Archive: People and Markets

“Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece” at the British Museum

Over centuries the Persian empire and the Greeks had many conflicts. But nevertheless they influenced each other in many ways, as coins and works of art document. A major exhibition at the British Museum explores the relationship between luxury and power in this time.

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.

These images depicting alleged banknotes were published on X by the "Government of East Africa" account. They are fakes. Source: "Government of East Africa" via X.

When Is a Currency Launch – Not a Currency Launch?

Nowadays, it is frighteningly easy to send misinformation around the world in a matter of seconds. Michael Alexander from the London Banknote and Monetary Research Centre uses a recent example to show that important subjects such as currency unions, or even money in general, can also be affected by this.

Haim Gitler, Catharine Lorber & Jean-Philippe Fontanille, The Yehud Coinage. A Study and Die Classification of the Provincial Silver Coinage of Judah. Numismatic Studies and Researches Volume XII. Israel Numismatic Society, Jerusalem 2023. XII, 532 pages, illustrations. Hardcover. ISBN: 139789655982299. $150.

Die Study of the Yehud Coinage

The Israel Numismatic Society published a book on provincial silver coinage of Judah in the late Persian, Macedonian, and early Hellenistic periods. Haim Gitler, Catharine Lorber and Jean-Philippe Fontanille presented their die study recently in Jerusalem.

Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Euro coins from Croatia. Photo: Angela Graff

The First Error Coins from Croatia

Croatian euro coins are still quite new: the popular tourist destination introduced the currency as recently as in January 2023. By now, the first Croatian coins have long found their way into Central European wallets – and there are also some error coins among them!

A Medal Made by Dürer as the Official Gift of the City of Nuremberg for Charles V

On 29 January 2025, auction house Künker will be auctioning an object of major art-historical importance in Berlin: the very Albrecht Dürer himself had been commissioned by the Nuremberg City Council to create the dies for medals that were to be officially handed to Charles V during his entry into the city in 1521.
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