Tag Archive for: Basic

Numismatic Bookplates – a Wonderful Field of Collection

On 2 and 3 November 2020, auction house Künker in Osnabrück will auction off the library of coin dealer Alain Poinsignon. Just like every great library, it contains books that were previously owned by other numismatists and coin collectors. Bookplates tell this story. And we tell some stories about the bookplates.

The Gold Standard Part 2: How and Why Gold Became the Most Important Metal for Coins

For centuries, silver was the preferred metal across the world when it came to coins and savings. In the 19th century, that changed. We’ll explain how and why, and illustrate what happened with the help of coins that will be coming under the hammer on 30 September and 1 October 2020 in the Künker Auction entitled ‘A Numismatic Gold Treasure’.

The Gold Standard Part 1: How and Why Gold Became the Most Important Metal for Coins

For centuries, silver was the preferred metal across the world when it came to coins and savings. In the 19th century, that changed. We’ll explain how and why, and illustrate what happened with the help of coins that will be coming under the hammer on 30 September and 1 October 2020 in the Künker Auction entitled ‘A Numismatic Gold Treasure’.

The Monetary History of the USA, Part 5: The 70s and 80s

The political crisis of the United States continued during the 70s. After the Watergate scandal shocking the nation, President Reagan was able to restore the self-confidence of the USA – especially by means of his economic policies.

The Monetary History of the USA. Part 1: Times of War

The birth of the United States of America was anything but peaceful. Two major wars were necessary so that the nation as we know it today could emerge: the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.

The history of Chinese coinage 3 – China invents paper money

Quite rightly, China prides itself of its long history, impressively evidenced by the Chinese monetary tradition that took a different route than our western one. The third episode is about the invention of the paper money and the introduction of a coinage following the western model.

The magnifier, a coin collector’s most important tool

How to recognize an experienced coin collector? Simple, he always has his magnifier on the ready! What else to recognize an experienced coin collector? Simpler still, he does not own one single magnifier, but several, for each situation the appropriate one…

Coin Grading Made Easy

A lot of coin collectors are insecure when it comes to judging the condition of a coin. This article offers an introduction to this high art…

Gradings made in the USA

“Slabs“, that is how Americans call the small plastic boxes where coins are welded in, against a fee, after a procedure called grading. What is behind that? What advantages has that system? What problems?

How to detect forgeries

Part 3: Electrotypes
The last two parts on news from the forgery front have dealt with fakes that have been produced by newly cut dies and with cast fakes. This part is dedicated to a third kind of fakes: the electrotypes.
You will surely recognize …