Archive: People and Markets

One of the coins seized during the police’s Operation Fantail. (Courtesy of Durham Constabulary.) Next to it, a passage from the biography of Alfred the Great written by Asser. The coin presents the prominent 9th-century ruler in a whole new light.

How Two Fraudsters Almost Changed England’s History

Two English metal detectorists attempted to sell off some illegally excavated coins. In a police operation straight out of a movie, the pair were caught and have now been sentenced. The seized coins present England’s King Alfred the Great in a totally different light.

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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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New CIT Issue: Reconstruction – Elephant

With the Reconstruction series, CIT presents a new type of coin design, showcasing once again the ingenious way in which B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt transforms the demanding designs of the Liechtenstein innovators into minted objects.

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From a Collector’s Market to an Investor’s Market: Reasons, Consequences, Opportunities, Part 1

Complaining is of no use: change is coming, or may already be here. The question is how to deal with it. In order to develop smart strategies, one must be aware of what is actually happening and why. Ursula Kampmann summarizes the most important changes in the coin world in a loose series. Today: the shift from a collector to an investor market.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

A Medal Made by Dürer as the Official Gift of the City of Nuremberg for Charles V

On 29 January 2025, auction house Künker will be auctioning an object of major art-historical importance in Berlin: the very Albrecht Dürer himself had been commissioned by the Nuremberg City Council to create the dies for medals that were to be officially handed to Charles V during his entry into the city in 1521.
Wurde dieser Aureus aus geplündertem rhodischem Gold geprägt? Fotos: Hintergrund: Ymakris, CC-BY 4.0. Münze: Auktion Künker 416 (29./30. Oktober), Nr. 1809.

Gold from Rhodes for the Battle for Rome

On 30 October 2024, Künker will be auctioning an aureus minted by Caesar’s assassins in 42 BC. The extremely rare piece is estimated at 100,000 euros. We tell the story of a coin that takes us back to the heart of the Roman civil war.
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