According to statements from bank employees, the sale was discussed before the financial crisis and is not related to those events.

Secondly, I don't think the bank is at all uninformed about the scholarly value. Without the bank the scholarship of the last 25 years would not exist. The chief concern is the continued cost of maintaining and protecting the collection, is this a cost a single private entity should bear?

The possibility of a permanent loan or a purchase of the collection by the state of Niedersachsen are both on the table and would serve both to keep the collection intact while allowing the bank to be free of the cost of maintaining the collection.

The situation in Hannover is very grave. Reiner Cunz asked me to spread the word – and I have, to the best of my ability. But anyone receiving The E-Sylum might consider broadcasting the bad news. If one numismatic museum is threatened, all numismatic museums are at risk.

The whole thing is perilous. If you ask "What do we need with a coin museum? We've got everything we need on the Web", we've probably lost you already. All I can say (and this is from the heart) is that there is and always will be a difference between binary images and the real thing. And I hope I never live to see the day when that's not true.