Bernhard Weisser appointed new director of the Coin Cabinet of the National Museums in Berlin
Press release from 12/05/2014
Prof. Dr Bernhard Weisser will become Director of the Coin Cabinet of the National Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage on 1 June 2015. This was decided unanimously by the SPK Foundation Board today. Weisser has been acting Director of the Coin Cabinet since the end of Prof. Dr Bernd Kluge's term of office on 30 September 2014.
Weisser studied Classical Archaeology, Ancient History and Prehistory and Early History. In 1996, he completed his doctorate on the numismatic topic "The coinage of Pergamon in the Imperial period". He received a one-year travel grant from the German Archaeological Institute for this work. He has an excellent reputation in the world of numismatic science and is excellently networked. In 2009, he was appointed honorary professor at the Winckelmann Institute of the Humboldt University in Berlin. He has also been the spokesman for the state of Berlin in the Numismatic Commission of the German states since 2009. In addition, Weisser is a numismatic expert in artistic competitions for the design of special coinage and commemorative coins and is the first chairman of the German Society for Medallic Art. In 2013, he was awarded the honourary prize of the Society for International Monetary History.
Bernhard Weisser began his professional career at the Numismatic Collection in 1996, initially as a museum assistant in training and then as a research assistant. In 2003 he was appointed curator at the Coin Cabinet, and in 2009 Deputy Director. During this time, he supervised numerous high-calibre exhibitions and led several research projects. Of particular note is the interactive catalogue he developed of the Münzkabinett's holdings, which is the most comprehensive online publication of a coin collection in the German-speaking world.
In addition to developing exhibitions, Weisser sees the digitisation of all the Münzkabinett's holdings and their presentation on the Internet as an important step towards further expanding the Münzkabinett's leading role in German numismatics. At the same time, object-related research is to be further strengthened. The area of Islamic coins, for example, has been little analysed to date. He sees the promotion of young talents in the field of numismatics as another important task.