Archive: People and Markets

Peter Ilisch (1947–2023). Photo: Verein der Münzfreunde für Westfalen und Nachbargebiete e. V., Axel Obdenbusch.

Peter Ilisch (1947–2023)

Peter Ilisch passed away on 29 May 2023. The former curator in Münster specialised in medieval and early modern Westphalia. As an obituary, we publish the speech of Stefan Kötz, who paid tribute to his predecessor in office at the funeral service.

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The numindex on 11 May 2023.

The Numismatic Index on 11 May 2023

The numismatic index numindex transparently shows how the prices of selected coins change over time. In the style of a stock index, it was designed for collectors who consider their collection an investment. Find out about the current state of the index.

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Mithilfe modernster Prägetechnik wird das Rheintal mit einem beeindruckenden Relief dargestellt.

100 Years Swiss Franc in the Principality of Liechtenstein

In 2023, CIT caused a sensation among collectors around the world with its Grand Canyon issue. The same state-of-the-art minting technology is now being applied to a depiction of the Rhine Valley. The occasion: one of the rare commemorative coin issues of Liechtenstein.

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At the centre of the indictment against Richard Beale is the provenance of the second-most expensive ancient coin in the world, an EID MAR aureus. From Roma Numismatics XX (2020), Lot 463. Hammer price: 3,240,000 pounds.

Coin Dealer Richard Beale Pleads Guilty

Richard Beale has pleaded guilty to a number of charges. At a court hearing in New York in August 2023, the British coin dealer admitted, among other things, to falsifying the provenance of an EID MAR aureus.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

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.

What Do Gaming Counters Have to Do with Numismatics?

On 5 July 2025, Künker will offer a complete set of trictrac pieces at its auction 425. The ensemble is of great cultural and historical value. This prompts us to ask why gaming counters are part of the numismatic field – and what insights they can offer into the numismatic daily life of the early modern period.
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