Walery Cyryl Amrogowicz (1863-1931) was a Polish numismatist, nationalist, philanthropist and collector of cultural artifacts.

Biography

He came from a rural

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

n family, and was born in

Nowogród Nowogród is a small town in northeastern Poland located about away from the city of Łomża, in Łomża County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, with 1,998 inhabitants (2004). It is centered on the area known as Skansen Kurpiowski which is an ope ...

on 8 April 1863.Amrogowicz Walery Cyryl,

Polski Słownik Biograficzny ''Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' (''PSB''; Polish Biographical Dictionary) is a Polish-language biographical dictionary, comprising an alphabetically arranged compilation of authoritative biographies of some 25,000 notable Poles and of foreigners ...

, Tom I, p. 87 During his studies at a Secondary School in

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

he developed a liking for history and geography which was to contribute to his passion for numismatics. Following his studies, he became a court clerk. He worked in

, Puck, and

Kościerzyna Kościerzyna ( Kashubian and Pomeranian: ''Kòscérzëna''; formerly german: Berent, ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with some 24,000 inhabitants. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomerania ...

. Amrogowicz was known for his patriotism. Throughout his whole life he worked with various Polish

social organisation In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and social groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, s ...

s and provided material aid to many students from poor families (among them Dr

Aleksander Majkowski Aleksander Majkowski ( csb, Aleksander Majkòwsczi; 17 July 1876 – 10 February 1938) was a Polish- Kashubian writer, poet, journalist, editor, activist, and physician. He was the most important figure in the Kashubian movement before World ...

, a future expert on

Kaszuby Kaszuby may refer to: *Kashubia pl, Kaszuby , native_name_lang = csb, de, csb , settlement_type = Historical region , anthem = Zemia Rodnô , image_map = Kashubians ...

). He was a major benefactor of the Scientific Help Society for the Youth of the Grand Duchy of Poznań. In Sopot Amrogowicz established the People's Bank, designed to assist

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...

, and became the president of the Bank for several years. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he purchased a house in Sopot (next to the present day Museum of Sopot) in which he lived following his retirement in 1919. From this time Amrogowicz dedicated his life to developing his collection of money and Kaszubian art. He established a numismatic society in Gdańsk (Danzig), the Guldenrunde, where he gave lectures. In 1911 he published a treaty on old Slavic coins. His collection, primarily consisting of coins and medals, contained approximately 2000 items. His art collection also consisted of several paintings (including, among others, prints by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

, Dürer and Chodowiecki), paintings ordered from

Marian Mokwa Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places *Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queensland, ...

, pictures documenting Kaszubian art and architecture, and various other items such as

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...

tablets. Among his pastimes during this period were walks along the beach towards

Jelitkowo Jelitkowo (german: Glettkau) is one of the quarters of Żabianka-Wejhera-Jelitkowo-Tysiąclecia in the city of Gdańsk, just south of Sopot, Poland. As part of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland it was a private church village of the Cisterci ...

, short bicycle rides and swimming in the sea - regardless of the weather. In 1928 Walery Cyryl Amrogowicz completed the creation of five and two zloty coins (and possibly of the ten zloty coin) according to his own design. Polish Ministry of Treasury rejected his design, but he nonetheless ordered some sets for himself and friends. The (casts) for these were created by the German Karl Goetz, the coins being minted in Munich (some sources claim Nuremberg). The coins were minted in gold, bronze and silver. Examples minted in gold and platinum which have appeared at auctions and been catalogued, by (Parchimowicza) for example, are suspected to have been later productions.T. Kałkowski "Tysiąc lat monety polskiej" Walery Amrogowicz died in 1931 in Krynica where he had gone to convalesce. In his will, he left the majority of his collection to the Toruń Society of Science, and books, to a gymnasium in Gdańsk. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was transferred to the

Toruń Regional Museum )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

which held an exhibition in 2004 to mark the 140th anniversary of Amrogowicz's birth.

Notes

External links

Walery Cyryl Amrogowicz's coins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amrogowicz, Walery Cyryl 1863 births 1931 deaths Polish numismatists Numismatists from the Russian Empire People from Congress Poland