Archive: People and Markets

Das Objekt der Begierde: Die 2-Euro-Gedenkmünze zum 500. Jahrestag des Vertrages von Burgos. Foto: Musee des Timbres et des Monnaies.

A Coveted 2-Euro Coin: Monaco Introduces Penalty Fee for Multiple Orders

The Principality’s commemorative coins are among the most expensive and sought-after collectibles in the eurozone – but they have also attracted speculators for years. The sales office is now taking drastic measures.

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£50,000 Reward for Clues on Stolen Scottish Coin Collection

Until today, the 2007 theft of the Lord Stewartby Collection, one of the finest private collections of Scottish coins, remains unsolved. Crimestoppers and the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow are now offering up to £50,000 for information leading to the conviction of those involved.

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Giant’s Causeway: A Natural Wonder at Risk – Because of Coins?

One of Britain’s most iconic natural landmarks is under threat – because tourists are decorating the famous basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway with coins. What may seem like a well-meaning gesture is now causing increasing damage to the geologically unique rock formation.

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The coin hoard, pot and lid. Credit: Gareth Beale.

Coin Hoard Gives Fascinating Insight Into Life Before the Glencoe Massacre

Hidden underneath a stone fireplace of a house in Glencoe, Scotland, a pot with silver coins was recently discovered. They were minted in the years shortly before the infamous Glencoe massacre of 1692. Was the person who buried these coins among the victims of the treacherous clan slaughter in the Highlands?

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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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