Archive: People and Markets

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?

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Trsat Dragon: A Field Marshal, His Tomb and a Legend

Visitors to the beautiful city of Rijeka are familiar with the two basilisks that stand guard on the Trsat hill in front of Count Laval Nugent of Westmeath’s mausoleum. The Croatian Mint dedicates a gold and a silver commemorative coin to these mythical creatures.

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Croatian Rulers – A New Coin Series

Croatia is proud of its long and rich history. The Croatian National Bank, in cooperation with the Croatian Mint, is dedicating a new coin series for collectors to their country’s history, focusing on Croatia’s rulers. The first King of Croatia was King Tomislav, who is depicted on the first coin in this series.

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This month’s highlight: Estonia’s new 2-euro coin – a real eye-catcher. Photo: Eesti Pank

2-Euro Ticker: New 2-Euro Coins in May 2024

Fresh supply for all 2-euro fans: San Marino comes up with a treat for collectors, Estonia hits the headlines twice, and Belgium is already completing its numismatic 2-euro year.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Pattern of the First-Class Warrior Medal – A Previously Unknown Relic of German Colonial History

Leu’s first World Coins Floor Sale features a previously unknown pattern of a warrior merit medal for indigenous soldiers in German East Africa. This exceptional item provides rare insight into the early development of this obscure decoration.
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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