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The Iwakura Mission – How Prussia Changed Japan

Auction Sales

Numismatic Publications 136 articles
The Mediation of Frederick Wilhelm in the second English-Dutch war

During the 17th century, the United Provinces of the Netherlands and Great Britain fought several naval wars over supremacy on the world’s oceans. In the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654), England had emerged victorious and was therefore able to dictate the terms of peace. In addition, privateering expeditions had more than doubled state revenues. For the new English king Charles II (1660–1685) in particular, this prize money was of immense importance, since the additional income enabled him to pursue policies independent of Parliament. A renewed naval conflict therefore appeared attractive. Beginning in 1663, privateering expeditions were sent against Dutch colonies, and by the end of 1664 Dutch ships in the English Channel were also being seized. It was during this period that Nieuw Amsterdam became New York. The Dutch dispatched a fleet in an attempt to recapture their colonies, as overseas trade had suffered enormously.

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The European Trauma: Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte

On 14 October 1806, the Prussian troops suffered a devastating defeat against Napoleon’s French citizen army in the twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt. Around 33,000 Prussian soldiers paid for the king’s overconfidence with their lives or their health. Trusting in the strength of the Prussian army, Frederick William III had issued an ultimatum to France. The defeat now demonstrated that the Prussia of Frederick the Great had definitively become a thing of the past. But what was to happen next?

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Queen Louise: Mother and Myth

“If Queen Luise had arrived at the beginning of the negotiations in Tilsit, she would have had greater influence on the outcome.” This compliment came from Napoleon himself. After her early death, Luise would become an icon of the Prussian will to resist. For Frederick William IV and William I, she was the beloved mother for whose premature death they held Napoleon responsible.

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Previews and Reviews 34 articles
02. February 2026
Spring Auction Sales 438-441: Preview
Ancient coins with large lots from the Celts and Byzantium, early modern coins from Denmark, Habsburg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Württemberg, Saxony, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and the Habsburg Empire, and last but not least, medals from the estate of Wilhelm Herzog in Bavaria—that's our Spring Auction Sales.
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31. January 2026
Berlin Auction Sale 437: Review
On 28 January 2026, we held our Berlin Auction Sale 437 with great success. The 694 lots exceeded their total estimate of 6 million euros, reaching 9.5 million euros (excluding buyer’s premium). We present the most expensive lots of this auction sale.
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11. December 2025
Berlin Auction Sale 437: Preview
In 2026, we will once again kick off the year with a bang and holding an auction of superlatives in the context of the World Money Fair. Rarities from Brandenburg-Prussia, the Habsburg Empire and the German States are the focal point of the 437th auction.
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Press Reviews 9 articles
07. April 2026
German Press Reviews of our Spring Auction Sales 438-441
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19. October 2025
German Press Reviews of our Fall Auction Sales 427-431 in 2025
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01. April 2025
German Press Reviews of our Spring Auction Sales 419-422
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Knowledge

Collection areas 21 articles
23. September 2025
Coins and Medals of the Netherlands

We are proud to have auctioned off three of the most extensive and most significant collections of coins, medals and paper money from the Netherlands in recent years: the Beuth, Verschoor and Genaert Collections. We talk about the fascination of this special field of collecting.

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16. September 2025
Numisnautic

In 2025, we will auction off the special collection of a "Numisnautiker" (= numisnautist). But what does numisnautics actually refer to? Briefly said, this term is a variation of the better-known word “numismatics”, i.e. the study of coins. The first part of the word is combined with “nautics”, i.e. the study of ships, which is derived from the Latin “navis” (= ship). Therefore, a numisnautist is a collector who collects all coins that depict ships, ship components or related motifs.

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11. June 2025
Coins and Medals of Tyrol

To mark the sale of the Wohnlich Collection, we have created a little guide to collecting Tyrolean coins and medals.

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Historical Figures 11 articles
09. April 2026
Frederick III, German Emperor and King of Prussia
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09. April 2026
William II, German Emperor and King of Prussia
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08. April 2026
William I, German Emperor and King of Prussia
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Collector's portraits 29 articles
Dr Wolfgang Kümpfel
Here you can read the Portrait of a coin enthusiast and collector.
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Erika and Jürgen Schmidt
Here you can read the portrait of a Collector Couple.
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10. December 2025
Kommerzialrat Dr Herbert Wenzel

Herbert Wenzel was born on 28 September 1904 in Linz, the son of engineer Viktor Wenzel, who was a Machine Commissioner of the Imperial and Royal State Railway Directorate in Linz, and his wife Eugenie, née Hlauzal. In 1907, the family moved to Vienna, where Herbert’s father had been transferred to the Imperial and Royal Railway Ministry. After graduating from high school in 1923, he studied law at the University of Vienna, obtaining his doctorate in 1928. After several years as a Postal Commissioner, Dr Herbert Wenzel was appointed to the Ministry of Trade in 1934, and in the same year he married Helene Wornitzer. His precise and successful work at the ministry was recognised in 1937 with the Austrian Gold Medal of Merit. Due to the political situation in Austria and the National Socialists’ seizure of power, Dr Wenzel was dismissed from his post in 1938. After military service in the Second World War and captivity as a prisoner of war, he was reinstated as a civil servant in 1945 and appointed to the Federal Ministry of Transport. In 1949, he was appointed Ministerialrat (senior civil servant).

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Numismatic Resources 3 articles
31. December 2023
List of exempt gold coins

On November 25, 2022, the European Commission published the list of gold coins that fulfill the criteria of Article 344(1)(2) of the VAT Directive (VAT Directive) for the year 2024 in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ EU 2022 No. C 448 p. 4). The German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) has also published this list in addition to the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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31. December 2023
Bibliography
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31. December 2014
Preservation of Coins
In the quality assessment of any coin, both the rarity and the degree of preservation play important roles. These two factors lead to the determination of the coin’s value.
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Media center

01. April 2026
Lecture by Professor Johannes Nollé - The Partition of Saxony: Newly founded royal capitals, and the territorial fragmentation of Thuringia as reflected in coins

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.

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03. March 2026
Spring Auction Sales 438-441
Here you can find all videos we produced for you for our Spring Auction Sales 438-441.
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21. January 2026
Berlin Auction Sale 437
Here you can find all videos we produced for our Berlin Auction Sale 437.
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Exklusiv Magazine 37 articles
04. March 2026
Künker Exklusiv Nr. 2/2026
Welcome to the Spring Edition of our magazine Künker Exklusiv.
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19. January 2026
Künker Exklusiv No. 1/2026
In our first issue in 2026  the focus is on our Berlin Auction Sale, which will take place on January 28, 2026, at the Estrel Hotel in Berlin.
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03. November 2025
Künker Exklusiv No. 5/2025
Our fifth issue in 2025 is dedicated to our WInter Auction Sales 432-433 and the eLive Premium Auctions 434-436. 
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Downloads 7 articles
14. May 2026
The Iwakura Mission – How Prussia Changed Japan

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.

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23. September 2024
The Welfs’ Splendour in Historic Coins - The Regina Adams Collection at Künker’s

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.

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24. March 2024
Asia Minor Collection - Dr Kaya Sayar and His Magnificent

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. 

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Contact
Personal contact is the basis of our business.

Can we help you? The quickest way is to talk to us personally. We look forward to your call.

Tel. +49 541 96202 0

Please note that due to a Europe-wide legal change in the VAT treatment of objects from third countries, some items must be sold with standard taxation. For customers in Germany, this means: the premium is 20% plus (usually) 7% reduced VAT. For customers from other EU member states, we will charge 20% plus the VAT applicable in the respective country when shipping.

If you have any questions, please contact our customer service.

You can find more information here

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