Archive: People and Markets

CIT’s Matterhorn – 2 Kilo Edition

If you have ever stood in front of the Matterhorn, you will never forget the sight. CIT created a striking tribute to the iconic mountain, reproduced to scale with an incredible relief of 14 mm.

100 Years Swiss Franc in the Principality of Liechtenstein

In 2023, CIT caused a sensation among collectors around the world with its Grand Canyon issue. The same state-of-the-art minting technology is now being applied to a depiction of the Rhine Valley. The occasion: one of the rare commemorative coin issues of Liechtenstein.

This month’s highlight: Estonia’s new 2-euro coin – a real eye-catcher. Photo: Eesti Pank

2-Euro Ticker: New 2-Euro Coins in May 2024

Fresh supply for all 2-euro fans: San Marino comes up with a treat for collectors, Estonia hits the headlines twice, and Belgium is already completing its numismatic 2-euro year.

Royal Mint Discontinues Rose Gold Alloy for Sovereign Coins

The Royal Mint has unveiled the Sovereign collection for 2025, alongside a major announcement regarding the coin’s future composition.

Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Die Qual der Wahl: Welche Goldmünzen sind zu gut für die Schmelze? Foto: Wieschowski / „Iron melting furnace“ von „fotosuper“ von Getty Images via Canva Pro.

Gold at Record Highs: Melt Down or Preserve Historic Gold Coins?

Gold is now more expensive than ever. This trend has put many collectors and dealers in a moral dilemma: Which gold coins can be sold or melted down without hesitation, and where do the real treasures lie?
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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