Archive: People and Markets

Croatian Rulers – A New Coin Series

Croatia is proud of its long and rich history. The Croatian National Bank, in cooperation with the Croatian Mint, is dedicating a new coin series for collectors to their country’s history, focusing on Croatia’s rulers. The first King of Croatia was King Tomislav, who is depicted on the first coin in this series.

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A Greek gold necklace with horned lion heads on each end. No, this object has not disappeared, but it is listed by the British Museum as „similar to those that are missing.“ Photo: Trustees of the British Museum

Can the British Museum Recover Their Lost Items?

Around 2,000 un-inventoried objects from the Greek-Roman collection of the British Museum were stolen. The museum recently announced the deployment of a task force and recovery program, but will these measures be enough to see the return of the lost objects?

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Lars O. Lagerqvist in May 2015. Image: Sven Rosborn via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lars O. Lagerqvist (1929-2023)

Lars O. Lagerqvist, former director of the Royal Coin Cabinet in Stockholm and FIDEM Honorary President, passed away. He was one of the most important Swedish numismatists and a renowned expert for medals. Marie-Astrid Voisin Pelsdonk remembers her mentor and friend.

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Coins and banknotes – a relic of the past? Photo: Wieschowski.

Social Organisations and Bundesbank Advocate for Cash

Coins and banknotes continue to hold significant importance in an increasingly digital world – a point that prominent societal figures have recently underscored in a new position paper. They highlight the social functions of cash and its vital role for disadvantaged groups.

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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.
A postcard of the 1906 Olympic Games. In front: Gilded silver medal for a winner of the 1906 Olympic Games. From Künker auction 408 (18-19 May 2024), No. 122.

The Olympic Games That Are No Longer Recognized

In 1906, the IOC and the country of Greece invited athletes from all over the world to the Olympic Games in Athens. The Games had a lasting impact on the ceremonies surrounding the sporting showdown, even though the IOC no longer recognizes these Olympics today. A winner’s medal from the Games will be auctioned by Künker on 18 June 2024.
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