Archive: People and Markets

The Mint of Finland is Dead, Long Live the Helsinki Mint

September brought bad news for the numismatic world: the Mint of Finland, once a prolific producer of circulation coins for numerous euro countries, announced it would cease operations. Many questions have since remained unanswered – but one key point is now clear: the future of Finnish coin production has been decided.

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Coins and banknotes – a relic of the past? Photo: Wieschowski.

Social Organisations and Bundesbank Advocate for Cash

Coins and banknotes continue to hold significant importance in an increasingly digital world – a point that prominent societal figures have recently underscored in a new position paper. They highlight the social functions of cash and its vital role for disadvantaged groups.

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Bowing to a Croatian Basketball Legend

In 1993, Dražen Petrović, one of the world’s most famous basketball players, died aged only 29 years. With his ambition, hard work, reliability, and modesty, the “Mozart of Basketball” continues to inspire many of his fans to this day.

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A reconstruction of what the gold necklace probably looked like. Illustration made by archaeologist Thea Eli Gil Bell. © Theo Eli Gil Bell, The Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger.

Baldrs Horse: Detectorist Makes “Find of the Century” in Norway

On the Norwegian island of Rennesøy, a metal detectorist recently made an extraordinary gold find that was buried long before the Viking Age. The nine coin-like gold pendants engraved with rare horse symbols discovered along with ten gold beads and three gold rings are the first find of this kind in Norway since the 19th century.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Napoleon III, painting by Alexandre Cabanel, around 1865. It was the favourite portrait of Empress Eugénie because it was the most accurate depiction of him.

French History in Coins – Part 3: A New Napoleon

Under Emperor Napoleon III, France experienced an economic upswing. The Paris cityscape was completely revamped, just as coin designs. The gold rush in the US thrust Europe’s silver money into a crisis. The answer came from France.
Horace Vernet, Barrikadenkampf in der Rue Soufflot, Paris, 25. Juni 1848 (Juniaufstand).

French History in Coins – Part 2: From the Second Republic to the Second Empire

In the 19th century, people in France suffered from hunger and poverty. There were uprisings and a revolution. But the first president of the new republic was a nephew of Napoleon and completely took after the old emperor.
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