Archive: People and Markets

Ruthenium on Euro Commemorative Coins: Mints Turn to Innovative Finishes – with the Blessing of Central Banks

Coins with exotic precious metal coatings have long been viewed with skepticism, but Malta has now set a new trend with a galvanised commemorative coin. Other eurozone countries are also embracing innovative finishing techniques to capture contemporary tastes.

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So stellt sich die Grafik-Engine „DALL-E“ die Produktion eines numismatischen Fachbuches mithilfe von KI vor. Foto: Wieschowski

How AI Is Transforming Numismatics

Can entire numismatic reference books be written by artificial intelligence? Are ChatGPT and similar technologies becoming competitors for news portals, specialist publishers, and PR agencies? What can AI truly achieve? We put it to the test.

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Study on Investment Behaviour of Women: Gold – Low Risk but High Returns?

The Royal Mint reports a significant rise in female investors, as more women seem to be turning to the gold and silver markets to safeguard their investment portfolios from risks.

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The more than 2,000-year-old denarius from the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC was sold for EUR 570,000 (including buyer’s premium) at Bruun Rasmussen. Leading the sale from the podium was Chief Numismatist and auctioneer, Michael Fornitz.

An EID MAR Denarius Set a Nordic Record

An EID MAR denarius was sold at Bruun Rasmussen establishing a record for the most expensive numismatic object ever sold at auction in the entire Nordic region according to the auction house.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Silver for Württemberg

In the early modern period, much of the Black Forest, an idyllic mountain range in southwestern Germany, was a booming industrial center. A major part of the silver used to mint Württemberg coins came from this region. The Heinz-Falk Gaiser Collection, on offer at Künker on 23 September 2024, includes many coins made from Black Forest silver.
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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