Tag Archive for: History

Philip II of Pomerania and his coin dealer Philipp Hainhofer

Around 1600, coin collecting was “the” leisure activity of the intellectual elite. The emperor himself was an avid collector. He was imitated by many noblemen among them Philip II of Pomerania, who put together a great art collection in cooperation with Philipp Hainhofer.

The Purim Festival of the Protestants

In its Berlin Auction 286, the auction house Künker auctions off the Ottar Ertzeid Collection with coins from the Swedish Territories. The offer includes a series of Purim talers. In this article, we address the question why the Protestants of Erfurt took a Jewish festival, of all events, to date their coins.

Munich Auction House offers Objects from the Moussaieff Collection

On June 30, 2017, the Munich auction house Gorny & Mosch will offer objects from the collection of Israeli jeweler Shlomo Moussaieff. They bear testimony to an extraordinary man with an unusual biography.

The Jews, enemies of Christianity?

With the Professor Helmut Hahn collection, Künker will offer an exquisite collection of bracteates in his Berlin Auction on February 1, 2018. These high-medieval pfennigs are first-class works of art and provide an insight into the thought of the time, for instance, how the Christian majority saw their Jewish fellow citizens.

Emperor Probus – Numismatic images of his reign

On September 14, 2018, the Philippe Gysen collection of barracks emperors’ antoniniani will be auctioned off at Paul-Francis Jacquier. The collection proves that one single person can advance research if he chooses his collecting field wisely.

Human faces, part 25: The Saint of Halberstadt

Why was the human head the motif on coins for centuries, no, for millennia? And why did that change in the last 200 years? This episode’s coin features the head of Saint Stephen, who once saved the Bishopric of Halberstadt from its liquidation.

Human faces, part 40: The pirate queen

“The Virgin Queen” is certainly the most well-known epithet of Elizabeth I. We thought, however, that “Queen of the Pirates” would be equally befitting as English privateers belong to Elizabeth’s story just as much as her virginity.

Human faces, part 26: Viva il popolo

Why was the human head the motif on coins for centuries, no, for millennia? And why did that change in the last 200 years? John the Baptist paid for his convictions with his head. The Florentines honour his courage on their coinage.

Human faces, part 41: Augsburg and the Thirty Years’ War

Being a Free Imperial City proved fatal for Augsburg during the Thirty Years’ War. This episode discusses the disastrous effects of the war on the city’s economic situation.

40 Years Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung

Many coin collectors never forget, who was the one, who sold the very first coin to them. Perhaps you as well will remember your own collecting past, while reading the history of 40 years of Gorny & Mosch…