Björn Schöpe

F+W, parent company of Krause Publications, has filed for bankruptcy. This could potentially result in the end of numerous numismatic publications in the United States. Years of mismanagement and staggering malinvestment are considered the causes of these developments.

Some people suffer from a pathological urge to swallow coins. A man from Japan recently set a sad record: doctors removed 8 kilos of coins from his stomach. The injuries caused by this diet vary depending, among other things, on the coins’ material.

Since 1952 Queen Elizabeth II is reigning Great Britain. In 2012 she celebrates her Diamond Jubilee looking back on a period that has changed her country profoundly. By examining 12 coins we have strolled through Great Britain’s history – this is the last part...

Cnut the Great had formed an enormous kingdom uniting Denmark, Norvegia and England. But after his death his sons Harthacnut and “Harold Harefoot” clashed with each other. And England became their bone of contention. By examining 12 coins we are going to stroll through Great Britain’s history – this is part 2...

Under Victoria I Britain’s Empire embraced the whole world. But the Queen drew back from policy and let the politicians govern the country. That system should never change any more. By examining 12 coins we are going to stroll through Great Britain’s history – this is part 11.

To bar the Catholic Stuarts from the throne of England Queen Anne designated a German to become her successor: George I. But nevertheless he was a Protestant, the English were not satisfied with their new monarch. By examining 12 coins we are going to stroll through Great Britain’s history – this is part 10.

Besides the fear of having no king at all the English feared always the scenario of a Catholic king. In 1688 dread of becoming re-Catholicised led the aristocrats to call a Protestant from the Netherlands to be their new king. By examining 12 coins we are going to stroll through Great Britain’s history – this is part 9.

In the 17th century England experienced a period without king when the officer Oliver Cromwell was trying to establish a republic – even at the cost of precipitating the whole country into a civil war. By examining 12 coins we are going to stroll through Great Britain’s history – this is part 8.

The Virgin Queen she was called by her contemporaries – and she made them tremble. Elizabeth I was a key figure of the 16th century, her navy controlled the oceans, England flourished. By examining 12 coins we are going to stroll through Great Britain’s history – this is part 7.

An ancient cameo vase has recently appeared on the market. It does not only captivate by its beauty. It resembles another famous object, the Portland Vase whose interpretation had been controversially debated for a long time. But a closer look at the “new finding” permits a deeper understanding of the Portland Vase as well.