Archive: People and Markets

Ursula Kampmann: Die Briefe des Herrn von Schellenberg an Johann Jakob Rüeger. Ein entlarvendes Selbstzeugnis vom Niedergang eines gebildeten Reichsritters und Münzsammlers. Bd. I: Die Briefe. (Nomismata, 13.1), Habelt Verlag 2023. 576 S., 29 cm. ISBN 978-3-7749-4378-0. Preis: 89 €.

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.

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Federal agents, National Hellenic Museum conduct largest repatriation of ancient coins to Greece in recent HSI history. Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Customs Repatriation to Greece Raises Questions

U.S. Customs recently confiscated fifty-one ancient coins and repatriated them to the Greek Government. But was this act really covered by the MOU with Greece? Peter Tompa gives coin collectors some advises.

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RNS Early Career Lectures 2024: Call for Papers!

The Royal Numismatic Society is looking for two students or early career professionals to give a lecture to its members in February 2024. As this will take place over Zoom everybody from all over the world is encouraged to submit a proposal soon!

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Die ersten Besucher strömen aufs Gelände. Foto: World Money Fair.

World Money Fair 2024: Thousands of Numismatics Enthusiasts at the World’s Largest Coin Fair

Once a year, the vast and diverse coin world comes together for a kind of oversized family reunion: the World Money Fair. Due to the new organization, many things were different, but others felt comfortably familiar. We were also present in Berlin again, this time even with our own booth.

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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.
Sotheby’s, The One (2nd February 2024), lot 8: The 2nd May 1840 Penny Black Cover. Estimate: $1,500,000 – $2,500,000.

The First Piece of Mail Sent Using a Stamp to Be Offered at Sotheby’s

A Penny Black affixed to a Mulready envelope is among the most valuable items in Philately ever offered at auction. The earliest posted envelope using a prepaid stamp, dating to 1840, will be sold at Sotheby’s with an estimate of $1.5–2.5 million.
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