Archive: People and Markets

More than three years after the spectacular burglary at Dresden’s Green Vault, the Dresden Regional Court handed down a verdict on 16 May 2023. The return of part of the loot has paid off for the defendants. But many questions are still open.

Verdicts in the Dresden Jewel Heist Case

More than three years after the spectacular burglary at Dresden’s Green Vault, the Dresden Regional Court handed down a verdict on 16 May 2023. The return of part of the loot has paid off for the defendants. But many questions are still open.

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Colouring on 2-euro coins – still an absolute exception today. Collage: Canva.

Are Things Becoming Too Colourful? France and Portugal Issue 2-Euro Colour Coins

After six years, two Eurozone countries make use of the opportunity to design commemorative 2-euro coins with a special effect. Until now, official 2-euro coins with colour have been an absolute exception – for they are not at all liked to be seen in Brussels.

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The representative of Guinness World Records hands over the certificate for the world’s smallest coin to Robert Blaic, CEO of the Croatian Mint. Photo: Croatian Mint.

The World’s Smallest Coin

Now it is official: Croatia’s 1-kuna coin dedicated to the town of Hum holds the Guinness World Record as the world’s smallest coin!

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The first flying coin is presented in a high-quality box.

Space Premiere – Mint of Poland Created the World’s First Flying Coin

The Mint of Poland presented the UFO MP-1766 at the World Money Fair 2024, which is said to be the first flying coin in the World. The coin is lifted by an internal motor and, upon interaction with a specially designed base, it levitates due to the magnetic field generated between them.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Maximilian: The Last Knight and / or a Bankrupt

On 3 July 2025, Künker will auction the Hermann Wohnlich Collection presenting coins and medals from Tyrol. The offer includes an impressive ensemble of representative coins of Maximilian I, which are an excellent testament to his ability to cultivate his image. The effects of this can still be felt today.
Karl Ludwig von Bruck, the mastermind behind the Vienna Coinage Treaty. We chose not to depict Emperor Franz Josef I at this point, who is shown on the coins, but the liberal politician Karl Ludwig von Bruck. Born into the family of a bookbinder in Elberfeld (now Wuppertal, Germany), he worked his way up from a merchant’s position to become Austria’s finance minister. He could almost be described as a beacon of hope for Austrian economic policy. It was tragic – and not just for him personally – that Franz Josef “ungraciously” dismissed him in April 1860 on false suspicions. The then 61-year-old took his own life. This deprived Austria of an imaginative politician who might have prevented its economic marginalization by Prussia.

A War Fought with Unusual Weapons: How Prussia Used Finance and Politics to Force the Habsburg Hereditary Lands Out of the German Confederation

On 26 March 2024, the Künker auction house will offer the Tursky Collection with coins of Emperor Franz Joseph I. We use specimens from this collection to tell the story of how Prussia used its economic sway to become the sole hegemonic power in Germany.
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