SIEGFRIED VON SCHUCKMANN ENTREPRENEUR, PHILANTHROPIST, COIN COLLECTOR Siegfried von Schuckmann, born on 25 February 1929 in the Charité in Berlin, is still extraordinarily vigorous both mentally and physically in spite of his advanced age. He is descended from an old noble family whose roots go back to the 16th Century in the Westphalian city of Osnabrück, where his ancestor Heinrich Schuckmann was born in 1557. In 1623 the Schuckmanns migrated to their current home in the Mecklenburg region; the ancestor Heinrich was a prominent legal professional and served five terms as the Rector (President) of the University of Rostock, where he was active for 23 years. The current Barons von Schuckmann are descended from the “Mölln Line”, the most famous of which is Baron Friedrich (1755-1835), a contemporary of Alexander von Humboldt in Berlin who served as Minister in several capacities (1814-1834). The destiny of the Schuckmanns in Prussia was similar to that of most noble Junkers or squires in eastern Germany: the Schuckmanns were agriculturalists and many were also military officers. Fourteen members of the family took part in the German-French war of 1870/1871, 27 fought in the First World War, and his father Gerhard was an officer from 1939-1945 in the Wehrmacht, ultimately as a Captain of the cavalry in Russia. In 1926 Siegfried von Schuckmann’s father Gerhard became owner of the roughly 500-hectare manor estate Raakow, which he had inherited from his Uncle Ernst. Until 1945 the Schuckmann family lived on this estate in the Arnswalde district of the Neumark region. After the chaos of flight in 1945 and a temporary stay at the Bliestorf estate in the Lauenburg district, in Ratzeburg, and in Hamburg, he traveled to Columbia; in Cali, Siegfried was trained as a businessman. In his autobiography “Rosinen im Kopf” (“Raisins in the Head” - German saying for people that are very optimistic and have ideas and plans, that are sometimes to unrealistic), he says that he was a salesman for 50 years.1 From 1957-1959 as an employee in New York, Siegfried acquired valuable business experience, and in 1959 he returned to South America - this time Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. In 1961 followed his wedding to Alix Miller-Aichholz, a relative of the famous Austrian numismatician Miller zu Aichholz. This marriage produced three children: Friedrich Cyril (1962), Georg Henry (1963) and Isabel (1968). In 1965 he founded Industrial ESCO, and the company Schuckmann & Cia. S. A., becoming a successful entrepreneur in Venezuela. ESCO became highly successful and branched out into a wide range of activities. Siegfried von Schuckmann came to his interest in numismatics in 1977. In his memoirs he writes: “It is a wonderful feeling to have something in your hand which played a part in your life many years earlier.” 2 In this manner developed, ultimately, his type collection of all varieties of hemisphere thalers (crowns, pesos, duros, fuertes, 8-reales, dollars), which was sold in 1999 through Renaissance Auctions in the USA, where Freemain Craig was his closest adviser. As Schuckmann himself writes, “the leopard doesn’t change its spots”, and soon his collection on the War of the Spanish Succession developed, consisting of 180 medals and more than 100 coins which Siegfried von Schuckmann has now entrusted to the House Künker for auction. We at Künker wish our friend Siegfried many more years of his fulfilling and interesting life. His book is like a friendly wave from a German way of life which disappeared long ago, and is well worth reading. The turbulent history of the 20th Century made it clear to Siegfried von Schuckmann - as to many others - that winning and losing, success and failure are often found at close quarters. His conclusion: “Life is not fair, and it never has been!” 3 “Raisins in the Head”, however – the pursuit of high and unorthodox goals – is something worth living for. May his numismatic objects now bring pleasure to new owners, and may many more raisins find their way into his head. Osnabrück, January 2017
Fritz Rudolf Künker 1 2 3
Rosinen im Kopf, Reminiscences from a Eventful Life, Norderstedt 2006, p. 257 ibid, p. 359 ibid, S. 15