Archive: People and Markets

Professor Rory Naismith holding a Byzantine silver coin in the Fitzwilliam Museum. Photo: Adam Page.

Where Did Silver Come from in Early Medieval Europe?

In the mid-7th century, a veritable silver coin boom set off in the North Sea Region. So far, the question of where the silver for the coins came from was up for speculation. A new study provides concrete results.

Read more

Two Robberies in Two Days – French Museums Targeted by Criminals

Last week, two museums in France were robbed. The museums were helpless in the face of the criminals’ ruthless brutality. Is it even possible to protect our cultural heritage in this day and age?

Read more

Hideo Futahashi (†2024)

We have only now learned that Hideo Futahashi has passed away. Mr. Futahashi was a key figure for Europeans looking to gain a foothold in the Japanese coin market. He was one of those open-minded Japanese who loved introducing European coin enthusiasts to the beauty of his country.

Read more
Brustplatte mit mythischem Wesen. Goldlegierung. Kolumbien, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Nahuange-Tradition). The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Schenkung von Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. Okarina in Form eines sitzenden Anführers mit herausgestreckter Zunge. Keramik. Kolumbien, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Tairona-Tradition). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Muñoz Kramer Collection, Schenkung von Camilla Chandler Frost und Stephen und Claudia Muñoz-Kramer. Landschaftsbild: © Museum Associates/LACMA.

More than Gold – Splendour and Thought in Indigenous Colombia

A new exhibition at Zurich Museum Rietberg is dedicated to the diversity of artistic production in pre-Hispanic Colombia. On display are spectacular gold objects.

Read more

Archive: Coins, Medals and more

The authentic piece from the past: the “Feierstëppler” could be found in circulation in Luxembourg for more than half a century. Photo: Wieschowski

A Coin on a Coin: Luxembourg to Resurrect the “Feierstëppler”

The Grand Duchy honours its past as a centre of the steel industry with a new 2-euro commemorative coin bearing the unwieldy title “100th anniversary of the Grand Ducal decree on the issue of the ‘Feierstëppler’”.

Pattern of the First-Class Warrior Medal – A Previously Unknown Relic of German Colonial History

Leu’s first World Coins Floor Sale features a previously unknown pattern of a warrior merit medal for indigenous soldiers in German East Africa. This exceptional item provides rare insight into the early development of this obscure decoration.
Search Search