Articles

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.

Ten Rhodians, ten ships, says an ancient proverb. It tells of the source of the riches of this island, which had one of the most important harbors of the ancient world. It was protected by the Colossus of Rhodes, a statue of Helios, who is also depicted on Rhodian coins.

In 479 BC the Greeks defeated the Persians at Plataiai. At that time nobody dared to hope that the fight was so soon to end. On the contrary, every Greek city was afraid of the Persian king, who had vast resources at his disposal. He was feared to raise another army in order to conquer the whole of Greece. Something had to be done to prevent that.

What a huge surprise when the company Gorny & Mosch – Giessener Münzhandlung auctioned off a Roman portrait head from the late 2nd cent. A. D. at auction sale 184 on December 18th, 2009. It was a high quality marble portrait in a remarkable state of preservation which some ...

But one day, one noon, I believed I had found it. I was at Sounion all by myself; the summerly sun was burning; the wounded pines dripped resin...

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.

19 children Frederick II had had but his family was to be wiped out only a few years after his death. The enmity of the Pope is to blame or that – and an extremely effective opponent…

Around 400 AD the Roman Empire was shaken to the core. Britain’s governor claimed himself Roman Emperor, but found his only long-lasting success in the Welsh mythology. By examining 12 coins we are going to stroll through Great Britain’s history – this is part 1...

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.

During the 16th century, cathedral chapters were fiercely contested between the Catholics and Protestants. The 1592 bishop election of Strasbourg illustrates this sectarian conflict especially well by reference to several siege klippes.