Archive: People and Markets

New Zealand. £100, no date (1928-1929), Auckland. From the Joshua Lee collection and formally owned by Amon Carter.

A Short Numismatic History of New Zealand

Heritage offers a banknote that is considered a highlight of the monetary history of New Zealand. Reason enough for coin dealer Joshua Lee to present some of New Zealand’s most spectacular coins and banknotes.

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A fresh start for the British Museum? Maybe with numismatist Mark Jones heading the museum as interim director. Photo museum: UK. Photo Sir Mark Jones: © National Trust for Scotland.

A Numismatist at the Head of the British Museum?

Following the resignation of the British Museum’s director and his deputy, the board of trustees has already filled one position on an interim basis. Surprisingly, the numismatist Sir Mark Jones has been proposed as interim director.

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Full house: before the fair started, the MOC foyer was almost completely full. Photo: Wieschowski.

NUMISMATA’s Key to Success: Keep It Simple!

On the first weekend of spring, the NUMISMATA coin show was held in Munich. The fair attracted thousands of passionate coin collectors who crowded the aisles of the exhibition centre.

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New Swiss Silver Coin “Switzerland”

On 12 September 2024, the Federal Mint Swissmint will launch the 20-franc silver coin entitled “Switzerland” in honour of the country becoming a federal state in 1848. The limited-edition special coin will go on sale on Switzerland’s unofficial birthday.

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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.
Friedrich III. auf seinem weißen Hengst bei der Verteidigung Kopenhagens 1659. Gemalt von Frederik Christian Lund, 1887. Bilder: Hintergrund: Wikimedia Commons / CC0. Münze: Auktion SINCONA 94 (22.-23. Oktober 2024), Nr. 1616.

Frederick III of Denmark and Eben Ezer

SINCONA’s Auctions 92 to 95 will take place from 21 to 25 October 2024. This article introduces one of the many rarities up for sale: a so-called “Ebenezer” coin from Denmark. The 4-Ducat piece is extremely rare and of great historical interest.
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