Tag Archive for: Holy Roman Empire

Brandenburg and 200 years of Confessio Augustana

The scene Andreas Vestner has recorded on a silver medal produced by order of Karl Wilhelm Friedrich of Brandenburg-Ansbach is impressive to see: The Chancellor of Saxony is reading out the Augsburg Confession. But why did the ‘Wild Margrave’ of all people commission this medal?

The Coronation Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire

Since 1424, the so-called Heiltumsweisung (Festival of Relics) was held each year in Nuremberg. On that occasion, the Imperial Regalia were taken out of the treasure chamber and presented to …

The Whore of Babylon – or: Religious Tolerance prior to the Thirty Years’ War

The coming Künker sale of February 6, 2014, is offering a so-called “biblical thaler”. This piece is a wonderful testimony to the political attitude of a contemporary of the Thirty Year’s War. Here you will find the story behind this remarkable coin.

Reformation jubilees – a journey through the centuries

Künker will auction a major collection of coins and medals related to the Reformation on September 27, 2017. Using this material, this article shows the extent to which politics of the past centuries used Luther and the Reformation jubilee for their own purposes.

Gold for Portugal

Portugaleser, that is how the magnificent large gold coins are called that were produced in Hamburg. But what do they have to do with Portugal? The answer lies in the route the African gold has taken in the Early Modern Times…

Trinity Medal

On March 13, 2014, the famous Trinity Medal created by Hans Reinhart the Elder will be auctioned off at Künker. The masterpiece of German medal art is part of the Baums Collection.

The hunting prince

Why do so many Baroque coins and medals refer to hunting? This question comes to mind due to the Hirsch Nachf. sale 333 on September 21, 2017, in which the collection of a hunter (and collector) will be auctioned off. It contains a large variety of Baroque hunting scenes.

Parade of the “Lange Kerls” (Long Guys)

They were his special hobby, the “Lange Kerls” (Long Guys), Frederick William I of Prussia tested his military innovations on. He even had a medal dedicated to them.

Joachim II and his Jewish court factor

On February 1, 2017 the auction house Künker offers the top items from the Gunther Hahn Collection “Brandenburg-Preussen” as part of its Berlin Auction. They include some extremely rare coins of Joachim II who relied on Lipman ben Juda to conduct his financial transactions.

Patrona Bavariae

The depiction of the Virgin Mother is characteristic of Bavarian coins. What’s the reason for that? How did the Mary and her child take over the Bavarian coin obverses?