Archive: People and Markets

Those are the people honored by being portrayed on the new Japanese banknotes.

These Are Japan’s New Banknotes

In April 2023, the Bank of Japan has presented the first specimens of the new banknotes, which will enter circulation in 2024. The 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 yen denominations will feature new motifs and new security features.

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In diesem Gebäude in Helsinki befand sich die ursprüngliche finnische Münzstätte seit 1864. 1988 zog die Produktion in eine moderne Anlage in Vantaa um. Doch bald werden auch dort die Maschinen stillstehen. Foto: I99pema via Wikicommons / CC BY-SA 4.0.

The End of Mint of Finland

Mint of Finland will close its doors in the spring of 2025. The Board of Directors of Mint of Finland announced this decision on 28 August 2024. Ursula Kampmann sums up the situation.

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Die Archäologinnen Kristina Jansson und Anna Ödéen präsentieren den Münzfund. Foto: Åsa Rosén.

The Brahekyrkan Coin Hoard – A Sensational Find on Visingsö

Swedish archaeologists made a spectacular discovery on the island of Visingsö. They found 170 coins from the mid-12th century in a grave, posing a number of questions.

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Daniel Neuberger and the Art of Deception – Exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum

The Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna is currently showing a special exhibition about Daniel Neuberger. Neuberger (1621–1680) was one of the most important and versatile artists at the imperial court in Vienna, where he worked as a wax sculptor, portraitist, and lapidary for Emperor Ferdinand III and his sons Ferdinand IV and Leopold I. 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.
The courtyard of the Alcazár of Seville was immortalised on a 2024 2-euro coin from Spain. Photo: Real Casa de la Moneda (coin), javarman3 / Getty Images Pro via Canva Pro

The Secret of the Success of State Quarters, UNESCO Coins and Federal State Series

25 years ago, the United States of America started a new chapter in numismatic history. Their State Quarters became the model for many other successful coin programs – including Spain’s UNESCO World Heritage Site series.
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