A Numismatist at War: Max von Bahrfeldt
…[T]he Army had become the most popular, most admired, and most respected and most influential entity in the new German Empire. …To most Germans their Army – the Emperor’s Army – represented stability as well as honor and glory (Dupuy, 110).
The study of ancient coins is usually regarded as a quiet, scholarly pursuit. But one of the most eminent European classical numismatists of the early 20th century was a German general accused of atrocities in
Belgium during the
Willmine, 45 miles (72 km) northeast of
Berlin,
Max Bahrfeldt entered a Prussian military academy in 1869. In 1871, the 15-year-old cadet purchased his first Roman coin, the beginning of a lifelong devotion to numismatics (Schaefer, 276). Bahrfeldt was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant in 1873, and his first published article appeared the following year. He was promoted to Colonel (