Archive: People and Markets

Unrealistic or soon to be found in European cash? This is an AI-generated image of a 2-euro commemorative coin on the subject of “defence”. Picture created with Image Generator Pro / ChatGPT

A Military Motif in Circulation – Or: How Political Should 2-Euro Coins Be?

Lithuania is planning to design a 2-euro commemorative coin for defense “against foreign armed forces”. Critics fear a numismatic mobilization – and are eagerly awaiting a possible veto from other euro countries. But have there ever been comparable cases?

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The Stack’s Bowers Professional Numismatist Program is the perfect opportunity to make your hobby your profession.

Stack’s Bowers Galleries 2024 Professional Numismatist Program

If you have ever considered making your hobby your profession, the Stack’s Bowers Professional Numismatist Program offers an opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to be successful in this field.

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Lithuania Effectively Abolishes One- and Two-Cent Coins – and Sparks a New Debate

Farewell to small change: another eurozone country is saying goodbye to the smallest cent coins. In Germany, the debate is also gaining momentum – whereas Austria remains relaxed and is observing developments.

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Bring your collection to life with Coiniverse. Image: Coiniverse.

Coiniverse Launches AI Assistant for Coin Collectors

The coin collecting app Coiniverse announced the launch of Coin AI, a cutting-edge generative AI assistant designed to enrich the coin collecting experience. Find out what it can do.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Image detail from “The last viaduct before entering the Trieste railway station”, image: SLUB Dresden. Public Domain Mark 1.0. PPN 337170053. In front: Double vereinstaler 1857. From Auction Künker 308, No. 471.

A Commemorative Coin Celebrating the Completion of Austria’s Southern Railway

Commemorative coins were issued far less frequently in the 19th century than today. The fact that Emperor Franz Joseph dedicated a commemorative coin to the Austrian Southern Railway is therefore testimony to the outstanding importance of this line. In auction 408, Künker is offering two of only 1,644 specimens minted.
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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