Archive: People and Markets

Raymond Weiller (1938-2022) at a wedding reception in May 1989.

Raymond Weiller (1938-2022)

Only now it became known that Raymond Weiller, the former head of the coin cabinet of the Luxembourg National Museum, passed away in April 2022. Jean Krier remembers the distinguished Luxembourg numismatist.

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The National Archaeological Museum of Athens would be affected by the planned change in law. Alongside other major museums, it is to become more autonomous but, in turn, will be largely on its own when it comes to its finances. The bill of the Minister of Culture and archaeologist Lina Mendoni is being hotly debated. Photo: Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0

Greek Museums Between Commercialisation and Modernisation

Five of Greece’s most important museums are to become more autonomous and operate independently of state funding. A bill of the Greek government to this effect has been hotly debated and led to strikes.

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Hoard of Viking Coins Unearthed on the Isle of Man

The Isle of Man’s rich Viking legacy has been further enhanced by the discovery of the Island’s latest treasure hoard.

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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

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.
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.
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