The largest hoard of medieval coins since the 19th century has been unearthed in Scotland. The hoard dates back to warlike times, when big names such as William Wallace and Robert the Bruce fought back England’s attempts of conquest.
The story of how much influence St. Elizabeth had even centuries after her death is quite a spectacular one to tell. With the help of the Loos Collection, which will be on sale at Künker in September, we will do just that: talking of a canonized landgravine, political intrigues, power-conscious women and the consequences of syphilis.
On 18 June 2017, a coin hoard was discovered near Markstetten. It was probably buried around 1230 and is reminiscent of a dispute over the Regensburg episcopal see. Auction house Künker offers the entire hoard for sale on 25 March 2021.
If you want to understand the world of the Ottonian and Salian dynasties, you have to study their coins. The Giesen Collection, one of the most important collections on this subject in recent decades, is perfectly suited for this purpose. Frankfurter Münzhandlung offers this collection in its upcoming auction.
On 18 March 2020, Künker’s auction No. 335 offers a special collection of medieval coins containing about 150 splendid bracteates. These Romanesque works of art take us back to a time when saints were regarded as fellow citizens willing to engage actively for the well-being of the community.
Künker’s Berlin Auction Sale 2020 offers an extremely rare chaise d’or of William III of Jülich struck between 1393 and 1402. It portrays the duke as a wise ruler. In fact, William was anything but that: When he came to power at the age of 13, he turned into somebody we would call a teenage bully nowadays.
Robert Guiscard left behind two adult sons. The younger took the Crucifix, the older, Robert Borsa, the dominion over his father’s kingdom. In Sicily, the situation was convenient: Robert did not have to bother with princes.
From Europe to Asia, from AD 600-1600 – that is the range the “Global Medieval Sourcebook” spans. Stanford University’s free online tool offers transcriptions as well as new English translations of written sources in a variety of genres.
Why is it that for centuries – or rather thousands of years – the head has served as the motif for the side of a coin? And why has this changed in the last 200 years? This section of the series ‘Human Faces’ tackles the question whether the commandment ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image’ applies to coins as well.
Our series takes you along for the ride as we explore the Zurich of times past. In this instalment, you’ll get to read a dialogue between a buyer from out of town who’s trying to pay for his purchases in the year 1335. Much like a good DVD, this conversation comes with a sort of ‘making of’ – a little numismatic-historical backdrop to help underscore and illustrate this conversation.
