The collection was in possession of the House of Hohenzollern, a dynasty that shaped Prussia and Germany for centuries. Prominent figures such as King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and Emperor Wilhelm I played a key role in expanding the ensemble.
Initially housed in the Hohenzollern Museum at Monbijou Palace in Berlin, the collection was moved to the Berlin City Palace towards the end of the Second World War. After the war, it was taken to the Soviet Union as looted art, and returned to East Berlin in 1958. For decades, it remained largely hidden from the public and was kept at the Bode Museum.
Negotiations with public authorities regarding the fate of the collection had been going on for years when an agreement was reached in 2025. As a result, many items will remain as permanent loans in German museums. Other pieces have passed into the ownership of the House of Hohenzollern.
The House of Hohenzollern has decided to sell a selection of these pieces, which we are now pleased to offer at auction in June 2026.
The Imperial Collection will be a central feature of the Summer Auction Sales, taking place from 22 to 26 June 2026 at Hotel Remarque in Osnabrück. The collection catalog, presented in cooperation with Philipp Württemberg Art Advisory GmbH, comprises around 350 selected coins and medals, offering collectors and enthusiasts the opportunity to both discover and acquire historical coins with an exceptional provenance.
The collection stands out not only for its provenance, but also for its excellent quality: Many of the approximately 2,000 coins and medals were assembled, among others, by Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and his brother Wilhelm , who became Prussian King in 1861 and German Emperor in 1871. Pieces were often added to the collection immediately after being minted, without ever having been in circulation.
The focus is on Prussian medals of the 18th and 19th centuries in gold, silver and bronze. The collection is complemented by Brandenburg coinage as well as selected world coins, offering an impressive overview of the numismatic culture of one of Europe’s most important ruling houses.
The Imperial Collection offers a rare opportunity to acquire items that are impressive not only for their rarity but also for their direct connection to German and European history.
We cordially invite you to bid for these unique coins and medals at the Summer Auction Sales 2026 in Osnabrück. Both the print and the online catalog will be available to all interested parties from mid-May 2026. From this point, it will also be possible to view the collection by prior appointment.