Expeditions into the realm of numismatics Part 1: The missing gold gulden or Basel as papal mint

In our series “Expeditions into the realm of numismatics”, we are taking you on an expedition to the treasures of the Basel Coin Cabinet. The first part revolves around a minting die for a papal gold gulden with the title of Felix V.

200 years of service for the Popes – Hamerani, the dynasty of medallists

A Bavarian goldsmith had to flee from Munich. Who would have thought that he was to become the ancestor of one of the most important dynasty of Italian medallists?

Ottoman Imtiyaz medal awarded to German Emperor William I yields 161,000 Euros

On December 30, 1883, the Ottoman ruler drafted a decree by which he invested the German Emperor William I, his new confederate, into the Golden Order of Merit of his country, called Nishan Imtiyaz. That honor was intended to strengthen the political ties between the German Emperor and the Empire at the Bosporus River…

Toward the Present: Elizabeth II

Since 1952 Queen Elizabeth II is reigning Great Britain. In 2012 she celebrates her Diamond Jubilee looking back on a period that has changed her country profoundly.
By examining 12 coins we have strolled through Great Britain’s history – this is the last part…

The courtesan Laïs in Corinth

Sex sells. That is common knowledge to the yellow press and tour guides alike, as early as ancient times. Already the Corinthians cashed in on that and promoted a tourist attraction of a particular kind: the tomb of the famous courtesan Laïs…

At the Height of the Thirty Years’ War

Why issued Emperor Ferdinand III a gold medallion on his son’s coronation to King of Hungary and Bohemia only ten years later? This numismatic question leads us in the middle of the bloody Thirty Years’ War and to Wallenstein.