Folia archeologica 28.

Katalin Bíro-Sey: Római pénzek egykorú hamisítványai a Niklovits gyűjteményből

FOLIA ARCIIAEOLOGICA XXVIII. 1977 BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ROMAN COUNTERFEIT COINS IN T FI E NIKLOVITSCOLLECTION Katalin BÍRÓ-SEY In the past years the Numismatic Collection Hungarian National Museum came into the legacy of the largest Hungarian privately owned coin collection ever existed: the Niklovits Collection. After the death of Károly Niklovits in 1960 his numismatical collection, enriched for six decades with an unflagging zeal, went over into the possession of the Numismatic Collection. Beyond the Celtic coin collection he owned an exceptionally rich Roman and medieval material as well as fine commemorative medals. Among his antique coins the Celtic collection, consisting of nearly 1000 items, is of an outstanding importance; it embraces dominantly the mints of the Transdanubian Celts and their Eastern neighbours. With this material the Museum came into the possession of the second greatest privately owned Celtic coin collection. As for the Celtic coins it is an important fact that Károly Niklovits handled his coins with a great care; he registered namely the data of their provenance: the find place and the former owner. Relying on the notices of Niklovits we are able to reconstruct some great privately owned Celtic collections of the past, bought by him partly or entirely. So he acquired the important Celtic collections of the Prince of Windischgrätz, Hugó Kilényi and Dr. Ákos Horváth of Vereskő (the latter died in 1914). He sold, though, several items of his collection, as we are already informed from the catalogue of the Dessewffy Collection. Flere we think of the hand-written catalogue prepared by the owner and not of the printed one published by Göhl. Dessewffy made careful notes as for the data of his acquisitions and the former owners. In 1914 he bought, according to his notes several Celtic coins "from Károly Niklovits, once in the collection of Dr. Ákos Horváth".

1 The bulk of the Horváth Collection was, though, kept by Niklovits, the "barbarian" coins of the Kilényi Collection almost in their entirety. 1 In the Numismatic Collection of the Hungarian National Museum there is a printed catalogue of the Dessewffy Collection with a handwritten appendix, containing Dessewffy's notes concerning the date and place of the acquisitions, as well as the former owners and the prices of the coins.