Handover of a Hofrat Becker archive to the Haus der Stadtgeschichte

Offenbach numismatist Hans Möller Offenbach is handing over to the city archives in the Haus der Stadtgeschichte his archive, compiled over many years, on the life and work of art and coin dealer Carl Wilhelm Becker, who lived in Offenbach from 1815 to 1827. Born in Speyer in 1772 and appointed court councillor in Offenbach, Becker's busy life ended in Bad Homburg in 1830. The art and coin dealer became internationally known and is still controversial today for his gold and silver coins, which he produced based on antique models and were of a high quality and faithful to the originals. Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke expresses his thanks to the donor: "I am delighted that the city archive is benefiting in this way from the meticulous research of the numismatist Hans Möller. The fact that this material will now be accessible in the city archive is a great benefit for Offenbach. We can only imagine the amount of work and time involved in this research. My great thanks go to Hans Möller and his civic commitment, which finds its most beautiful expression in this donation."

Carl Wilhelm Becker belongs to the remarkable group of people in Offenbach's history in the 19th century because of his importance in numismatics and his close connection with Prince Carl von Isenburg-Birstein (1766-1820). Three of his children died in Offenbach and were buried in the cemetery there. Carl Wilhelm Becker, who subsequently gained a reputation as a coin forger, was highly esteemed in his day. Goethe wrote about him in the "Annalen oder Tag- und Jahreshefte" for the year 1815: "Hofrat Becker in Offenbach presented important paintings, coins and gems, not averse to giving the lover one or the other desirable thing." Elsewhere, in his series of publications "Kunst und Altertum am Rhein, Main und Neckar", Goethe praised the court councillor: "Mr. Becker, highly esteemed as a medallist, has insightfully arranged an important series of coins from all periods to elucidate the history of his subject. He has paintings of importance, well-preserved bronzes and ancient works of art of various kinds."

Four folders on Offenbach coins and medals were also handed over to the city archive, which are organized according to the topics "People", "Townscapes", "Coin collectors" and "Mints". A further five folders deal with the museum's coin collection. Hans Möller has lived in Offenbach since 1960 and, after the end of his professional career as an urban architect and monument conservator, also devoted himself to the city's coin collection in the Haus der Stadtgeschichte on a voluntary basis, for which he received a letter of honor from the State of Hesse and the City Hall Medal of the City of Offenbach.