Professor Johannes Nollé delivered an informative lecture titled “Saxon Partitions of Inheritance, Newly Founded Capital Cities, and the Territorial Fragmentation of Thuringia as Reflected in Coins” to a packed auction hall during our spring auctions. With great expertise and a vivid presentation, he succeeded in bringing the complex historical contexts to life and impressively highlighting the significance of coins as historical sources. 

For anyone who would like to relive the lecture or view it for the first time, a recording is available here. The lecture was held in German.

What do Prussian gold medals have to do with Japan’s modernization? More than one might initially suspect. In the 1860s and 1870s, two Japanese diplomatic missions traveled to Europe to study the great powers of the West. During the first visit in 1862, Prussia made hardly any impression—so much so that the author Fukuzawa Yukichi simply omitted the chapter on Prussia from his later travelogue, citing a lack of time, as he wrote.

Lösers are silver multiple thalers that were minted by the Welf princes. In exceptional cases, they could have a value of 25 thalers and then reach a weight of almost 724 g. More common, but also quite rare, were Löserswith a diameter of approximately 100 mm and a weight of 465 g. Fractions of them were minted in larger quantities: 9, 5, 4, 3, 2½, 2, 1½, 1¼ thalers. The Regina Adams Collection contains multiple thalers worth between 1¼ and 5 thalers. All multiple thalers had the same fineness as the Imperial Thalers, i.e. they were 14 lots and 4 grains fine, or 889/1000.

We are extremely proud that a dedicated collector like Dr Kaya Sayar has entrusted us with his exquisite collection of 2,000 coins, which he built up over thirty years with great passion and energy. His decision to offer it for sale in two Künker auctions is a vote of confidence in our company and our work. We are very grateful to our long-standing client Dr Sayar and his family for their trust.