The Sunflower Collection

From the Sunflower Collection, MoneyMuseum, Zürich.

This group of gold and silver coins of Salzburg, formerly part of the MoneyMuseum of Zürich, was sold by the Sunflower Foundation, which oversees the Museum's operation and objectives as part of an ongoing process to make the Museum a more innovative experience in the study of money.

The core of the MoneyMuseum's collection consisted of 500 coins acquired privately by Dr. Jürg Conzett. His busy personal schedule, however, which limited his own access (and that of interested others) led him to display the collection on the Internet in April 1999 at www.moneymuseum.com, thereby creating the online resource of a coin collection. In June 1999, Dr. Conzett established the Sunflower Foundation to oversee his aim of "expand[ing] the knowledge and the exchange of money, its history, significance and function, and thus to promote the individual and social understanding of economic connections (from the Foundation's website)." In 2000, the MoneyMuseum opened a permanent location on the premises of the Swiss National Museum. Since then, the museum has been undergoing changes and renovations. Its goal has been innovation and attracting an ever wider audience, not only of coin collectors specifically, but also scholars in economics and monetary policy, as well as interest lay people. To that end, the MoneyMuseum is developing a multi-media presence in podcasts of current money topics and a presence on iTunes University, the largest online collection of educational content from leading institutions.

Until the creation of the secular Electorate of Salzburg in 1803, Salzburg had been part of the Holy Roman Empire as the Archbishopric of Salzburg. Founded in 696 by St. Rupert out of the German Stammesherzogtum of Bavria. In the thirteenth century it was granted imperial freedom and independence from Bavaria. Though an important component of the Holy Roman Empire, the Prince-Bishops of Salzburg never achieve the dignity of the Electorate, which would have granted them the right in assisting the selection of the Holy Roman Emperor. Nevertheless, throughout its history, the Archbishopric of Salzburg, remained an important economic center, through the exploitation of the salt mines in the area, and a cultural one, patronizing the arts and important artists.

Leonhard von Keutschach (1495-1519) made the archbishopric one of the richest territories in the Holy Roman Empire through his effective rule. Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg became one of the chief ministers of the Holy Roman emperor Charles V and a strong opponent of the Protestant Reformation, as were his successors, Michael von Kuenburg (1554-1560), Johann Jakob Khuen von Belasi (1560-1586), and Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (1587-1612). Markus Sittikus Graf von Hohenems (1612-1619) was unable to keep the Archbishopric out of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). He was, however, the first major figure to promote Baroque architecture north of the Alps. His successor, Paris Graf von Lodron (1619-1653), managed to avoid the devastation wrought on Germany, making Salzburg even more prosperous, a process that was continued under his successors. The issue of Protestants within their realm continued to plague the archbishops, who remained strongly committed to the Counter-Reformation by using the Jesuit Order. Leopold Anton Eleutherius Reichsfreiherr von Firmian (1727-1744) went so far as to issue an Edict of Expulsion of Protestants in 1731 on the 214th anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 Theses. During the rest of eighteenth century, however, Salzburg moved away from from this religious conflict and instead tried to rule on the ideals of the Enlightenment. The last Prince-Archbishop, Hieronymus Franz de Paula Josef, Graf Colloredo von Waldsee und Mels (1771-1803), attempted to implement Enlightenment-style reforms, particularly by reducing Catholic ceremonial and introducing music in German. Colloredo is well-known to many people as the long-suffering patron and employer of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. When the Archbishopric of Salzburg was secularized in 1803, Colloredo, though then not in residence, remained the ecclesiastical head of the Salzburg diocese until his death Vienna in 1812.