A King at a pinch – the stolen coin collection of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy

A King dealing in coins – that sounds preposterous? Well, in 1944 the satirical magazine “Nebelspalter” published a caricature of the same tenor which was understood throughout Europe. Victor Emmanuel’s passion for coins was proverbial. He is said to have collected 120,000 pieces as the foundation of the most important publication of Italian coinage, the CNI, whose first volume was published exactly 100 years ago…

The mints of San Francisco Part 1: The Old Mint

Join us on our trip to the “Old Mint” of San Francisco. Old and new photos give an insight into the minting as it was done in The Granite Lady.

Bullion coins part 3: The American Eagle

This bullion coin of the United States, first released in 1986, can look back on a long tradition. Its obverse takes up an effigy that was designed by one of the greatest American artists.

The Spirit of Money

Everybody likes a good laugh, especially at the weaknesses of others. Perhaps this is the reason why we all enjoy caricatures so much: because they make us laugh before we are taken aback and begin to reflect on them.
The Aareal Bank obviously agreed with this view since the management had decided 20 years ago to assemble a collection of caricatures focusing on the very intriguing relationship of people with money. For this purpose, roughly 300 original works by Sempé, Hogarth, Daumier, Hurzlmeier, Haitzinger and a great many others were brought together. Now the Wilhelm-Busch-Museum houses that material: the Aaereal Bank entrusted its collection to the “Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und kritische Graphik“ as permanent loan. A first exhibition was presented as early as 2009 – let us hope that many more will follow.

Charles, Landgrave of Hesse: Creator of the Military Power of Hesse

An extremely rare double ducat made of Eder-gold will be sold at Kunker’s on October 30, 2012. It reminds us of how poor of natural resources this region once had been. Hence, Charles created a resource of his own: his army.

The Anabaptists – an episode from the history of Münster

Anyone looking up the St. Lambert’s Church in Münster discovers above the church clock a kind of decoration that is more than peculiar. High above, for everyone to see, there are three iron cages suspended from the steeple. Their background story will be told today.

Poets and their income: Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen

Beyond price – no, great art has never been beyond price. Quite the opposite actually – it had a clearly defined price. We will see just how high that price was, looking at the example of the German baroque poet Grimmelshausen. No one has left us with a more impressive account of the Thirty Years’ War.

20 Years of Portable Antiquities Scheme

When it comes to describing a successful collaboration of archaeologists, numismatists, detectorists, coin collectors, and coin dealers, the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme is sure to be mentioned. We will tell you exactly what it is, on what legal grounds it is based, and the successes this program has achieved.

Sensation at 5 Centimes in Le Petit Journal

The 1896 share certificate of the newspaper Le Petit Journal shows a sou in the lower border. France counted about 40 million people around that time…

Charles of Anjou and the Sicilian Vespers

19 children Frederick II had had but his family was to be wiped out only a few years after his death. The enmity of the Pope is to blame or that – and an extremely effective opponent…