Archive: People and Markets

2023 Was a Record Year for Archaeological Finds in the UK

The British Museum has launched the latest Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) Annual Report, showing a record high of 74,506 finds recorded by the public in 2023. See some of the highlights here.

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Study on Investment Behaviour of Women: Gold – Low Risk but High Returns?

The Royal Mint reports a significant rise in female investors, as more women seem to be turning to the gold and silver markets to safeguard their investment portfolios from risks.

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Two-Euro Ticker: New 2-Euro Coins in February 2025

Italy celebrates the Holy Year, and Luxembourg marks the change of throne with a numismatic first: for the first time, official colour applications will appear on Luxembourg’s 2-euro coins.

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Double Beginner’s Luck: Man Wins Metal Detector and Finds Hundreds of Coins

A Dorset man was lucky enough to experience two windfalls this spring. First he won an expensive metal detector in a prize draw, then – just a short time later – he made a valuable find with it.

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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.

Fascinating Change: The 50 State Quarters of the USA – a Milestone

By means of the 50 State Quarters, the US Mint succeeded in rekindling the people’s love of coins and bringing it to the next generation. What was so special about this series? Let’s look back.
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