Archive: People and Markets

Die ersten Besucher strömen aufs Gelände. Foto: World Money Fair.

World Money Fair 2024: Thousands of Numismatics Enthusiasts at the World’s Largest Coin Fair

Once a year, the vast and diverse coin world comes together for a kind of oversized family reunion: the World Money Fair. Due to the new organization, many things were different, but others felt comfortably familiar. We were also present in Berlin again, this time even with our own booth.

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Ruthenium on Euro Commemorative Coins: Mints Turn to Innovative Finishes – with the Blessing of Central Banks

Coins with exotic precious metal coatings have long been viewed with skepticism, but Malta has now set a new trend with a galvanised commemorative coin. Other eurozone countries are also embracing innovative finishing techniques to capture contemporary tastes.

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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.

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Swinging London: Coinex 2024

Despite Brexit and competing events, Coinex is definitely worth a trip – especially to meet the many young dealers who gather there. After all, London is swinging at Coinex, too! Ursula Kampmann reports.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Image detail from “The last viaduct before entering the Trieste railway station”, image: SLUB Dresden. Public Domain Mark 1.0. PPN 337170053. In front: Double vereinstaler 1857. From Auction Künker 308, No. 471.

A Commemorative Coin Celebrating the Completion of Austria’s Southern Railway

Commemorative coins were issued far less frequently in the 19th century than today. The fact that Emperor Franz Joseph dedicated a commemorative coin to the Austrian Southern Railway is therefore testimony to the outstanding importance of this line. In auction 408, Künker is offering two of only 1,644 specimens minted.
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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