Berlin: Anna ruble fetches more than €400,000

[chrisild]

The Künker auctions at the World Money Fair in Berlin this weekend ended with a record: The more than 1,100 items fetched a total of more than 5 million euro. The most expensive piece was this trial (?) ruble from 1730:



Some buyer paid a whopping €410,000 for the coin. http://www.kuenker.de/onlineAuctionOrderDetail.asp?lid=1&nid=148&lager=00057&dsnr=1092&los=1110  That makes it the most expensive coin ever auctioned in Germany ...

Christian

[Figleaf]

A magnificent piece. I wonder why Anna didn't have it mass produced. I hope some museum bought it. It belongs in the public sphere.

That's an average of over €4500 per item auctioned (auctioneer's fee not included, I guess). Good for Künker, but I wonder if it doesn't give a totally wrong image of the hobby. I don't think coin collecting is about rarities, patterns and big money. You can build a collection that - while far from "complete" - gives a fair impression of coins in circulation while never spending more than $50 on a single piece. Some of the best things in coin collecting (an extensive trade, an enlargement of a very detailed design, finding rejected designs in government archives) are even virtually free. They "cost" energy, not money.

Peter

[RHM22]

A magnificent piece. I wonder why Anna didn't have it mass produced. I hope some museum bought it. It belongs in the public sphere.

That's an average of over €4500 per item auctioned (auctioneer's fee not included, I guess). Good for Künker, but I wonder if it doesn't give a totally wrong image of the hobby. I don't think coin collecting is about rarities, patterns and big money. You can build a collection that - while far from "complete" - gives a fair impression of coins in circulation while never spending more than $50 on a single piece. Some of the best things in coin collecting (an extensive trade, an enlargement of a very detailed design, finding rejected designs in government archives) are even virtually free. They "cost" energy, not money.

Peter

I agree. Though these sales are interesting and fun to watch, I think they actually damage the hobby slightly.

[gxseries]

Just in case people can't understand German, this particular Russian ruble is actually a pattern coin which was never released for circulation. Therefore this coin could only have come from museums or private owners.

[andyg]

My understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong) of these is that if Mr Rich Person decided that he didn't have a certain coin in his collection he could go to the mint and get them to make one....

[Figleaf]

Replace "Rich" by "Influential" and you are describing novodels. Some people collect them. Don't know if this piece is a novodel, though. Having coins made on demand is not unheard of in Britain either...

Peter