News

Two new issues, commemorating the Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in the Forbidden City and Shenyang, illustrate the appeal of medallic art in China. Designed by Long Hu and sculpted by Lin Feng and Li Jin, these are being struck at the Shanghai Mint.

Thirty-five individuals have been arrested and 2,289 cultural artefacts seized, in an international operation supported by Europol to prevent the theft and trafficking of European cultural property. The operation initiated 38 new investigations, with more expected.

Human beings share many biases with other primates. This shows the ‘monkey marketplace,’ an experimental set-up where animals use tokens. But there are also significant differences as to how using cash.

Claude Fayette, collector of French banknotes and author of the book “Les billets de la Banque de France”, has given an interview about some questions on the enjoyment of collectors.

The Coin Cabinet of the Royal Library of Belgium continues to digitalize parts of its collection. A fifth database has been added, namely the catalog of the collection of coins of the Prince-Bischopric of Liège comprising a total of 2,420 coins.

Once, stagecoach robberies were the biggest fear of Wells Fargo, today’s gangsters use a car to smash through a glass door of the Wells Fargo History Museum. The booty of that Wild West assault is as typical as it could be …

Both the smallest and the largest UK coins ever minted at The Royal Mint are among 70,000 coins on trial at the Trial of the Pyx. The smallest coin weighs just one fortieth-ounce and measures a delicate 8mm wide, the largest coin has one Kilo and is 100mm wide.

Andrew Reinhard began his tenure as the Director of Publications at the ANS in December 2014, and is already beginning to implement new initiatives opening the ANS publications to the digital world.

Nearly nothing has remained of the once so splendid town of Patavium, modern Padova in Italy. In the current exhibition running until 1 March 2015 the local museum of Padova gives at least an idea of these lost treasures.

What increases the pleasure a coin collector takes in his treasures even further: right, a bottle of fine red wine. Renowned coin dealer Marc Emory has written a novel about the two passions of the connoisseur. Ursula Kampmann has read it.