When Parisians stormed the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the face of Europe was changed forever. At this time, France was ruled by Louis XVI, king by divine right. He reigned in the tradition of the Sun King Louis XIV and exercised almost absolute power. The country was in turmoil. Large swaths of the population were impoverished while the nobility enjoyed a life of excess. It was on that fateful day that tensions erupted.

The guineas were introduced in 1663 and remained the principal British gold coin up until 1816. They came into being in the aftermath of the English Civil War (1642–1649). During the war, England was declared a free commonwealth but the English Republic lasted less than 20 years.

Constans was the youngest son of Constantin I the Great. He was only a boy when his father accorded him the rank of Caesar (emperor-designate). With the death of Constantin I in 337, his three sons Constantin II, Constantius II and Constans adopted the title of Augustus and divided the empire amongst themselves.

The Bundesbank’s autumn conference 2024 in Frankfurt am Main focused on the challenges facing financial markets, financial intermediaries and central banks.