Behrendt Pick

Discussion post by Jochen

Behrendt Pick (1861-1940) was one of the most important German numismatists. His work on the ancient coins of northern Greece is still the fundamental reference work for coins from Markianopolis or Nicopolis, for example.

As co-author of the monograph by Hristova-Hoeft-Jekov, The Coinage of Nicopolis ad Istrum, which has been published in English since 2011, I stand in his shadow, so to speak, at least I have his work in my hand almost every day. However, the number of known types has multiplied - especially after the fall of the Iron Curtain. While Behrendt Pick in 1898 knew 890 types of Nikopolis, by 2023 we already have 2822 different types listed, with no end in sight. But I admire the accuracy and reliability of his descriptions, which are still an unrivaled example of scientific rigor today. 

I am all the more pleased when I can improve my model, which happens rarely enough. In his descriptions of the bust, Pick did not specify whether it was seen from the front or the back because there was only one type in his time. When more types appeared, this information was missing, partly because there were too few illustrations, which is regrettable. Now we have not only described all the types, but also illustrated them. And the description of the following coin needs to be corrected.

The coin:
Moesia inferior, Nicopolis ad Istrum, Elagabal, 218-222
AE 24, 8.8g
struck under the governor Novius Rufus
Obv.: AVT K M AVPH - ANTΩNEINOC
          Bust, draped and cuirassed, seen from behind, radiate, r.
Rev.: VΠ NOBIOV POVΦOVOV N - IK - OΠOΛITΩN ΠPOC I
          in the upper left field below each other CTPO / N
          The emperor in military dress and wearing a radiate crown standing       
          to the left, resting on the spear with his raised left hand and holding
          in his outstretched right hand patera over a flaming, wreathed altar
Ref.: a) AMNG I/1, 1986 (3 copies, Gotha, Mandl)
         b) Varbanov 4023
         c) Hristova-Hoeft-Jekov (2023) No. 8.26.34.4
not common, almost VF, brown patina

Pick writes "about a flaming wreathed altar" and I had also adopted this for our Nicopolis monograph. But if you take a closer look at the altar, you can see that it is not a flaming altar, but that military equipment is lying on the altar! For example, a helmet with cheek flaps can be seen on the right and perhaps a helmet with a raised visor on the left (Thanks to mauseus and clueless).

These offerings certainly come from defeated enemies. All in all, it is an unusual depiction that I have never seen before. It shows once again that one should look closely at the details of a coin, and it surprises again what one can discover on the coins of Nicopolis. Of course, the description of this coin must be corrected accordingly.

Biography

Behrendt Pick was born on 21 December 1861 in what was then Prussian Posen and died on 4 May 1940 in Berlin. After attending the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Gymnasium, he went to Berlin and studied history, classical studies and archaeology at the forerunner of today's Humboldt University.

His teacher was the great Theodor Mommsen, under whom he gained his doctorate with his thesis "De senatus consultis Romanorum". It was also Mommsen who recommended him to work on the major project "The Ancient Coins of Northern Greece", which was led by Imhoof-Blumer. There was a falling out with Mommsen, but Imhoof-Blumer became his mentor in Winterthur/Switzerland and provided him with a scholarship through his own foundation. The two were very similar in their way of thinking, their universality and their interdisciplinary. In 1889 he went to Zurich as a private lecturer, habilitated and became associate professor of Roman antiquities, history and numismatics.

In 1893, he was appointed to the ducal library at Friedenstein Castle in Gotha, where he was in charge of the coin cabinet. In 1917 he was appointed Privy Court Councillor, in 1928 State Archivist and Director of the Library. He worked in Gotha for 41 years and influenced international research from there. "Die antiken Münzen von Dacien und Mösien" is not only his main work, but also a fundamental work of numismatics. He traveled to Athens, Constantinople, Milan, Rome and Venice and was in contact with all the great scholars of his time. Thanks to him, the Gotha Coin Cabinet became one of the most important collections in Germany and was internationally recognized. He signed the preface to his main work "Gotha, 31 October 1898, Behrendt Pick" 

From 1896, he was an associate professor at the University of Jena with a teaching assignment in Gotha, and from 1911 he was an honorary professor of antiquities and numismatics. In his last year of teaching, probably in 1932, he was elected an honorary member of the Swiss Numismatic Society and in 1935 he received the Royal Numismatic Society's Medal of Honour, one of the highest honors to be awarded.

In the meantime, however, National Socialism had already covered Germany like a shroud. He was forced to retire against his will and in 1933 he was stripped of all his offices because of his Jewish faith. The law alone, which forbade Jewish students from doing a doctorate, must have affected him deeply. Like so many other Jewish Germans, he failed to recognize the danger posed by Hitler. He believed that his scientific reputation would protect him. What a mistake! In 1936, Mr and Mrs Pick moved to Berlin, where they thought they would be safer. Behrendt Pick died on 3 May 1940. 2 years later, when the first transports of Jews were already traveling from Berlin to the KZ Theresienstadt, his wife Gertrud took her own life.

In 2021, 2 Stolpersteine were laid in memory of the couple at Reinhardsbrunner Straße 45 in Gotha, where they lived from 1915-1936. The Stolpersteine are a project by artist Gunter Demnig that began in 1992. Small memorial plaques laid in the ground, known as Stumbling Stones, are intended to commemorate the fate of people who were persecuted, murdered, deported, expelled or driven to suicide during the National Socialist era. In May 2023, the 100,000th Stolperstein was laid in Germany.

I have added a photo of the lifelike portrait bust of Behrendt Pick, probably by Victor Embser (Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha, Photo: David Koch)

Sources:
(1) Behrendt Pick, Die antiken Münzen Nord-Griechenlands (AMNG), Berlin, 1898
(2) Hristova-Hoeft-Jekov, The Coinage of Nicopolis ad Istrum, Blagoevgrad 2023
(3) TSURIKRUFN! - A reminiscence of the Jewish numismatist Behrendt Pick
(4) Wikipedia