Georg Habich

Georg Habich (24 June 1868 in Darmstadt – 6 December 1932 in Munich) was a German numismatist and art historian. He was the Director of the Bavarian State Coin Collection from 1907 to 1932.

Life He was born on 24 June 1868 in Darmstadt to innkeeper and wine merchant, Johann Georg Habich (1842–1881) and Susanna Clara Emma Bücking (1844–1922). His younger brother was the sculptor, Ludwig Habich (1872–1949). After receiving his doctorate (DPhil) under Heinrich Brunn in 1894 with the dissertation, Die Amazonengruppe des Attalischen Weihgeschenks, he became an assistant at the then Royal Coin Cabinet in Munich. Albrecht Dürer and Hans Krafft, Charles V, 1520–1521. Staatliche Münzsammlung München

Unidentified medallist, Francis I, 1515/1522. Staatliche Münzsammlung München Benvenuto Cellini, Pope Clement VII, 1534. Staatliche Münzsammlung München After the death of Hans Riggauer in 1907, he became the Director of the Coin Collection. During Habich's tenure, the collection was expanded primarily through Renaissance medals and plaques. Although numismatics played a significant role in his career, ″it did not diminish his love for the art of antiquity and the Renaissance.″

In 1909 he began the publication in the Jahrbuch der Königlich Preussischen Kunstsammlungen of Berlin of his articles on the German Renaissance Medal, in which he dealt with an ″enormously comprehensive collection of material, both in actual medals and models, and in documents.″ From 1910, Habich was an associate member and, from 1920, a full member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.

From 1912 onward, he held the position of honorary professor of numismatics and medal studies at the university. In the same year he was involved in a dispute with a rival claimant for the discovery: Hans Secker, Director of the Danzig Stadtmuseum (now the National Museum, Gdańsk).

As director of the coin cabinet, he significantly expanded its holdings in all areas, paying particular attention to developing the medal department, so that the cabinet became one of the foremost collections in this field. He founded the Archiv für Medaillen- und Plakettenkunde (1913–26), a publication intended primarily to address unresolved issues; he supported contemporary medallists, especially those from Munich, with whom he had a personal connection. On the obverse is a bust portrait of Habich, with a Latin inscription: GEORGIVS HABICH PHIL DOCTOR AETAT SVAE ANN LXIII.

Works Die deutschen Medailleure des XVI. Jahrhunderts, 1916. Die Medaillen der italienischen Renaissance. 1922. Die deutschen Schaumünzen des XVI. Jahrhunderts. 4 Bände, 1929–1934.