The objects acquired by the Cahn family before 1999, were sold by Herbert A. Cahn in Basel, either through the Münzhandlung SA (1930-1942), the Münzen und Medaillen SA (1942-1988) and the H.A.C. SA (1988-1999), three companies that have since been liquidated. Researching the provenance of these objects can therefore be more complex, particularly due to Swiss legislation, limited the mandatory retention of administrative documents to 10 years. This means, among other things, that we no longer have the complete historical records of these former companies before 2005.

Herbert A. Cahn’s archives are particularly extensive, heterogeneous, and physically dispersed across several locations. Identifying a specific document, therefore, requires significant cross-referencing across these different sources. This type of research demands both time and specialised archival skills. Moreover, these archives are not directly related to Jean-David Cahn SA and have not been catalogued within the activities of the current company. Researching provenance in this context involves substantial work, as the archives are neither digitised nor systematically organised.

Thank you very much for your understanding