History of Modern Numismatics International

Even though Modern Numismatics International was only established in 2007, the history of the company dates back to the early 60’s of the previous century. At that moment in time, collecting coins wasn’t as common a hobby as it is today. The few people that did collect coins, usually only collected older coins. Eduard Dirk Jan van Roekel (often called Ed or just EDJ) was one of those coin collectors. It was his hobby. His passion. His hobby got a bit out of hand though, and it soon turned out to be so much more.

Because Ed was traveling a lot for work, he managed to buy coins from all sorts of different places in the world. His collection grew more and more. At the same time, Ed found that there were huge differences in both the price and the quality of the coins that could be bought worldwide.

With his commercial spirit, Ed saw an opportunity and began to buy coins for others as well. The numbers grew and because of that he could turn his hobby into his job. Ed set up shop in a beautiful village in the Netherlands, where the bedroom of a house was turned into an office.

The first real European coin wholesaler

From that moment on, the development of the first real coin wholesaler in Europe picked up pace. Soon, the bedroom got too small and Ed had to find himself a real office. The home of a general practitioner was found, whose practice was turned into an office. The growth of the company continued, causing Ed’s wife and a couple of other family members to also find work in the coin business. As the company grew, the coin market grew as well. Collecting older coins was still popular, but at the same time more and more modern coins were issued.

Because the company maintained good contacts all over the world, and the business continued to expand, growth was only a matter of time. They began to outgrow the new office as well. A new space was needed. An old villa a few villages away, under the smoke of Amsterdam, proved suitable. After a thorough renovation, the building was taken into use.

Ed was not getting any younger and he wanted to slow it down a bit. He had traveled enough. Therefore he went looking for a second man. After a few detours he found Fokko Knol. A recently graduated young man who had a lot of energy (as well as a big mouth). After working at the company for a bit, Fokko quickly figured out that the company had an enormous potential to grow, still. It didn’t take long for Ed and Fokko to agree on an acquisition.

Healthy growth (and selling to private collectors)

Business went well. There was a healthy growth, a healthy turnover and healthy profits. In addition to the wholesale trade, Fokko focused on the direct sales of coins to private collectors in the Netherlands. That branch of the company grew rapidly and was an increasingly important part of the entire company. It actually grew so fast that they had move to a new location. Meanwhile Fokko became 100% owner of the company. Ed was a consultant, but he also increasingly focused on his other passions: sailing during the summer and playing bridge all year.

The beginning of Modern Numismatics International

While the growth of the company continued, it changed as well. Eventually it became part of a group of large international companies. In 2006, Fokko decided to say his farewells to this group and he started working for himself again. In 2007 Modern Numismatics International started from scratch and set out to become one of the leading companies in the coin industry. Modern Numismatics International was a relatively small company, where everyone worked with great pleasure and passion, and had a common goal: Serving Collectors.

Modern Numismatics International at present

Now, more than ten years later, Modern Numismatics International has indeed become one of the leading companies in the industry. By positioning itself as a pure business-to-business organization, the company is able to attract and attain and retain a lot of clients and suppliers. With a small team, of about 20 employees, Modern Numismatics International now has a new goal. To become the largest wholesaler of commemorative coins in Europe.