People and markets
How do you organise an exhibition?
As part of their degree course, students from the Institute of Numismatics and Monetary History in Vienna organised an exhibition for the Mödling Museum Association. Andrea Pancheri explains.
read more at our partner SIXBID
Coin of the Year 2026
As in 2025, the Austrian Mint won three awards, as did the Monnaie de Paris, whilst Ukraine once again dominated the ‘Most Inspirational’ category. The best coin came from China.
read more at our partner SIXBID
Come to think of it
Contemporary coins: a reflection of our times
To what extent do contemporary coins reflect our times and our sensibilities? Ursula Kampmann illustrates this using CIT’s ‘Scottish Highlands’ coin.
read more at our partner SIXBID
What Is the Value of a Coin?
Ursula Kampmann presents a few extreme examples—all of which were auctioned in June 2026—and analyzes the values.
read more at our partner SIXBID
Contemporary coins: a reflection of our times
To what extent do contemporary coins reflect our times and our sensibilities? Ursula Kampmann illustrates this using CIT’s ‘Scottish Highlands’ coin.
read more at our partner SIXBID
What Is the Value of a Coin?
Ursula Kampmann presents a few extreme examples—all of which were auctioned in June 2026—and analyzes the values.
read more at our partner SIXBID
Coins, Medals and more

The Carl Ludwig House on the Raxalpe and tourism in Austria
On 22 September 2026, Künker will auction a ‘Raxalpentaler’ from the Wenzel collection. Only 100 specimens of this coin are said to have been minted, making this piece one of the rarest Austrian commemorative coins. But is it actually a commemorative coin?read more at our partner SIXBID

The finest specimen of the rarest gold coin from the German Empire
On 23 September 2026, Künker auctions Ernst II’s 20-mark coin from a physicist’s collection—the German Empire’s rarest gold coin, limited to 1,000 pieces. NGC knows no finer specimen.read more at our partner SIXBID
Archive
Bulgaria, Prince Ferdinand I and the Railroad
One of the highlights of Künker’s auction 395 is a spectacular gold medal with a weight of 110 ductats. It was the personal property of Prince Ferdinand I. of Bulgaria. This medal takes us back into a period when Bulgaria modernized its economy. And the railroad system played a major role in this.
The French Marianne I: Marianne as a Representative of the French People – Part 2
Marianne represents France as a female national allegory. Gabriele Sturm explores how she is depicted on French coins. Part 2 deals with the period of the 4th and 5th Republics, taking us to the present.
The First Piece of Mail Sent Using a Stamp to Be Offered at Sotheby’s
A Penny Black affixed to a Mulready envelope is among the most valuable items in Philately ever offered at auction. The earliest posted envelope using a prepaid stamp, dating to 1840, will be sold at Sotheby’s with an estimate of $1.5–2.5 million.
What People Used to Pay With in South Africa
Coins are only the most recent of the many means of payment used in South Africa. And yet, there is much to be told about the country’s numismatic past. We tell the story of South African means of payment from glass beads to the rand.
On the road
Boston Is Getting a Museum of American Finance
Boston is opening a new Museum of American Finance: Discover rare banknotes, U.S. financial history, and interactive exhibits exploring the world of money.
read more at our partner SIXBID
Japan Mint: Hiroshima Branch
The Japan Mint doesn’t just produce beautiful circulation coins. It also manages the entire production process in-house, from the blank to the finished coin. This makes Japan one of the few countries that are completely self-sufficient when it comes to its circulation coins. We visited the branch of the Japan Mint in Hiroshima.
read more at our partner SIXBID
Boston Is Getting a Museum of American Finance
Boston is opening a new Museum of American Finance: Discover rare banknotes, U.S. financial history, and interactive exhibits exploring the world of money.
read more at our partner SIXBID
Who is who
Fun
Franklin’s World:
Good to know
How do commemorative coins differ from collector coins?
For a long time, I thought the term ‘collector coin’ was a made-up term coined by uninformed mints. A collector coin is, in fact, by no means a commemorative coin.
read more at our partner SIXBID
What is a Kontorniat?
The word ‘Kontorniat’ comes from Italian and is derived from the Italian ‘contorno’ (= edge). You can find out here what cultural and historical phenomenon lies behind these numismatic objects.
read more at our partner SIXBID
Boston Is Getting a Museum of American Finance
Boston is opening a new Museum of American Finance: Discover rare banknotes, U.S. financial history, and interactive exhibits exploring the world of money.
read more at our partner SIXBID
















































How do you organise an exhibition?
As part of their degree course, students from the Institute of Numismatics and Monetary History in Vienna organised an exhibition for the Mödling Museum Association. Andrea Pancheri explains.
read more at our partner SIXBID
Coin of the Year 2026
As in 2025, the Austrian Mint won three awards, as did the Monnaie de Paris, whilst Ukraine once again dominated the ‘Most Inspirational’ category. The best coin came from China.
read more at our partner SIXBID