Archive: People and Markets

Data Breach During Sale of 2-Euro Coin in Cyprus: How to Avoid Server Crashes

Cyprus wanted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its EU membership with a 2-euro coin – but the party turned into a fiasco. Even before the start of sales, the server crashed; at times, customers could see the data of other buyers, and to this day, it is unclear whether the central bank will make another attempt to sell the coins.

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The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Coins: Now Available Online

The Khalili Collections are in the process of digitizing the Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic coins, one of the largest private collections in this field. Over the next two years, around 13,000 coins will be made available on the official website, which already features 2,280 coins.

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The Royal Library of Belgium (KBR). Image: EmDee via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Putting Survival Ratios of Ancient Coinages Into Perspective – Call for Papers

The 7th International Numismatic Conference of the Coin Cabinet of the Royal Library of Belgium takes place on 5 October 2024 and will focus on survival ratios of ancient coinages. Proposals for submissions are expected by 1 December 2023.

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Many researchers were interested in the topic of the workshop. Photo: Alaa Aldin Al Chomari.

Provenanced Coin Finds Versus Rarities – The Importance of Coin Finds for Historical Statistics

Reporting coin finds is essential for the study of coinage. A Workshop in Jordan discussed the importance of coin finds for historical statistics and the experience of a group of Syrian archaeologists who turned to one of the most important groups of coin finders: children.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Christian IV. 4 Speciedaler 1624, Kopenhagen. From Auction Künker 408 (18.-19. June 2024), No. 14. Background: Christian IV of Denmark and Norway. Bust at Rosenborg Castle / Copenhagen. Photo: UK.

400 Years Ago – The Founding of Kongsberg

On 2 May 1624, Christian IV of Denmark and Norway founded the mining town of Kongsberg. A series of coins to be offered in the upcoming Künker sale tells us of the hopes that the ruler placed in the silver from these mines.
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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