In This Article
A New Center of Expertise for Jewish Cultural Heritage
Scholarship. Responsibility. Trust. Together, shaping the future of important collections.
With the founding of the Leu Judaica Department, Leu Numismatik AG in Winterthur, Switzerland, is creating a new international platform for the study, documentation, and responsible stewardship of Jewish cultural heritage. The Department is conceived as a center of expertise that brings together scholarly research, private collecting, cultural institutions, and philanthropy. Its goal is not only to preserve important collections, but to safeguard their historical significance for the long term and make them sustainably accessible to scholarship and the public.
Collections Tell History
With the founding of the Leu Judaica Department, Leu Numismatik AG in Winterthur, Switzerland, is creating a new international platform for the study, documentation, and responsible stewardship of Jewish cultural heritage. The Department is conceived as a center of expertise that brings together scholarly research, private collecting, cultural institutions, and philanthropy. Its goal is not only to preserve important collections, but to safeguard their historical significance for the long term and make them sustainably accessible to scholarship and the public.
→ How can their provenance be documented for the long term?
→ How can knowledge accumulated over decades be preserved?
→ How can collections be made accessible to research?
→ And how can their historical significance be maintained through a generational transition?
This is precisely where the Leu Judaica Department comes in.
More Than a Judaica Department
The Leu Judaica Department deliberately sees itself as more than a conventional specialist department within an auction house. Instead, it takes a comprehensive approach that brings together scholarly excellence, responsible collecting, and international networks.
Its work centers on seven closely interconnected areas:
the scholarly study of important collections through cataloging, provenance research, and publication,
guidance in building and developing outstanding Judaica collections for the long term,
advising collectors and families on succession, donations, foundations, and museum solutions,
supporting scholarly research through reference works, monographs, and research projects,
building an international network among collectors, museums, universities, libraries, family offices, and philanthropic supporters,
conducting high-quality Judaica auctions as part of this scholarly and cultural cycle,
and documenting important collections before they pass into new hands, ensuring their scholarly value is preserved for the long term.
This holistic approach means that important collections should not receive attention only at the moment of auction. They should be supported by scholarship and developed responsibly throughout their entire life cycle.
Where Scholarship Meets the Market
For decades, the name ‘Leu’ has been associated with an international presence in the numismatic trade and a particular interest in Jewish coinage. With the Leu Judaica Department, today's company expands that legacy by adding a scholarly, cultural, and interdisciplinary dimension.
The aim is to see scholarship and the market not as opposites, but as partners. Scholarly documentation deepens understanding of a collection. Careful provenance research strengthens transparency and trust. And responsible collecting creates the conditions for important witnesses to Jewish history to be preserved for future generations.
An international team of experts
A defining feature of the Leu Judaica Department is its close collaboration with an international circle of recognized figures from scholarship, museums, collecting, and numismatics.
Leading experts have already committed to contributing to the Department. The international expert team includes figures such as Dr. Haim Gitler, Dr. David Jeselsohn, Catharine C. Lorber, Lars Rutten, Til Horna, and Yves Gunzenreiner. Together, they represent scholarly research, museum expertise, responsible collecting, international market knowledge, and strategic collection development.
In the coming weeks, we will introduce the members of this group and their respective roles in more detail.
Launching with an Exceptional Collection
The first major milestone is the Leu Judaica Collection, whose scholarly cataloging and publication are currently in preparation. Comprising around 900 coins and medals, it is among the most important collections of Jewish numismatics ever offered publicly.
Built over nearly three decades, the collection reflects its anonymous founder's conviction that coins and medals are far more than historical objects. They are witnesses to Jewish history and cultural memory. The collector placed particular emphasis on exceptional quality, documented provenance, and scholarly coherence. A portion of the proceeds from the future auction will be reinvested directly in research projects and publications on Jewish numismatics.
The Leu Judaica Collection therefore exemplifies the Department's philosophy: scholarship, responsible collecting, and cultural responsibility are not competing priorities, but mutually reinforcing ones.
A Collaborative Project
The Leu Judaica Department is an open platform for everyone committed to the history and future of Jewish cultural heritage. Private collectors, museums, universities, libraries, family offices, and philanthropic supporters all play an important role in ensuring that significant witnesses to the past are not only preserved, but understood.
The founding of the Leu Judaica Department therefore marks far more than a new chapter within Leu Numismatik AG. It establishes a long-term initiative bringing together scholarly research, responsible collecting, and international collaboration.
We look forward to sharing this journey with you. In the months ahead, we will report regularly on new projects, scholarly publications, important collections, and the people whose knowledge and commitment shape the Leu Judaica Department.
Are you also committed to the study and preservation of Jewish cultural heritage and interested in working with us?
Please contact us at judaica@leunumismatik.com or +41 52 214 11 10.
