Entries by Ursula Kampmann

Charles Borromeo –The Saint of the Counter-Reformation, Part 1

Charles Borromeo was considered ‘the’ saint of the Counter-Reformation. In this three-part series, we will tell you about his life. The first episode informs about the constitution of the church that made Charles Borromeo great before he became the epitome of the reform.

The courtesan Laïs in Corinth

Sex sells. That is common knowledge to the yellow press and tour guides alike, as early as ancient times. Already the Corinthians cashed in on that and promoted a tourist attraction of a particular kind: the tomb of the famous courtesan Laïs…

Magical Numismatics: The Silver Shilling

Numerous novels, travelogues and short stories from the 19th century inform us about the numismatic every-day life. A particularly nice example is one of the more than 160 fairy tales Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) has written.

Images from a minting workshop of the 16th century

How were coins produced in the 16th century? Only few illustrations provide information about that process. One of the most important is a pane featuring the coat of arms of the Schaffhausen mint master Werner Zentgraf…

Message in a bottle

In 1967 workers of the Austrian Mint found a message in a bottle bricked in a wall. Colleagues who worked in the same building around the turn of the century had left the message in order to inform posterity about their awkward situation.

Numismatic Episodes from Australia

Monday, September 27th, 2010, the Mint Directors Conference will start in Australian Canberra. There, executive staff members from mints all over the world will meet in order to discuss about pending problems. CoinsWeekly will introduce itself to the members of the congress with the following three little episodes from Australian numismatic history printed within the congress’s daily journal…

War is father of all

Clearly, it is evident to everyone that there are taxes to be paid. It has always been that way, one is inclined to think. But, there have been times when the rulers were obliged to ask the ruled if they were willing to pay a new tax. Why that has changed you can read here…