News from the world of numismatics

Precious metals continue their record-breaking run

Silver rose by 142% in 2025 and gained a further 30% in the first two weeks of the new year. Other precious metals also rose in value: gold rose by 64% in 2025, platinum by 127% and palladium by 74%. For numismatists, this is good news for now: demand for precious metals is rising, making collector coins more valuable. However, the rising demand for silver also turns collector coins into speculative assets and presents mints with unprecedented challenges. As a result, the German government has already had to adjust the issue price of silver coins on several occasions. This is due to a German privilege: German collectors can exchange silver coins for their face value at Bundesbank counters for years to come. Read Sebastian Wieschowski’s analysis here, which appeared on focus.de at the end of 2025.

World Money Fair 2026

Did you miss the World Money Fair 2026? Our highlight from this year’s Berlin event:
At the Italian mint’s stand, the “Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato”, we were able to admire the medals for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Centén of 1609: Europe’s most expensive coin

On 24 November 2025, a new record was set in Geneva: the Centén, minted in 1609 and worth 100 escudos, weighing 340 grams of gold, became the most expensive European coin of modern times, having fetched a hammer price of CHF 2.3 million. Including the buyer’s premium, this amounts to around EUR 3 million or nearly USD 3.5 million.