Archive: People and Markets

Nur eine dieser Münzen ist echt. Erkennen Sie, bei welcher es sich um eine von der Spanischen Nationalpolizei sichergestellten Fälschung handelt? Die Antwort: Die linke Münze ist die Fälschung: Foto: Policía Nacional via X.

Counterfeiters of Hundreds of Thousands of Euro Coins Arrested

A large-scale counterfeiting workshop has been raided in Spain. The culprits put half a million fake 2-euro coins in circulation throughout Europe. Read on to find out how the perpetrators evaded the police for years and how you can identify the counterfeits.

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Over 3,200 Visitors at the 2025 National Money Show in Atlanta

The 2025 National Money Show featured an exciting mix of family fun, rare exhibits, and exclusive numismatic opportunities, making it a must-attend event for collectors, dealers, and history enthusiasts alike.

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From a Collector’s Market to an Investor’s Market: Reasons, Consequences, Opportunities, Part 1

Complaining is of no use: change is coming, or may already be here. The question is how to deal with it. In order to develop smart strategies, one must be aware of what is actually happening and why. Ursula Kampmann summarizes the most important changes in the coin world in a loose series. Today: the shift from a collector to an investor market.

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Cheyenne, Wyoming. Background: Vasiliymeshko / CC BY-SA 4.0

Suspect Arrested for Double Homicide at Coin Shop Nine Years After the Crime

The double murder of a coin shop owner and a second victim in Cheyenne, Wyoming, lay unsolved for almost a decade. Now a suspect is on trial – the very man who had called the police to the crime scene.

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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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