Archive: People and Markets

Hidden Coins Indicate the Destruction of a City

In the 4th century, the Jews revolted one last time against Roman rule. Now, for the first time, there is archaeological evidence of the destruction of the city of Lod during the suppression of the revolt – a hoard of coins recently found by Israeli archaeologists in the ruins of a building.

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Warning Against Overpriced Coins: “Stick Figure” and “Woman on a Bull” Designs Aren’t Just Found in the Euro Zone

“Mega-rarity from your change” – sensational headlines like these frustrate coin collectors and dealers across Europe. Yet, it’s not just within the Eurozone that supposed rarities, often lacking genuine collector value, make waves.

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The Royal Library of Belgium (KBR). Image: EmDee via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Putting Survival Ratios of Ancient Coinages Into Perspective – Call for Papers

The 7th International Numismatic Conference of the Coin Cabinet of the Royal Library of Belgium takes place on 5 October 2024 and will focus on survival ratios of ancient coinages. Proposals for submissions are expected by 1 December 2023.

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State Minister for Science and Art, Markus Blume (right), with the new Director of the Bavarian State Coin Collection, Dr. Martin Hirsch (left).

Martin Hirsch Becomes the New Director of the Bavarian State Coin Collection

Martin Hirsch has worked at the Bavarian State Coin Collection in Munich for years, and now he has been appointed Director. Dr. Hirsch has a lot planned for his new role.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Some of the protagonists of the 30 Years' War depicted on coins. Coin photos: Künker (see further illustrations of the article). Background: copper engraving of the second battle of Breitenfeld on October 23, 1642, detail.

The Protagonists of the Thirty Years’ War: A Slightly Different Preview of Künker’s Auction 410

On 23 September 2024 Künker will auction off a breathtaking collection including many multiple gold coins, multiple talers and rare medals relating to the Thirty Years’ War. We present the most beautiful pieces, and explain why the men depicted on these issues took part in the Thirty Years’ War.
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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