Archive: People and Markets

Is the EU Sleepwalking Into an Art Market Nightmare?

Enforcement of import licensing for cultural goods is just two years away, but many serious questions remain over what will happen. A detailed insight into a complicated matter.

Read more
Coiniverse and Swissmint team up to make commemorative coins from Switzerland available via a smartphone app. Photo: Coiniverse / Swissmint.

Swissmint Becomes First eCommerce Partner on Coiniverse

The numismatic smartphone application, founded by the mint of Finland and turned into an independent start-up, aims to become a marketplace for mints and coin dealers around the world.

Read more
One of the coins seized during the police’s Operation Fantail. (Courtesy of Durham Constabulary.) Next to it, a passage from the biography of Alfred the Great written by Asser. The coin presents the prominent 9th-century ruler in a whole new light.

How Two Fraudsters Almost Changed England’s History

Two English metal detectorists attempted to sell off some illegally excavated coins. In a police operation straight out of a movie, the pair were caught and have now been sentenced. The seized coins present England’s King Alfred the Great in a totally different light.

Read more

Two Robberies in Two Days – French Museums Targeted by Criminals

Last week, two museums in France were robbed. The museums were helpless in the face of the criminals’ ruthless brutality. Is it even possible to protect our cultural heritage in this day and age?

Read more

Archive: Coins, Medals and more

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.
Railway tunnel under Surami pass near the village Tsipa, Chkherimela valley, Georgia 2014. Image: Karel61 via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. In front: Silver medal commemorating the opening of the Suram Tunnel in 1890 by L. Steinman. Künker auction 408, No. 234.

For Railroad Fans: The Suram Tunnel

Railroad history is linked to numismatics in many ways. Fascinating large-scale projects were often celebrated with medals and commemorative coins. Our example takes us to Georgia: A medal that will be offered for auction by Künker commemorates the opening of the Suram Tunnel.
Search Search