Archive: People and Markets

Ulrich Werz 2014 in Cyprus. Photo: Claire Franklin.

Ulrich Werz (1964-2023)

The numismatist Ulrich Werz died on June 14, 2023. He was known for his work on coin finds and his studies on Roman countermarks. Claire Franklin remembers him.

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In Love With Japan

This year, Andrea Pancheri attended the Tokyo International Coin Convention for the first time on our behalf – and was absolutely thrilled by both the country and the event! Find out why here.

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This 5-pound gold bar recovered from the famous Atocha shipwreck sunk in 1622 is up for auction on May 7 in Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC’s Treasure Auction 35. Painting in the background: „Atocha Meets Her Fate,” by Ralph Curnow (2009), from: Sedwick Treasure Auction #6 (2009), lot 1969.

Gold Bar from Famous Shipwreck Comes Under the Hammer

In 1622, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha sank off the coast of Key West along with all the treasures on board. Sedwick is now auctioning off one of the largest gold bars ever recovered.

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Haim Gitler, David Jeselsohn, Mati Johananoff and Oren Tal, The Jeselsohn Collection of Coins of the Holy Land. Volume I: Hacksilber, Persian and Early Hellenistic Coinage. Yad Ben-Zvi Press. Jerusalem 2024. ISBN 978-965-217-465-9.

Hacksilber, Persian and Early Hellenistic Coinage from the Jeselsohn Collection

Haim Gitler, David Jeselsohn, Mati Johananoff and Oren Tal present the first volume of a series about the Jeselsohn Collection of Coins of the Holy Land, which is probably the most important collection of coins of the southern Levant. This volume covers Hacksilber, Persian and Early Hellenistic coinage.

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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.

The Gnadenpfennig – An Object Between Decoration, Medal, and Coin

Gnadenpfennigs are an extremely rare category of numismatic objects. Künker is proud to offer nine lots in auction 418 on 29 January 2025 that are, or are likely to be, gnadenpfennigs. We explain the purpose of these issues and when they were created.
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