numismatic Cabinet at the University of Warsaw in different locations in Warsaw, Hoard of Roman denarii founded in Cichoborz (Poland).
Co-organizers of the Congress: the National Polish Bank, the National Museum in Warsaw and Krakow, the Royal Castle in Warsaw, and the Polish Numismatic Society. The City of Warsaw was also engaged in the promotion of the Congress.
The website of the International Numismatic Congress in Warsaw
