Archive: People and Markets

Gold bars at the supermarket? A growing success in the U.S. for over a year. Photo credit: Global_Intergold (foreground) via pixabay, Leung Cho Pan (background) via Canva Pro.

A Year of Gold Bars in US Supermarkets: Could the Costco Model Work in Europe?

Since autumn 2023, Americans have been able to invest in gold at the wholesale chain “Costco.” Those who bought then have enjoyed a handsome return – but whether gold will ever be sold at Aldi or Lidl in Europe remains uncertain.

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Donald Trump: Now Also a Coin Dealer and Designer

Supporters of the Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump can now show their backing numismatically: following sneakers and trading cards, Trump has now launched a commemorative medal under the “Trump Coins” brand.

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CIT teamed up with Iron Maiden to release a coin series, celebrating the creativity of one of the world’s most successful heavy metal groups.

CIT’s Iron Maiden Series: Pop Culture Meets Minting Technology

CIT teamed up with Iron Maiden to release a coin series, celebrating the creativity of one of the world’s most successful heavy metal groups. The British musicians have reinvented themselves time and time again. As a result, no two coins in CIT’s Iron Maiden series are alike. With its latest issue, CIT is now rounding out the series.

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Lot #25968-87: Grabener MPU-156 HS Coining Press, 1991.

A Highly Unusual Auction: Assets From Pobjoy Mint for Sale

Following the end of Pobjoy Mint last year, an online auction will present over 200 lots with the mint’s equipment next week. The sale features coining presses, machine tools, fabrication machinery, print and packaging equipment and more.

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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.
Napoleon III, painting by Alexandre Cabanel, around 1865. It was the favourite portrait of Empress Eugénie because it was the most accurate depiction of him.

French History in Coins – Part 3: A New Napoleon

Under Emperor Napoleon III, France experienced an economic upswing. The Paris cityscape was completely revamped, just as coin designs. The gold rush in the US thrust Europe’s silver money into a crisis. The answer came from France.
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