Archive: People and Markets

There’s a Lot Going on at Swissmint!

A new website, a new online shop, a new layout for its customer magazine – these are just some of the innovations Swissmint has in store for us. The mint has changed profoundly over the past two years. Ursula Kampmann explains how.

A Perfect Hunter: The Leopard on African Coins

Few people are lucky enough to see a leopard in the wild. On coins, however, the nimble and silent hunters can be encountered more frequently. With Dirk Wasserthal of RareCoin, we take you on a numismatic safari and present five rare African gold coins that have the potential to appreciate.

The Palace of Westminster was built between 1840 and 1870 and is a popular photo opportunity every day.

Tiffany Art Metropolis – Palace of Westminster

CIT’s Tiffany issues are among the most coveted rarities on the collectors’ market. This is not only due to their innovative inlay but also to the high level of minting technology and the attention to detail. In 2023 it is London’s turn with the Palace of Westminster. The playful neo-Gothic architecture of the Victorian age is perfectly suited for such an elaborate design.

Sir Winston Churchill at 150: Highlights From the J. Eric Engstrom Medal Collection

Last November, Winston Churchill would have turned 150 years old. To mark the occasion, the Heberden Coin Room at the Ashmolean is displaying pieces from their rich collection of medals related to Churchill, most of which come from the J. Eric Engstrom Collection of Churchill Medals.

Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Between Triumph and Tragedy – Maximilian II Emanuel, “The Prince of Bankrupts”

Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria, known as gifted general, an avid builder, and a passionate collector of art, led a turbulent life. Medals offered in Auction 18 of Leu Numismatik AG reflect both the heights and humiliations of Maximilian’s military campaigns in southern Germany.
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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