Günter Felke (

Laufersweiler Laufersweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of ...

, 4 November 1929 - Sohren, 22 March 2005) was a German furniture manufacturer,

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

and patron of culture.

Life

Günter Felke was born as the youngest son of the industrialist

Michael Felke Michael Felke (Laufersweiler, 18 April 1895 - Sohren, 8 April 1977) was a German furniture manufacturer. Life Michael Felke was the first of four children and came from a poor family background. He learned the job of a joiner in his father’ ...

and his wife Maria in

(State of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

). In 1929 his family moved to Sohren, a village nearby, where his father expanded his furniture factory, the company Felke Möbelwerke. He studied at the Herzog-Johann-Gymnasium in Simmern, which he left in 1948 prior to the final exams to work for his father’s company. With his two brothers Aloys and Walter Felke he worked as a junior boss alongside his father. In 1970 he became chief operating officer and technical director.''Profile aus dem Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis'', Band 1, Rollf-Heiko Buyny, Boppart 1994, In 1960 Günter Felke discovered his fascination with the history of numismatics in Palatinate (Pfalz) and

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

. As a collector of Roman, medieval and modern gold coins from the Rhineland, he presented a large collection of rare exhibits to museums in

Veldenz Veldenz is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the former main seat of the County of Veldenz, ...

Simmern Simmern (; officially Simmern/Hunsrück) is a town of roughly 7,600 inhabitants (2013) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Simmern-Rheinböllen. In the Rhinelan ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. He also wrote several essays on coining in Veldenz. In 1980 Felke became a member of the Bavarian Numismatic Society (''Bayerische Numismatische Gesellschaft''). One year later he published his first book about the history of native gold stamping ''Die Münzen der Herzöge von Simmern''. That book was soon followed by the illustrated book ''Die Goldprägungen der Rheinischen Kurfürsten 1346-1478 in 1989''. 1984 he was one of the founders of the ''Pfälzische Numismatische Gesellschaft''. In the following years Günter Felke subsequently increased his efforts in the cultural sector and the education for young students. His foundation has been presenting the ''Günter-Felke-Award'' to outstanding students at the Herzog-Johann-Gymnasium in Simmern since 1990. Günter Felke was married and the father of three children.

Günter-Felke-Foundation

The Günter Felke Foundation (Günter-Felke-Stiftung) was founded by Günter Felke in October 1989. The foundation has been awarding annual prizes at the ''Herzog-Johann-Gymnasium'' since 1990 to students with outstanding achievements. Since 1990 the Günter-Felke-Foundation has awarded 305 prizes and a total sum of approximately 100.000

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s to 1317 students (as of 2009). The award is largely funded by the benefits of Felke’s last book.

Distinctions

* 1994 – Honorary Award of Simmern * 2000 – Honorary citizen of Simmern''Ehrenbürgerrechte für Günter Felke'',

Rhein-Zeitung The Rhein-Zeitung (''RZ'') is a regional German daily broadsheet newspaper published in Koblenz by Mittelrhein-Verlag GmbH and distributed across Rhineland-Palatinate. Notable people Editors References

German-language newspapers Da ...

vom 16. Dezember 1999 * 2001 –

Order of Merit of Rhineland-Palatinate The Order of Merit of Rhineland-Palatinate (german: Verdienstorden des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz) is a civil order of merit, of the German State of Rhineland-Palatinate. The order is presented for outstanding service to the state and people of Rhinela ...

''Durch Verdienste Vorbild gegeben'',

German-language newspapers Da ...

vom 3./4. November 2001''Günter Felke - Kulturförderer und Unternehmer starb'',

German-language newspapers Da ...

vom 26. März 2005

Publications

* ''Die Münzen der Herzöge von Simmern'', 1981. * ''Die Goldprägungen der rheinischen Kurfürsten 1346–1478''. Mainz, Trier, Köln, Pfalz. Münz-Zentrum, Köln 1989, .

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Felke, Gunter 1929 births 2005 deaths People from Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis German numismatists People from the Rhine Province