Articles

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? In this episode, Frederick II proves that the sword is not the only way to gain a throne.

Carolina, Georgia, California – many people were attracted to set out for the unknown by the prospect of an easy yield in the gold fields. That makes the gold rush one of the foundation myths of the United States of America. In the Berlin auction Künker offers a range of numismatic testimonies to this eventful era.

On June 24, 2015, Künker auctions a small series of portugalöser from the city of Hamburg. They are strongly associated with both the fight of a Hanseatic city against currency manipulations and the founding of the first Giro bank in Germany.

“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.

During the upcoming Künker March Auction of 2016 an innovative coin of the Roman Civil War will be auctioned off. Sextus Pompey created an aureus referring to his father, Pompey the Great and his brother, Gnaeus Pompeius.

In 466 the tyrant Thrasybulus was expelled from Syracuse, which is how the Syracusans became democratic and soon enough had to defend themselves against Athens – which would have liked to also have influence over Sicily.

Thanks to Flavius Josephus, we know a lot about the Jewish-Roman War. And thanks to the coins, we know how it was perceived by the Romans. On the example of coins from the upcoming Künker antiques auction 318, we recount what happened back then, and why it became such an important topic in Flavian coinage.

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? In this episode, we will look at Henry’s VI coin portrait and tell his story.

Both religion and power were the focal points of the Thirty Years’ War that shook the whole of Europe during the 17th century. Ursula Kampmann brings that era alive. Today you will be introduced to new protagonists of this war, including a Protestant who was in no way inferior to Catholic Ferdinand when it came to fanatism.

In May 2015 the research network DAMIN organized a meeting in Copenhagen. It focused on mints, technology and coin production. On this occasion Ursula Kampmann gave a lecture summarizing today’s coin manufacturing. We publish this lecture here.