Between East and West or: the first Western coins of China

The first Chinese coins imitating western models were struck on the island of Formosa, modern-day Taiwan, nearly 200 years before. This article will tell the story, how it came about…

From Pavia to the Sack of Rome – siege coins in Italy

Why was it that Renaissance rulers went to Italy to seek good fortune? Why was it that thousands of ducats and thaler were spent on mercenary soldiers? This article gives an insight into the war between Francis I of France and Charles V of Italy…

Leyden suffering – a siege during the Dutch War of Independence

Few wars have appealed to people’s emotions like the Dutch War of Independence. The roles seemed to be assigned all too clearly: on the one side there were the evil Catholic Spaniards, on the other the good Protestant Dutchmen. What we omit, however, is that this war was one the first in which propaganda was utilized in full awareness of its effects.

Christians fight against Christians with the assistance of the Turks

It is an unspectacular coin, that testimony of the culminating conflict between France and Spain, between Francis I and Charles V. …

The Battle of Lepanto

The famous battle of Lepanto, the great victory of Christianity over the Turks, has been celebrated as one of the major events of world history, even though it did not change the course of history. Find more information on its significance and its representation on a Papal bronze medal…

Gradings made in the USA

“Slabs“, that is how Americans call the small plastic boxes where coins are welded in, against a fee, after a procedure called grading. What is behind that? What advantages has that system? What problems?