Archive: People and Markets

Collecting Coins Around 1600

In January 2024, the first volume of Ursula Kampmann’s three-part work on the letters of Hans von Schellenberg was published. The author presents one of the most insightful sources on collecting coins in the early modern period in its historical context.

Geoffrey’s Cope’s Exceptional Collection Comes to Auction

Numismatica Ars Classica, Classical Numismatic Group and Numismatica Genevensis have joined forces to present the exceptional collection of Geoffrey Cope. It will come under the hammer in May and October 2024.

Die Basilika von Aquileia gehört zum UNESCO Weltkulturerbe Foto: KW

Aquileia: A Centre of the Late Roman Empire

Under the Tetrarchs, Rome lost its position as the main residence of the emperor. Other sites with a more favourable strategic location took over this role. One of them was Aquileia. Those who visit the city today will find traces of Roman civilisation everywhere. Join Ursula Kampmann on her numismatic discovery tour!

Pop Culture & Coins Unite! The National Coin Week 2025

What do Homer Simpson, the Olympic games, Elvis Presley, and Superman have in common? They’ve all been featured, or will soon be featured, on coins. This year’s annual National Coin Week, April 20-26, 2025, explores the fascinating ways pop culture influences money.

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.
The courtyard of the Alcazár of Seville was immortalised on a 2024 2-euro coin from Spain. Photo: Real Casa de la Moneda (coin), javarman3 / Getty Images Pro via Canva Pro

The Secret of the Success of State Quarters, UNESCO Coins and Federal State Series

25 years ago, the United States of America started a new chapter in numismatic history. Their State Quarters became the model for many other successful coin programs – including Spain’s UNESCO World Heritage Site series.
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