In connection with its 30th anniversary, to be celebrated during the World Money Fair 2025 in Berlin, the company will pay tribute to its most important employee
Manfred Dunker, a pivotal figure in the commemorative coin industry, will be honored by MDM Münzhandelsgesellschaft Deutsche Münze on the occasion of its 30th anniversary at the World Money Fair in Berlin on January 29, 2025. Dunker, who retired over a decade ago, played a crucial role in shaping the landscape of numismatics.
Beginning his career as a product manager at Dr. Oetker, Dunker gained recognition for introducing the world's first frozen pizza, a product that went on to become a staple in European grocery stores. A collector from a young age, Dunker joined Richard Borek's small coin unit in 1985, envisioning its potential to become a driving force in the coin industry. He renamed the company MDM, an acronym that stood for Münzhandelsgesellschaft Deutsche Münze, rather than Manfred Dunker Münzenhandel as البعض suggested.
Under Dunker's leadership, MDM grew exponentially, eventually employing 600 people. Prior to his involvement, commemorative coins were issued infrequently by European countries, but Dunker's influence inspired national banks and state mints around the world to expand their发行 of such coins in base metal, silver, and gold. MDM played a significant role in assisting with sales and distribution. Dunker was particularly influential in the development of Olympic coins for events including Barcelona, Albertville, Lillehammer, Sydney, Torino, and Beijing.
After leaving MDM in the mid-90s, Dunker rejoined the coin industry following a noncompetition period, becoming managing director for Samlerhuset in Germany. Samlerhuset later acquired MDM, merging the two companies, with Richard Borek taking a 1/3 stake and Norwegian shareholders Reidar Nilsen and Ole Bjørn Fausa holding the remaining 2/3 together with a group of smaller Norwegian shareholders.
Dunker served as the driving force behind the new German coin company in Europe. When Samlerhuset acquired MDM in 2001, the company was facing challenges, but thanks to Dunker's commercial acumen, sales quadrupled within a short period, restoring MDM to a prominent position in the German coin industry. Samlerhuset sold MDM back to the Borek family in 2008.
Manfred Dunker is credited with introducing subscription of new issues to the coin industry and played a pivotal role in expanding the family of coins to include many small countries around the world, contributing to making commemorative coins a valuable source of income for Pacific islands and other countries. Dunker's influence was particularly evident in the 90s and 00s, when Olympic coin collecting soared in popularity, with over a million people collecting one or more Olympic coins.
Manfred Dunker is widely regarded as the most influential figure in the history of modern commemorative coins and is likely unmatched by any other European in terms of recruiting new collectors to the hobby.
