Renaissance Riches at Künker
Once owned by Renaissance financier Jakob Fugger, rare medals and coins highlighted Künker’s Summer Auction Sales, where historic treasures realized €7.8 million.
What coins would you own if you were one of the wealthiest people ever to live? A real-life example formerly owned by a Renaissance-era tycoon was up for purchase at Künker’s “Summer Auction Sales 423–425.” Divided into three auctions labeled 423, 424, and 425, the July 3–5, 2025, event sold rare coins, medals, and gold issues primarily from Central Europe, earning a combined total of €7.8 million.
Photograph courtesy of The Yorck Project/Wikimedia Commons.
Within the selection of fine goods at auction 424 was a standout piece that was once owned by one of the wealthiest persons ever to live, Jakob Fugger II (1459–1525), an entrepreneur from the famed banking and textile merchant Fugger family of Augsburg. Among the many industries they influenced, collectors may find it interesting that the Fuggers leased the Roman mint and produced coins and Pontifical currency for the Roman Empire.
Often referred to as Jakob Fugger the Rich, he built upon his family’s success in banking and became a major lender of credit and loans to Europe’s richest, including the Habsburgs. He also created the most powerful metal and mining monopoly in all of Europe, where much of its silver was used for coinage. Through his marriage to Sybilla Arzt (1459–1525), he became the Grand Burgher of Augsburg, and, by his social and monetary connections, he was later granted the title of Imperial Count of the Habsburg Empire.
This immense wealth and power made Fugger a controversial figure in the Renaissance. Perhaps as an attempt to improve his public image, the magnate funded the creation of the Fuggerei in 1513, a public housing complex in Augsburg, Germany, that is still in use today.
Unless noted, photographs are courtesy of Künker.
A much smaller and more ornate memento of Fugger’s life sold for €26,000 at the Künker sale. Presented was a very rare, very fine original 1518 bronze cast medal commissioned by Fugger. The piece features a profile of the famous merchant, and on the back is a highly detailed relief of a mythical scene.
As the entrepreneur could afford the best, Fugger employed Hans Schwarz (c. 1492–after 1521), a German medalist, to create this medal. A former sculptor, Schwarz crafted works for some of the most influential figures in Central Europe.
Another example of the Fugger family’s power was seen with a lapis lazuli and gold box. Inside is an inset with an extremely rare 1621 10-gold ducat by Fugger descendant Maximilian II, who was the Count of Fugger-Babenhausen-Wellenburg in what is now southern Germany. According to Künker, the museum-worthy box may have been made between the late 19th and early 20th century. The winning bid for this unique item reached €48,000.
Other highlights included pieces from the Hermann Wohnlich Collection of Tyrolean coins and medals (auction 423), as well as high-earning issues from Münster, Osnabrück, and Passau that were originally collected by a German manufacturer (auction 424). Pieces from the Mohr Family Collection also performed well (auction 425), as did issues from the Landgraviate of Leuchtenberg (auction 424).
For more information about Künker’s “Summer Auction Sales 423–425,” visit the website.
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