Tag Archive for: History

Items found: Carsten Niebuhr reports on treasure troves in wild Kurdistan

In the service of the King of Denmark, Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) travelled through the Orient from 1761 to 1767. His main goal was to prove the Bible right after all. To us numismatists, however, other parts of his report are much more intriguing nowadays.

The Turks at the gates of Vienna!

Künker Auction 289 will offer coins and medals bringing to mind the quarrel about the legacy of Louis of Hungary and the first Siege of Vienna. They form part of Ottoman Collection featuring coins referring to the difficult relation between the Ottoman Empire and the Occident.

Bridges as a sign of the Russian-French friendship

On 1 February 2018, Künker will auction off a testimony to the French-Russian alliance of 1892 in its Berlin auction. It is a gold medal dedicated to the inauguration of the Trinity Bridge in Saint Petersburg. This bridge was built as a symbol of this alliance and it has the Pont Alexandre III in Paris as its counterpart.

Lake Baikal gold treasure

“Glorious Sea, the Sacred Baikal”, that is how the “Baikal hymn” written by Dimitrij Davydov starts. The lake is affectionately referred to as “Pearl of Siberia” since it is the world’s biggest freshwater reservoir. Lake Baikal is…

Prussian Spirit in Tsarist Russia

Peter III had ruled Russia for just six months. For this reason virtually all of his coins are rare. Künker will offer a very rare 10 rouble piece of that ruler in his sale 264 on June 25. It depicts Peter Prussian-style.

Catherine the Great, Moscow and the Kremlin

An impressive gold medal of Catherine the Great, which will be auctioned off at the Künker Auction 306 on 23 March 2018, shows the magnificent view of a Moscow Kremlin Palace that never existed. Here is the explanation why.

Peter the Great as his nation’s barber

During the cultural revolution Peter the Great brought Russia, not only institutions were put in the crosshairs but the country’s population as well. The beard had to go – literally speaking…

Splendor of a dynasty – the five family roubles of Tsar Nicholas I (1825-1855)

King Louis’ I “historic thaler” made impression in Russia and left it’s marks. Tsar Nicholas I struck similar coins with his family on the reverse. How this happened and why there are five different types you can read here…

A Platinum Set from 1839 that Once Belonged to Great Prince Georgy Mikhailovich

Platinum coins rank among the great and most sought-after rarities of Russian numismatics. In their upcoming Berlin Auction, auction house Künker will offer a complete set of said rarities of exceptional condition, which once belonged to Georgy Mikhailovich, arguably the most famous collector of Russian coins.

Schaffhausen and Russia

On June 20, 2012 in Schaffhausen an exhibition was opened in occasion of 25 years Sturzenegger Foundation. In these years the numismatic department too has received many important acquisitions as for instance this jefímok on a Schaffhausen taler from the Tobler collection.