Archive: People and Markets
Increasing Prices for German Coin Sets: Is This The End of Proof Coin Collecting?
Official coin sets – for many coin collectors, these issues are an essential part of a complete collection. The number of produced sets, however, has been diminishing significantly for years, and a huge price adjustment could now deter collectors even further.
George Kolbe Retires from Bookselling
After over 55 years in the numismatic bookseller business, George Kolbe decided to retire from the partnership of Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers.
Archive: Coins, Medals and more

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 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.
A Great Numismatist’s Important Book Published Posthumously
About a year after Wolfram Weisers death, his book on the currency of the Roman Empire has been published. Prof. Johannes Nollé has taken a closer look at this important German study.
Eisleben, Germany: Church Treasure Recovered After Almost 400 Years
What a find: last year, a hoard of 864 coins was discovered in a sandstone figure in a church in Eisleben, Germany. The coins were hidden there during the Thirty Years’ War and provide a rare insight into the currency in circulation at that time. A coin expert from the region tells us more about it.