Archive: People and Markets

A New Member to Join the SINCONA Team: Michael Otto

The SINCONA team is excited to welcome a new member. As of 1 January 2025, Michael Otto is working at the SINCONA Group’s headquarters in Zurich. He is looking forward to taking over the position as Head of Numismatics.

Switzerland is “Guest of Honor” at the World Money Fair 2025

Next year, Switzerland will be the guest country at the World Money Fair. The Federal Mint Swissmint has a very special highlight in store for the fair: it will be presenting the 100-franc Gold Vreneli anniversary coin to the world for the first time.

CIT presents: Alcatraz Island

With Alcatraz, CIT presents a coin that takes the depiction of islands to a completely new level. Be it from a bird’s eye view or from the side, the coin depicts the legendary penitentiary complex in great detail and illustrates why the island became a myth.

How the Romans Made Counterfeits

Counterfeits have been around in ancient Roman times, too – usually, they were cast from a copper-tin alloy. Researchers at the University of Tübingen examined the counterfeiting process and reconstructed it experimentally. A video documents their experiment.

Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Sotheby’s, The One (2nd February 2024), lot 8: The 2nd May 1840 Penny Black Cover. Estimate: $1,500,000 – $2,500,000.

The First Piece of Mail Sent Using a Stamp to Be Offered at Sotheby’s

A Penny Black affixed to a Mulready envelope is among the most valuable items in Philately ever offered at auction. The earliest posted envelope using a prepaid stamp, dating to 1840, will be sold at Sotheby’s with an estimate of $1.5–2.5 million.
Third time’s the charm? After 2015 and 2019, Germany is once again issuing a coin commemorating German Unity. Photos: Wieschowski / Background: frankpeters from Getty Images via Canva Pro

Unity Coin Sows Discord: More Than Just a Matter of Taste?

The fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification are considered, despite occasional tensions between East and West, as a defining moment in German history, a cause for celebration for many Germans – but not, it seems, within certain corners of the German coin collecting community.
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