Alsace (1585-95) 1/2 thaler
This specimen was lot 4686 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €2,000 (about US$2,752 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Erzherzog Ferdinand, 1564-1595. 1/2 Reichstaler o. J. (nach 1585), Ensisheim. Mit FERDINAND am Anfang und einem Punkt am Ende der Vorderseitenumschrift. Von großer Seltenheit. Feine Patina, kl. Randkerbe, sehr schön-vorzüglich. Aus der Sammlung Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Wien. Exemplar der Auktion Dorotheum Kunstabteilung 309, Wien 1969, Nr. 313. (Holy Roman Empire, archduke Ferdinand, 1564-95, undated half thaler, circa 1585-95, Ensisheim mint. Obverse "FERDINAND" at the start and a period at the end of the obverse legend. Extremely rare, fine patina, edge defects, very fine to extremely fine.)"
The archduke used the Ensisheim mint to strike a considerable variety of thalers and double thalers.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 14.38 g, 0.875 fine silver, this specimen 13,99 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB13, M./T. 562 var.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Heinz Moser and Heinz Tursky, Die Munzstatte Hall in Tirol, 2 vols. Innsbruck: Verlag Dr Rudolf Erhad, 1981.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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