Tag Archive for: History

Sigismondo Malatesta – Condottiere and Ruler of Rimini

In 1462, there was a great fire to be witnessed in Rome: Pope Pius II burnt the effigy of Sigismondo Malatesta, once beloved son and captain-general of the Holy Roman Church. Who was this man? A beast? The anti-christ? Or simply a child of one’s times?

Gold rush in California: part III

Countless stories tell of the Californian gold rush which brought thousands of men to America, the Promised Land. But the gold made only very few rich. The majority died as a result of the exertion during the travel, the hard work and the disappointment when they returned back home, poorer than they had come. Their story should be told here.

Rediscovery of Celtic gold in Brentonico

Helmut Rizzolli presents three Celtic gold coins which were found in Tyrol in the 19th century. A hundred years ago, a museum used them to pay off their heating bills, now they have reappeared on the collector’s market and can finally be analysed and interpreted.

Documenting the Past: an Ancient Industry recorded in Coinage

An unusual coin type recently sold for 30,000 GBP at the London-based Ceres Auction House depicts an ancient industry, hitherto unrecorded on coinage or sculptural reliefs: the production of noodles.

The Reformation jubilee in Quedlinburg Abbey

On 29 June 2017, a very rare commemorative coin of the abbess of Quedlinburg will be put to auction at Künker sale 294. It is dedicated to the Reformation jubilee of 1617, but the question arises, where people got the idea to celebrate the jubilee in the first place.

Gallienus and the East

On February 15, 2018, Münzen & Medaillen GmbH offers an impressive series of coins of Gallienus stemming from the Markus Weder collection. Claire Franklin-Werz is telling the story of their historical background.

A donative of Constantine the Great

This impressive piece belongs to a small series of silver medallions celebrating the vicennalia of Constantine II, the eldest surviving son of Constantine the Great, in 336.

I am the badge of Phanes

On March 8th, 2010, Gorny & Mosch will present a specimen of the mysterious key series of the early coin production. The Phanes stater from a private collection in Israel is estimated at 150.000 Euros. It is the …

The Mint of the United States of America in Philadelphia

In contrast to many other mints which seldom allow a visit to their production site, the Philadelphia Mint offered their visitors a comprehensive program including official guided tours and souvenirs as early as the end of the 19th century…

Taxes for Rome

Hands up anyone who hasn’t come to be annoyed by the tangled mass of regulations accompanying our tax collection. Perhaps at different times, the situation had been better… Perhaps in Rome?